1 Boring Old Man

Jim Wallis: This Was A Moral Values Election

Many have now commented on the significant shifts among religious voters in the midterm elections, in what Steve Waldman described as the “Smaller God Gap” between Republicans and Democrats. Nationally, 29% of white evangelicals voted for Democrats – up from the 21% who voted for John Kerry in 2004 and the 25% who voted for Democrats in House races that year. And all evangelicals together (including Whites, Hispanics, Asians, and African American evangelical voters went 41% for Democrats and 58% for Republicans. Because that trend is also a profoundly generational one, it will likely grow in the future. An even bigger shift occurred among Catholics, with 55% voting for Democrats and 44% for Republicans – from the 47% of Catholics who voted for Kerry and the 49% for Democratic House candidates in 2004.

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The moral agenda of religious voters has broadened beyond the two issues of abortion and gay marriage. When Focus on the Family’s James Dobson says the “moral values” voters stayed home, he is simply wrong, and the data shows it. They just didn’t think his “moral values” were the only – or most important – ones. More anti-gay marriage amendments did indeed pass, but by smaller margins than in 2004. As a headline in the Columbus (OH) Dispatch said, “Faithful voted on values: war, scandals and social justice all swayed religious voters.” And on those issues, the polls showed the following: 1) The American people voted to correct the disastrous mistake of the Bush Administration’s war in Iraq – and this was the motivating “moral issue” of the election. We need a new national debate on Iraq, leading to what the U.S. Catholic Bishops yesterday called “a responsible transition.” 2) The American people voted to reject the economic unfairness of Republican leadership – and “economic justice” tops the urgent moral problems list for most Americans, despite decades of conservative media pounding that continually blamed the poor for their problems and relentlessly told us the best way to help working families is to make the rich richer. Every initiative to increase state minimum wages passed – with significant involvement and support from the religious community. Other exit polls also tell us that Americans are tired of the culture of corruption that now plagues Washington and, while ready to hold both parties accountable for better ethics, principally blamed the party in power for the moral abuse of the political process.

Even more striking were the election results in key states and districts where specific outreach was done with the religious community – this time by Democratic candidates and not just Republicans. In places like Ohio and Pennsylvania, Democratic religious candidates’ outreach efforts were very successful and created even better exit poll results for them with the votes of weekly churchgoers almost evenly split in some races (a key lesson for the Democrat’s future). Even the Wall Street Journal reported, “More than in 2004, Democrats this year attracted voters moved by faith, and not just frustration. Exit polls suggest that Democrats made significant gains among several religious demographic groups, including both Catholics and evangelical Protestants.” Too many religious voters felt betrayed by Republicans, but were made to feel welcomed and important by Democrats. Trust and outreach matter.