Thursday, November 04, 2004

Kerry defeated by concern for moral values: an analysis

I'm prejudiced, of course, but I have yet to see an analysis (following the recent presidential election) of the moral values concern that animated the major Republican voter turnout, which is more insightful than that of Christopher Blosser in his recent post on his Against the Grain blog (which you may read here). Some commentators have expressed the need for Democrats to "shed their inhibitions about talking about faith" and "reconnect with the American heartland." Yet this is only (a superficial) part of the question. Christopher writes:
Problem is, Kerry actually did spend a lot of time talking about his faith. How many times did he remind us that he was an altar boy, or that he carried a rosary in Vietnam? How many times did we hear him quote that verse from James (as if he knew nothing else from the bible)?

But if this election established anything, it's the fact that many Americans had simply heard enough about faith from John Kerry, and no amount of pandering to the pews could conceal the moral incoherence of a "pro-choice" politician with a 100% pro-abortion legislative record proclaiming himself a "good Catholic" in open defiance of the nation's bishops and the moral teachings of his Church. Spin all you want, but that is an ugly fact that played a greater role in this election, and in the minds of Catholic voters, then Democrats would care to admit.
For the rest of Christopher's insightful analysis, click here.

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