God & Election 2000.

Role Of Religion Hits New Heights In Campaign For White House, Congress

Just two days before Election Day, George W. Bush's campaign was looking to rally the troops in Florida, where polls showed the state's 25 electoral votes could go either way. The Republican candidate thought a little religious intervention might sway some voters so he sought and received assistance from one of the most recognized religious figures in America, the Rev. Billy Graham. At a church in Jacksonville, Fla., Bush was clearly delighted to share a stage with Graham, a man he credits for his religious conversion, and more importantly, pick up a near-endorsement from the widely respected evangelist.

Graham, noting that he'd led Bush's gubernatorial inaugural prayer in 1995 in Texas, said, "I don't endorse candidates. But I've come as close to it, I guess, now as any time in my life, because I think it's extremely important." He added, "I believe in the integrity of this man."

Across the political aisle, Vice President Al Gore was engaged in his own religious outreach.

In a pattern that increased as Nov. 7 approached, Gore attended Sunday worship services at an African-American congregation. Speaking at the Greater Grace Temple of the Apostolic Faith in Detroit, Mich., the Democratic candidate not only delivered a plea for votes, but also benefited from partisan remarks from the church's pastor.

In his Oct. 29 address, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III criticized Bush from his pulpit. "We have seen in this state what Republican dominance and control will do," Ellis said. The election, he added, was therefore a "no-brainer. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Ellis also offered a jacket to the Democratic nominee with the words "President Gore" printed on the back.

Incidents such as these highlight a trend toward partisan political use of religion that was nearly ubiquitous throughout the 2000 campaign season. While unprecedented events have brought a cloud of uncertainty over the entire election, one fact remains clear: religion played a larger role in the 2000 election than any year in recent memory. Particularly at the presidential level, the last 12 months could arguably be described as having been infused with more religious rhetoric, religious outreach and religious exploitation than any race in American history.

The writing on the wall indicated fairly early that the campaign was going to be something of a holy war. Elaine Kamarck, a top policy advisor for Gore, told the Boston Globe in May 1999, "The Democratic Party is going to take God back this time."

Seven months later, a December debate in Iowa between Republican presidential candidates provided another telltale sign. A questioner from the audience asked the candidates, "What political philosopher or thinker do you most identify with and why?" After Steve Forbes spoke of the lasting significance of John Locke, the question went to Bush.

The eventual Republican nominee responded, "Christ, because he changed my heart." Asked by a panelist to tell the viewers more about how Jesus changed his heart, the Texas governor observed, "Well, if they don't know, it's going to be hard to explain. When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ, when you accept Christ as the savior, it changes your heart and changes your life. And that's what happened to me."

As months went by, candidates for the White House became even more aggressive in using religion to advance political goals. Bush and Gore held sharply different views on church-state relations and other social issues. The Republican favored religious school voucher subsidies, prayer at football games and other public school events, a local option approach to teaching creationism in science classes and display of the Ten Commandments in schools and other public buildings. The Democrat took an opposite stance.

But throughout the campaign, both Bush and Gore were frequently bold about their personal religious convictions, and neither shied away from using faith as a political tool.

Gore, for example, proclaimed himself a "born-again Christian" in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes" aired late last year. He also told The Washington Post that he often asks himself, "W.W.J.D." -- a catch phrase popular among Christian youths meaning "what would Jesus do?"

The Democratic campaign's religious emphasis reached new heights, however, when Gore selected Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) as his running mate. Lieberman, an orthodox Jew, made political use of his religious beliefs almost immediately and never let up.

The day he was tapped to join Gore on the ticket, Lieberman raised eyebrows when he opened his first campaign address in Tennessee with a prayer and a recitation from the biblical Book of Chronicles.

Throughout the late summer and early fall, Lieberman used religious themes and rhetoric with increasing frequency. At an August stop in Detroit, he told an audience, "As a people, we need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's purposes."

A month later, Lieberman addressed an audience at Notre Dame University and surprised many by contending that "the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion," a common phrase -- and constitutional error -- used by the Religious Right.

Bush, meanwhile, was not exactly campaigning on a message of church-state separation. Despite a round of criticism after identifying Jesus as his favorite political philosopher, Bush continued to use religion when politically convenient.

The Texas governor kicked off his primary campaign in South Carolina with a visit at Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist school whose leadership banned interracial dating, has called the pope the "Antichrist" and referred to the Catholic Church as a "satanic cult." Bush made matters worse a couple of months later when he proclaimed June 10 as "Jesus Day" in Texas.

Like Gore, Bush also enjoyed support from clergy. The most widely seen of these incidents took place at the height of the National Republican Convention in Philadelphia. In front of a national audience broadcast on the television networks, the Rev. Herbert Lusk of the Greater Exodus Baptist Church was brought into the convention hall via satellite hookup. Lusk, speaking from his church in North Philadelphia, told the cheering delegates, "We are supporting Gov. Bush, and we are supporting him because we know that he understands that we must give faith a chance." (The church endorsement led Americans United for Separation of Church and State to file a complaint with the IRS. AU also filed complaints about two churches that endorsed Gore.)

