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I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Scherer's article, and it really got me thinking about how involved and effective fringe elements are ever going to be. I did not put much thought into it back in 2000, because I could not even remotely conceive that George Bush would win the election (well. . .). Now that we know what we know, does the values crowd believe themselves to be integral to the policies that are being formulated? Because they have nowhere else to go but the Republican Party, the only way they can punish some apostate is to stay home on Election Day; they cannot back any other party, nor are they strong enough to field their own candidates. (I believe the last Conservative Party victor of note was Senator James Buckley of New York in 1970). Their resentment boils over yet again because they don't realize that, sure they add spice, but they are not the whole enchilada. Bush is speaking to the ages now, and the churchy concerns of their adored heartland will no longer fill the presidential agenda.
They can gripe and complain, issue dark threats, and grumble about their causes left unaddressed, but the fact remains that Bush threw in enough guns and abortion speeches to get elected. We all know, however, that there is no room for Jesus in the boardroom. We see now that the administration came in seeking to strengthen the financial worth of those it deemed worthy of membership. The cronyism and sleaziness on display now is emblematic of that. The team around the Bushes co-opted these grassroots organizations, but, good grief, they are certainly not going to consort with them! Remember when Marilyn Quayle said during a speech, "They're laughing at you."? Back then she was referring to eastern liberals, but now even she would have to admit that it his her own branch of country club Republicans who are snickering at this crowd.
