-----Original Message----- From: PFAW General Mailbox <PFAW at pfaw.org> To: pfaw-presslist at lists.pfaw.org <pfaw-presslist at lists.pfaw.org> Date: Tuesday, January 05, 1999 8:33 PM Subject: PFAW-PRESSLIST: John Ashcroft and the Religious Right's dilemma
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>People For the American Way Foundation Press Release
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>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
>Tuesday, January 5, 1999
>CONTACT: Nancy Coleman, David Elliot or Lela Shepard
>at 202-467-4999
>
>
>ASHCROFT'S ADIEU REINFORCES DILEMMA
>FOR RELIGIOUS RIGHT CANDIDATES:
>
>GARY BAUER MAY BE HEIR APPARENT
>
>Sen. John Ashcroft's decision today not to run for president and
>instead concentrate on his difficult year 2000 re-election campaign
>points out the central dilemma facing candidates on the GOP
>ideological fringe: how to hold the support of the Religious Right
>while attracting moderate voters.
>
>"GOP presidential candidates must choose," warned Carole Shields,
>President, People For the American Way Foundation. "In order to win
>the nomination, they must pander to the Religious Right. But in
>order to capture the general election, they must appeal to the
>moderate mainstream."
>
>Shields noted that Ashcroft had been endorsed by key figures in the
>Religious Right political movement, including activists Paul Weyrich
>of the Free Congess Foundation, Tim LaHaye, formerly of the Moral
>Majority and husband to Concerned Women for America's Beverly
>LaHaye, and Michael Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Fund and
>founder of the Madison Project, which funds extreme right-wing
>congressional candidates; Don Wildmon of the American Family
>Association; and Jay Sekulow, who heads Pat Robertson's legal arm,
>the American Center for Law and Justice. In addition, Focus on the
>Family's James Dobson had praised Ashcroft lavishly.
>
>She predicted that while Ashcroft's withdrawal could touch off an
>incendiary battle for the votes of Religious Right activists, an
>early beneficiary could be Gary Bauer, who enjoyed a banner
>fundraising year in 1998. Bauer's PAC, Campaign for Working
>Families, raised more than $5.7 million in 1998 alone, demonstrating
>his fundraising prowess.
>
>"Senator Ashcroft personifies the Religious Right's no-compromise
>brand of politics," said Shields. "Another ideological purist like
>Bauer may pick up Ashcroft's supporters, but even Bauer will face
>intense competition from candidates who are fighting for the support
>of the Religious Right's footsoldiers."
>
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