Bush made fewer campaign appearances in churches than Gore. However, the Republican candidate didn't have to work too diligently in this area because he had a team of supporters working on his behalf. At the epicenter of this year's trend of mixing religion and politics was a multitude of Religious Right groups and leaders working vigorously to blend religion and politics for Bush's benefit.

To help shore up his support with evangelical Christians, Bush quietly assembled a "values defense team" of prominent Religious Right leaders early in the campaign to vouch for him on issues important to the movement. According to The Washington Post, members of this team included TV preachers John Hagee and James Robison, Kay Cole James of Regent University, Catholic priest Richard John Neuhaus and several officials with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), including SBC lobbyist Richard Land and Paige Patterson, former SBC president. The Post noted that many of these leaders were recruited by Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition, who served as a campaign consultant for Bush.

Among all of Bush's Religious Right support, however, no one fought harder to ensure a GOP victory than TV preacher Pat Robertson and his Christian Coalition.

As far back as 1997, at a closed-door meeting with his top state lieutenants, Robertson announced that it was imperative for the Religious Right to unite behind a single Republican candidate before the 2000 election to maximize the movement's chances of having an ally in the White House.

In the Republican primaries, Robertson intervened repeatedly on Bush's behalf. In South Carolina, Robertson dispatched Roberta Combs, a South Carolina native who now serves as executive vice president of the Christian Coalition, to energize affiliates in every county in the state. In Michigan, Robertson used automated phone calls to voters accusing McCain of associating with anti-Christian bigots.

In California, Robertson's Coalition distributed voter guides so slanted to favor Bush that they depicted McCain, who just a few years ago received a "Friend of the Family" award from the Christian Coalition of Arizona, as a liberal who agreed with Gore on six of nine issues and agreed with Bush on zero.

Robertson was just getting started. After having contributed to McCain's departure from the race, Robertson worked tirelessly to support Bush in the general election. He launched "21 Victory," an election-year project to raise funds and distribute voter guides slanted to steer conservative Christian voters to Bush and the GOP.

During the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, the supposedly non-partisan Christian Coalition hosted its own political rally with pro-Bush speakers. Later, at the Coalition's annual "Road To Victory" conference in Washington, Bush addressed the attendees via video, and Robertson invited legions of Bush supporters to heap praise on the GOP nominee.

Just as he has for over a decade, the TV preacher tried to enlist individual houses of worship as pawns in his political efforts. At the center of Robertson's election-year strategy was the production of 70 million voter guides, intended for distribution through churches despite federal tax law prohibitions on church politicking. The guides were obviously biased, touting Bush's support for "Emphasizing Free Enterprise Solutions to Social Problems" and his opposition to "Control of Public Education by Powerful Unions."

As if that weren't enough, in the weeks preceding the election, Robertson claims to have arranged a million Christian Coalition telephone calls and the mailing of thousands of postcards in key battleground states including Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

Robertson also toured Ohio; Pennsylvania and Missouri, speaking at a series of "God and Country" rallies to promote the pro-Bush voter guides. (See "Truth Squad".)

Even after Nov. 7 had come and gone, Robertson still maintained an influence. When the election results in Florida came into question, a team of attorneys supporting the Bush campaign descended on the Sunshine State to see that the Republican's interests were represented. Robertson bragged on the Nov. 9 episode of his "700 Club" program that among the attorneys was none other than Jay Alan Sekulow, head of Robertson's legal group, the American Center for Law and Justice. (The outcome of the presidential election was still in question when Church & State went to press.)

Jerry Falwell, another Virginia-based TV preacher, was nearly as vigorous in his support for Bush as Robertson. Falwell unveiled an election-year effort of his own titled "People of Faith 2000." By Falwell's own admission, the project's purpose was registering and mobilizing voters to benefit Bush and other Republican candidates. (Americans United filed a complaint with the IRS about the partisan character of the tax-exempt endeavor.)

After setting the project in motion, the Lynchburg televangelist continued to serve as a Bush advocate. At the Republican National Convention, for example, Falwell told The New York Times, "We have a presidential candidate and a vice-presidential candidate, both of whom are pro-life, pro-family and pro-strong national defense. Our crowd needs to get into the battle, keep their mouths shut and help this man win."

Religious Right heavy-weights like Falwell and Robertson, while clearly among the most boisterous of Bush's cheerleaders, were by no means alone. Among the other participants were the Campaign For Working Families, a Religious Right political action committee headed by Gary Bauer; the Madison Project Fund, a PAC led by far-right home-school advocate Michael Farris; Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum; the Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association; the "God Is Not Government" PAC, started by school prayer advocate William Murray; Texas preacher Rick Scarborough's Vision America; and the Rev. D. James Kennedy's Center for Reclaiming America, which for the first time, produced its own voter guides.

