Christian Coalition rushes ahead to avoid letting the new GOP Big Tent Party get ahead of it
For the Christian Coalition of Georgia, it's no longer just about abortion, gays, school prayer, gambling, and allowing tax money to be used to send children to private schools.
The Coalition claims that "it is natural" that its issues expand "as the group's membership grows."
But of course we recognize that it is really just a part of the larger movement in which the GOP is stepping up the plate as the Big Tent Party, the Party of inclusion, the Party that reaches out.
In keeping with this expanded role, this election year, the Christian Coalition is asking state candidates to fill out a survey with 82 questions.
New subjects of inquiry include: HOPE scholarship requirements; about state income taxes and capital gains and whether inheritance taxes should be abolished; if gun owners should have to be licensed and should have to register their firearms; whether state workers should be allowed to strike; their position on affirmative action; barring the use of compulsory union dues for political causes; the privatization of government services; public financing of political campaigns; open records issues; health care price controls; and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
Survey results are used to help determine which candidates -- assuming they pass the expanded litmus tests and of course are good conservative Repubicans -- get Christian Coalition support in at least 500,000 voter guides to be distributed by churches and others shortly before the Nov. 2 election.
I assume that within the next day or so the Coalition will announce (quietly of course) that a training session will be conducted somewhere in Georgia to make sure the Party faithful understand how they are supposed to feel and respond to the expanded list of issues. (Heck, a young first-time GOP candidate was overheard to say, "Life used to be so simple. All I needed to remember was that I am supposed to say I am against abortion and for gay bashing. Pro and pro. Pro-life; pro-bashing. Oh well. Times sure are changing.")
See a prior post concerning the July 20 primary election that notes:
Sadie Fields, executive director of the Georgia Christian Coalition, sets her organization's value at 204,899 votes -- roughly 16 percent of all ballots cast on Tuesday.
(Article by James Sazler in 9-2-04 ajc.)
The Coalition claims that "it is natural" that its issues expand "as the group's membership grows."
But of course we recognize that it is really just a part of the larger movement in which the GOP is stepping up the plate as the Big Tent Party, the Party of inclusion, the Party that reaches out.
In keeping with this expanded role, this election year, the Christian Coalition is asking state candidates to fill out a survey with 82 questions.
New subjects of inquiry include: HOPE scholarship requirements; about state income taxes and capital gains and whether inheritance taxes should be abolished; if gun owners should have to be licensed and should have to register their firearms; whether state workers should be allowed to strike; their position on affirmative action; barring the use of compulsory union dues for political causes; the privatization of government services; public financing of political campaigns; open records issues; health care price controls; and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
Survey results are used to help determine which candidates -- assuming they pass the expanded litmus tests and of course are good conservative Repubicans -- get Christian Coalition support in at least 500,000 voter guides to be distributed by churches and others shortly before the Nov. 2 election.
I assume that within the next day or so the Coalition will announce (quietly of course) that a training session will be conducted somewhere in Georgia to make sure the Party faithful understand how they are supposed to feel and respond to the expanded list of issues. (Heck, a young first-time GOP candidate was overheard to say, "Life used to be so simple. All I needed to remember was that I am supposed to say I am against abortion and for gay bashing. Pro and pro. Pro-life; pro-bashing. Oh well. Times sure are changing.")
See a prior post concerning the July 20 primary election that notes:
Sadie Fields, executive director of the Georgia Christian Coalition, sets her organization's value at 204,899 votes -- roughly 16 percent of all ballots cast on Tuesday.
(Article by James Sazler in 9-2-04 ajc.)
posted by Sid Cottingham | 6:25 AM
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