Some Advice For His Own
Have evangelicals hijacked the GOP?
Part of the reason they lost the majority was they were overly responsive to people like [Focus on the Family founder] James Dobson.
You've accused him of being obsessed with power.
A lot of people in Washington become obsessively interested in their power, and Dobson is one of them. In this instance, he's a person so determined to be heard and obeyed that when talking to a fairly insecure group of legislators, he could compel them to engage in behavior that was destructive to themselves. A prime example is Terri Schiavo. You basically had the federal government mandating judicial activism on a state in total disrespect for the concept of separation of powers. Somebody had convinced our guys in office that it is acceptable to expand the power of the state in order to impose righteous conduct. We are now prepared to act as if government righteousness is more important than freedom. That is simply not acceptable behavior for conservatives. But it scored points with evangelicals.
How do fiscal conservatives join evangelicals to win in 2008?
Evangelicals have always said you can't win without us. But history has shown more Republicans have lost elections for the absence of pocketbook conservatives. Evangelicals should continue to advocate the things they believe in. But maybe they should [remember], "Thou shall render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto the Lord what is the Lord's." If we exemplify a righteous life, we have done the appropriate thing. If we try to legislate a righteous life, we have done the wrong thing.
Is the public hungry for bipartisanship?
I think they're hungry for more civility. There seems to be a real commitment now among people in Congress. The people that won this majority are smart politicians. Some Democrats will be mean spirited, but leadership knows if they don't show they can run a civil body, they're going to be on the outside again.
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