The answer to the power of the Christian Right is electoral power of our own. No excuses. Many of us have tended to abandon this cornerstone of citizenship in favor of other things. It is time to get our priorities strait. Less talk, more action. Less entertainment, more citizen involvement. Less TV and sports. More electoral politics. Do we want the theocrats to win? More electoral politics.
If we believe that democracy is a good thing, we need to learn to get very good at it. We need to be better at it than those who would destroy it.
While a record number of people voted in the 2004 elections, 100 million eligible voters didn't vote. The theocratic right began to seriously mobilize politically in the United States twenty-five years ago, and it is being noticed only now! We need to educate the American public about the political goals of the theocratic right.
The political momentum of the 2004 election needs to be sustained. The theocratic right has historically targeted midterm elections because voter turnout is much smaller than in Presidential elections. Those who favor Democracy and a pluralistic society need to be passionate about saving our Constitution, and they need to be involved in politics. Legislators representing the theocratic right can be replaced in the 2006 elections, but it will take hard, sustained work, and lots of passion.
And traditional Republicans need to wake up. George Bush was re-elected because he hid behind moderates. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, spoke at the Republican Convention about how the Republican Party is tolerant and inclusive. His speech demonstrates that this country values tolerance and diversity.
But the theocratic right is not a movement of tolerance. In the words of the Christian Coalition field director, Bill Thomson, the "leftist" foes should be destroyed:
You're going to run over them. Get around them, run over the top of them, destroy them - whatever you need to do so that God's word is the word that is being practiced in Congress, town halls and state legislatures. That's your job.
I voted as soon as I was old enough. It *kills* me that young people don't bother to vote. It speaks to the lack of faith people have in their government and their politicians. This cynicism does not mean that groups that vote will not have their concerns heard. Putting an X on a ballot is not much of a hassle... It so bothers me that people won't do at least that much to stand up for what they believe in.
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