Ditch the name-calling and supply some evidence.
Consider these gems from the Pluralism Project website:
= = =
Bush Favored for Faith, not Economics, in Tulsa, Okl.
* On August 29, 2004 the Los Angeles Times reported that the "Equal Parts' religious revival, campaign event and counseling session, [during the greater Tulsa "pro-marriage rally" last week] was living proof that a key way to influence the ballots of many Oklahomans is through their Bibles -- not their billfolds. The state has lost nearly 20% of its manufacturing jobs during the Bush administration, and has lagged the nation in recovery... In many areas, that would be a blueprint for change, a sign that the incumbent should be shoved out of the Oval Office. But not in Oklahoma... Voters here tend to view boom-and-bust cycles as outside of the presidential purview. And in state polls, Bush's lead hovers near 20 percentage points. Oklahoma politics is 'very much about religion and faith and character,' said Keith Gaddie, professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma.'" (August 29, 2004, Los Angeles Times)
Republicans Launch Outreach Projects Targeting Religious Conservatives
* On August 27, 2004 Religion and Ethics Newsweekly reported, "Republican strategists are trying to mobilize their base with an aggressive outreach campaign targeting religious conservatives... Cedar Park Senior Pastor Joseph Fuiten is spearheading a statewide effort to register 60,000 new socially conservative voters in churches... Similar projects are taking place in other evangelical churches across the country. The efforts are ostensibly nonpartisan, but Republicans have high hopes for their impact. Analysts say churches are fertile ground for potential GOP votes... The Republican National Committee has also launched a massive outreach campaign. The center of its strategy is an Internet-based interactive 'team leader' project that organizes local volunteers into affinity groups -- many of them religious. So far, they have 112,000 religious team leaders." (August 27, 2004, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly)
* On August 15, 2004 The Boston Globe reported, "this election season, one segment of the homeschool population aims to turn its students into a political force. Last February, a predominately conservative Christian homeschooling organization called the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) launched 'Generation Joshua,' a Web-based program that aims to teach civics by putting 4,000 homeschooled kids on the campaign trail. The students will be sent out in 'Student Action Teams,' ranging in size from 25 to 200, to do grass-roots campaigning for socially conservative candidates in hotly contested races throughout the country. Not only must these candidates be supporters of homeschooling, but they must also fall in line with other core values held by the HSLDA... One of the program's first campaign efforts in support of Nathan Tabor's bid for the Republican nomination for North Carolina's 5th Congressional District seat ended in a loss. But director Ned Ryun says that Generation Joshua will be campaigning for many other Republican politicians this fall, including President Bush." (August 15, 2004, The Boston Globe)
* On July 27, 2004 The Washington Times reported, "The party of John Kerry and John Edwards is improving its standing with minorities, but losing ground to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney among white evangelicals, a new survey found. Those findings are bad news for Democrats assembled in Boston for their national convention, because white evangelicals and born-again Christians far outnumber blacks and Hispanics combined. 'White evangelicals and born-again Christians are 26 percent of all registered voters -- that's quite a big chunk -- and the survey shows they are quite happy with Republicans,' said Adam Clymer, political director of the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, which polled 3,715 registered voters nationwide July 1 to 21, with a margin of error of 1 percentage point." (July 27, 2004, The Washington Times)
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Here are more pages with information that supports my claims:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week801/cover.html
http://www.religionwriters.com/public/tips/050304/050304a.shtml
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/145/story_14570_1.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/evangelicals/vote.ht ml
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-06-02-religion-gap_x.htm
Chip "facts not slurs" Berlet
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chuck0 [mailto:chuck at mutualaid.org]
> Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 4:12 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Re: Powerless religious right?
>
>
> Chip Berlet wrote:
>
> > There is no evidence that the Christian Right as a social/political
> > movement has collapsed. None. Zero. The claim is a fantasy.
>
> It's a fantasy in your mind, because if it were true, you'd
> have to find
> a different line of work to be an "expert" in. :-p
>
> Sorry to be a little shit, but somebody has to call Chip on
> his bullshit.
>
> The evidence backs up my claim about the decline of the American
> religious right. I even found out recently that out here in
> Kansas City,
> the mega-churches are moving away from political activism.
> I'll get more
> details and send them to the list, if anybody still cares
> about this thread.
>
> Chuck "not a religious right hysteria pimp"
> ___________________________________
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>