Jon's Soapbox
Presidential Election HighLights Two MindSets In America
(Posted 11/04/2004) - At the national level the Republican Party has embraced those who want religion in their politics (in all its variations), while the Democratic Party has embraced those who recoil from such coupling.
Over the last month it has become more and more apparent to me that the outcome of the presidential election would depend little on the details of the state of our economy, the truthfulness of the administration, or the management of our war(s) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead, the election results would reflect a basic schism between two mindsets in America.
The Republican Party has always used 'conservatism' as a platform pillar (protecting various institutions against ill-advised change). The Democratic Party has always been about protecting the 'little guy' against the power elite (a platform often espousing egalitarianism and wealth redistribution through legislation).
But there is a new distinction between the parties, and there is a clear demographic associated with that distinction. The Republican Party has become home to those who want more Fundamentalist Christianity embedded in the operation of their government. They want these fundamentalist ideals applied in their schools, in research labs, and in the decision making processes of their executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
The Democratic Party on the other hand, has become home to those for whom Fundamentalist Christianity is seen as reactionary and proscriptive in nature.
The election results, by precinct, in every state seem to show that rural areas are predominated by Fundamentalist Christians, who vote Republican. Folks living in cities and metro-areas are predominantly not Fundamentalist Christians, and align with the Democrats.
I believe that in this year's presidential election, the votes that went to Bush were heavily augmented by a voting majority who's mindset could be called Fundamentalist Christian (regardless of their church attendance records). At this point in time there are more voting Fundamentalist Christian believers than non-Fundamentalists in the USA.
Late addition: 11/08/2004 - found the following Washington Post article which I believe supports my analysis. Click on: Evangelicals led charge for GOP