September 12, 201 al.com
Insight: Wooing evangelicals
By Dr. Randy Brinson

NOW THAT LABOR DAY has kicked off the fall political season, Republicans and Democrats are reacting differently to the political hands they seem to have been dealt.

Republicans, at both the state and national level have been buoyed by polls that predict large gains for them based on discontent among the electorate.
That discontent has been monitored closely by those seeking office here in Alabama, with candidates echoing many of the Tea Party positions and railing against the overindulgence of our state government, wasteful spending and tax increases. Most interesting is the response by the political parties to one of the most influential block of voters in our state — evangelicals. Democrats have for the most part been somewhat dismissive of evangelical voters, while Republicans have seemed to take them for granted. Both groups are making a mistake.

We have seen how important evangelical voters are in Alabama elections. Indeed, Republicans have nominated those eschewed by the party elite (such as Dr. Robert Bentley) and defeated Republican incumbents (such as Sen. Steve French of Birmingham) based on the turnout of evangelical voters.
However, while many evangelicals, including me, support limited government and reducing unnecessary services, it is important for Republicans — in order to be credible to evangelicals — to articulate exactly what services they propose to cut or reduce.

Christians are driven by a strong moral code that recognizes the need for personal responsibility but also recognizes the communal spirit that brings communities and churches together to serve their neighbors.

It is this sense of moral responsibility to care for those who are truly in need that Republicans must recognize, or they could easily alienate the faith community.
Indeed, all candidates hoping to win evangelical support will need to articulate a specific plan to make schools more effective or health care more affordable while cutting taxes. They should commit to enhancing healthy lifestyles and removing regressive taxes such as the sales tax on necessities such as groceries.

Also, they must articulate a specific plan for insurance reform. Coastal insurance costs have caused an economic tsunami on the Alabama coast, where people are losing their homes and economic buying power because of outrageous insurance costs.

For their part, Democrats need to articulate that they have attempted to be good stewards of state resources and seek to maximize federal tax support that allows Alabama to receive more tax dollars from the federal government than we pay in, which in turn keeps state taxes low. They must admit state governmental failures and address their objections to the economic policies of the federal government. They must cut programs in state government that promote family breakdown and enhance teen pregnancy, divorce and single parenting. They must address social service programs that trap too many of our citizens in poverty rather than helping to move them out of poverty. They must present sound policies that elevate achievement and interaction in and among both private and public education and home-schoolers, so that all of our children have a sound education.

Rather than avoiding evangelicals, Democrats should seek them out. They should articulate a path that recognizes the difference in all of us while recognizing that we must collectively seek shared responsibility and sacrifice to improve the lives of those in our state. What evangelicals want to see are candidates who will engage them and show a genuine concern for the issues that concern them most. They want to see policies that promote personal and religious liberty and moral clarity, protecting the most vulnerable — from the child in the womb to the elderly who are in their last days.
Whichever party does that better will win their support.

http://blog.al.com/press-register-commentary/2010/09/insight_wooing_evangelicals.html