re: #308 freetoken

Not sure about that. It was Reagan who used the religious right in 1980, and it was the ensconcing of people like Dobson, LaHaye, etc. into the inner workings of GOP politically machinery back then that paved the way for what happened 20 years later.

This is consistent with my take on it:

No one realized the importance of pleasing the Religious Right more than Karl Rove, the president’s top political strategist, and no one exploited religion more effectively for political gain. In addition to specific policy concessions which I will review in a moment., Rove systematically began packing the government with evangelicals and social conservatives. The priority was getting them into agencies and departments such as the FDA, Health and Human Services, Justice and Education that deal with priority issues for the Religious Right.

For Evangelicals, one of the most welcomed appointments was that of John Ashcroft as attorney general. Ashcroft is a Pentecostal who once declared that “America has no King but Jesus,” and who has accused liberal judges of turning church-state separation into what he called “a wall of oppression.” On important occasions, Ashcroft anoints himself with cooking oil as King David did in the Bible, and one of his first moves was to cover a bare breast on a statue of the Spirit of Justice outside his office.As significant as the appointments was a new practice at the White House of consultation with the Religious Right on all initiatives affecting its agenda. Weekly conference calls were held with evangelical leaders, and a religious outreach team was set up in the West Wing to inform Christian Conservative leaders of forthcoming presidential events and, on occasion, to seek their help in drafting legislation.

The Office of Faith-Based Initiatives

Much higher-profile was the new Office of Faith-Based Initiatives that was also established in the White House. It was designed to be the cornerstone of Bush’s campaign promise of a so-called “compassionate conservatism.” Its major theorist is a former Marxist and Jewish convert to Christianity named Marvin Olasky with whom I spent an intriguing afternoon in Texas just prior to Bush’s election. Olasky explained to me that poor people, drug-addicts and criminals cannot be helped much by government social programs. They must recognize their sinfulness and be redeemed by Christ. Taxpayers’ money therefore must be transferred away from government programs and into church-based charities that offer redemption along with conventional social services.

trinity.utoronto.ca