The Man in the Middle
Since last fall's election, he has toured the talk-show circuit and addressed the House and Senate Democratic caucuses. He has had deep theological talks with Sen. Ted Kennedy. Just last week, he met with Democratic Chair Howard Dean for their first in-depth chat; the same day, he sat down with Sen. Hillary Clinton, a longtime friend. But Jim Wallis is no fundraiser or political operative. Perhaps more than anyone else, he's the man Democrats are counting on to help them connect with religious "values" voters. "Democrats realized they ceded the entire territory of religion and values to Republicans," says Wallis, 57, author of the recent bestseller God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. "They've woken up and are trying to deal with it."
Wallis's day job--besides editing Sojourners, a journal of social justices issues--is serving as president of Call to Renewal, a coalition of religious antipoverty groups. "He knows when you go through the Bible," says former Sen. John Edwards, "there are more references about our responsibility to those who live in poverty than on some issues the Republicans use to divide us." Wallis's advice to Democrats: "If you want a moral or religious issue, lead on poverty."
No labels. Wallis backs the president's faith-based initiatives but calls Bush's tax cuts "un-Christian." He opposed the war in Iraq and champions gay rights.
Still, Wallis rejects the liberal label, noting that he has advised Republicans, too. He also chafes at his image as chaplain to the Democrats. Earlier this month, Wallis led a delegation of church leaders--including conservative evangelicals--to meet with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown on the eve of the Group of Eight summit to push for debt relief and fairer trade policies for Africa. "He's got an uphill fight within the Democratic Party apparatus," says Richard Land, political director of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention. "Some liberal groups don't want any religious voices, period." For now, though, Wallis has never been more in demand. "There used to be Democrats of faith who felt marginalized in their own party," he says. "That's all changed now."
This story appears in the July 25, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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