Christian Right Feels Adrift
Some top Christian-right activists in Washington are growing concerned that their movement is ill prepared for operating with their Republican allies out of control in Congress and that it could be headed for some strategic blunders.
Of roughly 40 conservative Christian organizers from across the country who gathered at a recent Virginia summit, only five had been politically active before 1994's Republican revolution, according to a top Christian-right strategist at the meeting. He is concerned that grass-roots activists will continue to see a congressional push for a constitutional ban on gay marriage as a centerpiece of the conservative Christian agenda, even though many supporters of a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage were voted out of Congress last November.
"Losing votes doesn't exactly help our cause," the strategist says. Instead, Christian-right leaders in Washington are focused on pressing the White House to issue a pledge that President Bush will veto any legislation aimed at loosening restrictions on abortion, including the current ban on elective abortions in U.S. military hospitals oversees. Top religious activists are hoping to work that commitment into next week's State of the Union address.