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Written by Tom Lizardo
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Saturday, 09 August 2008 14:13 |
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A Brief History of the Religious Right (Part I)
As somebody who worked for Pat Robertson’s Presidential bid in 1988 and supported Ron Paul’s candidacy after the Republican primary process that year, I’d like to share my observations regarding the lessons of the Robertson campaign and the current status of the Religious Right, as well as how these lessons might best be applied by the contemporary freedom movement.
Growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s, my observation of the Religious Right was that it made a good ally for those of us committed to limited government, as its members shared many of our instincts regarding government. First, it was concerned with globalism and internationalist/interventionist foreign policies. Conservative Christians were often steeped in a tradition that led them to believe world government was antithetical to biblical beliefs. Whether they saw internationalism as a precursor to the anti-Christ, or merely as a form of government that challenged the sovereignty of the Lord, they were committed to the notion that international organizations should be limited and, where possible, disbanded.
Most Christian conservatives were also committed to the idea that Washington was controlled by a group of elitist bureaucrats who wanted nothing more than to undermine the culture of middle America. Those who considered themselves conservatives could readily agree that a significant part of the problem with the government was that Washington ‘butt-in-ski’s’ and the ‘eastern establishment’ wanted control of the country for their own purposes. Whether it was LBJ’s Great Society or McNamara’s mismanaged war, the idea of Washington control was anathema to both those in the freedom movement and the budding Religious Right. For example, those of us with Young Americans for Freedom had many heated, late-night battles about victimless crimes, but these were largely disagreements between people who had very similar approaches to politics. Nobody seriously advocated that Washington should regulate everything. When somebody argued for laws against prostitution or drugs, the argument usually went something like “I don’t believe Washington should stop local authorities from making such laws.” This, generally speaking, ended the argument.
By the 1990’s, things had changed dramatically. The Christian Right adopted an increasingly leftist approach to policy. In past years, we had hoped to overturn Supreme Court rulings such as the Roe and School prayer cases, returning the authority that was wrongfully stripped from state and local governments. But now the goals were changing. Christian conservatives had begun to believe that we needed more federal laws against abortion, pornography, and other such ‘victimless crimes.’ They began to advocate amendments to the U.S. Constitution that would further erode local authority and grow the federal government. They seemed to forget their own traditional mistrust of, and antipathy toward, the Washington elite. Now they wanted to use the central state for their own purposes. Perhaps the peak of this line of thought is evident in attempts to prohibit the marriages of homosexuals by way of an amendment to the Constitution.
The fact is that, from the perspective of Religious Right true believers, these attempts have had (at best) mixed success. Recent reports of the Christian Right becoming disenchanted with the Republican Party, and focusing their attention on matters such as global warming, are perhaps the “logical extension” of the changes in approach that have happened over the last several decades, and the limited success these changes have brought.
If the present trends continue, the possibility of a coalition between the freedom movement and the Christian Right looks dim indeed. If one considers the Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee campaigns for president, it becomes obvious that there are some significant differences between the groups.
Nonetheless, consider also the political possibilities that exist if those two camps were able to reinvigorate a movement within the Republican Party. The different types of grassroots enthusiasm would be an unstoppable force when combined against the ever diminishing base of the current GOP establishment.
There is even some evidence that such a coalition could work. In West Virginia, Paul and Huckabee forces teamed up to hand a defeat to the presumptive GOP nominee and the party regulars.
Of course, any long-term alliance is best served when the parties to such an alliance share similar political goals. This is where the hard work comes in for those of us committed to limited government. While we cannot force the Religious Rright to see the errors of its recent political turn, we can certainly educate its members. People like Chuck Baldwin, the presidential nominee for the Constitution Party, did a wonderful job of reaching out to the Christian community with a limited-government message during the early stages of the Paul campaign.
One of several ways in which this coalition could be reestablished is for limited government advocates to share a message that will reengage the Religious Right leadership and its grassroots support in the debate over what type of federal government is most likely to protect those who share a religious and culturally conservative heritage.
A coalition of those who are, in their current state, best described as the Paul and Huckabee voters, would hold a great deal of political power. For this coalition to be realized, individuals who differ culturally must understand that they are natural political allies who must band together to preserve their own choices from the intrusions that Washington bureaucrats wish to foist upon them. Much of the modern political debate is not really about politics at all, but rather a pointless rehashing of cultural differences. Properly understood, our movement is the only one positioned to correct this problem and fight for the values that limited government advocates and Religious Righters hold in common.
In Part II, I’ll look at the history and legacy of the Robertson movement and compare and contrast it with the Pat Buchanan phenomenon, all in hopes of suggesting to the freedom movement what lessons should be learned. Or, at least, some of the factors to be considered when drawing such lessons. |
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