Did the Democrats bail on faith outreach, and if so -- will they pay today?

By Michelle Boorstein

Just a couple years after what many were calling a renaissance for religious progressives, some believe the Democrats have bailed on faith outreach - and will pay today at the polls.

This piece by Kim Lawton at PBS looks at whether Democrats are spending less, talking less and doing less on faith issues than they have in recent elections.

One popular narrative this year is that Americans right now are interested in one thing: jobs. Polls reflect that subjects from abortion to the war in Afghanistan are not priorities compared with the economy. Much of the energy among conservative voters is coming from tea party types, organizers of whom seem to often stress that their priority is shrinking government spending, not ramping up religious debates. However I haven't seen any evidence that religious conservatives have stopped fundraising, spending, lobbying.

More on all that after the election, once we get more data on how faith voters voted and how spending went down.

In the meantime, I predict the usual post-vote fighting about data. It is always challenging to tease out precisely what role someone's faith played in how they voted, if all their other demographic details (race, economic status, etc) line up as well.

By

Michelle Boorstein

 |  November 2, 2010; 12:19 PM ET  |  Category:  God in Government , Under God Save & Share:                 
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