How effective the groups' efforts were is open to some debate. In order to gauge the strength of the Religious Right in the 2000 elections, Americans United's research staff identified key competitive races where a candidate emphasized Religious Right themes or received donations or other support from the movement. Despite an unrelenting crusade, the results for the Religious Right should be described, at best, as a "mixed bag."

Without question, no single race captivated the attention, energy and resources of the Religious Right like the run for the presidency. With the unimaginably close election returns still being reviewed, it is difficult to say with any certainty exactly what role the Religious Right had in influencing the outcome.

The Religious Right did have some success in one area of political strategy: creating a unified bloc that voted as directed. An exit poll conducted by ABC News, for example, showed that 14 percent of voters identified themselves as members of the Religious Right, and 80 percent of these voters supported Bush.

Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn, however, says he is hesitant to read too much into the trend.

"Most agree that Bush presented himself to voters as a moderate conservative," Lynn said. "Instead of embracing the Religious Right's agenda, the GOP nominee downplayed his interest in controversial issues and his ties to people like Robertson. As a result, while it is fair to note that the Religious Right played a role in helping Bush, describing that role as definitive would be an exaggeration."

Of course, the race for the White House was not the only contest of interest to the Religious Right. Political analysts throughout the campaign noted that control of both houses of Congress was also up for grabs, which directed Religious Right attention toward the U.S. Capitol as well. The results showed varying success.

The movement fared poorly when backing candidates running for statewide posts. In the eight Senate races where Religious Right groups focused the greatest interest, their favored candidate lost seven, including defeats in Georgia, Nebraska, New Mexico, Michigan and Minnesota. Particularly troubling for the Religious Right was the defeat of Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), the movement's strongest ally in the Senate. Ashcroft lost to Missouri's former governor, Mel Carnahan, who died in a tragic plane accident Oct. 16. (Ashcroft was the architect of "charitable choice" funding of religious groups and was a stalwart champion of other Religious Right causes.)

The exception to this trend was the Senate race in Virginia where incumbent Sen. Chuck Robb (D) lost to Republican George Allen, a popular former governor. Religious Right leaders gave Allen strong support. In addition to a contribution from the Eagle Forum, Allen also received $2,000 from Robertson, another $2,000 from Robertson's wife Dede and $1,000 from Falwell.

The Religious Right fared poorly in gubernatorial campaigns. In the three races of greatest import to the movement, the candidate aligned with the Religious Right lost each election. Making matters worse, the defeats -- in Missouri, Indiana and North Carolina -- were in states where the movement still holds some sway.

The Religious Right's impact was greater in House districts. According to AU's election analysis, allies of the movement won 14 of 21 House races, two-thirds of the congressional contests AU examined.

Religious Right activist Roy Moore, best known as the Alabama judge who posted a personally-hand-carved plaque of the Ten Commandments in his Etowah County courtroom, also won his race to become chief justice of the state's Supreme Court. At his acceptance speech Nov. 7, Moore credited God with this election victory. But the Christian Coalition also helped, producing a voter guide that identified him as agreeing that the "unborn child is a fellow human being."

With the Religious Right showing significant influence in the elections, Americans United's Lynn believes supporters of church-state separation would be mistaken to dismiss the movement's relevance.

"Reports of the Religious Right's death have been greatly exaggerated," observed Lynn. "Those of us who consider this movement deeply misguided have our work cut out for us. Religious Right leaders will be looking for a pay-off for their support during the election. In other words, the Religious Right may not be in the driver's seat, but they are definitely in the car and will undoubtedly make frequent attempts to grab the steering wheel."

Evangelical Christians who constitute the Religious Right weren't the only religious group playing an active role in the campaign. The Roman Catholic bishops went to great lengths to influence the election. (See "The Bishops' Biased Blessing".)

Moreover, for perhaps the first time in American political history, Muslim groups entered the fray. The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Institute promoted voter registration in mosques and encouraged stronger voter turnout for the nation's millions of Muslims. Also this year, four separate Islamic organizations that constitute the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council created a political action committee to make financial contributions to various campaigns. This committee, called the American Muslim PAC, went on to endorse Bush's candidacy just two weeks before the election.

After watching the election drag religion into the political sphere for the better part of the year, AU's Lynn hopes 2000 will be the last of the electoral holy wars.

"This campaign, in short, got ugly," Lynn concluded. "Many of those involved in the process seem to have forgotten that this country was built on the separation of church and state. That concept has served us well, guaranteeing freedom for people from many different faiths and those who have chosen no spiritual path at all. Candidates in future campaigns would do well to reaffirm this principle for the benefit of all of us."