In 2004 Falwell announced that they controlled the GOP and Bush's fate.

[madfloridian]

A lot of us did not believe it then.

Falwell says evangelicals control GOP, Bush's fate

WASHINGTON – The Rev. Jerry Falwell said yesterday that evangelical Christians, after nearly 25 years of increasing political activism, now control the Republican Party and the fate of President Bush in the November election.

Advertisement "The Republican Party does not have the head count to elect a president without the support of religious conservatives," Falwell said at an election training conference of the Christian Coalition.

Falwell said evangelical Christians are now "by far the largest constituency" within the Republican Party, their route to dominance beginning in 1979 with his founding of the Moral Majority, a precursor to the Christian Coalition.

"I tell my Republican friends who are always talking about the 'big tent,' I say make it as big as you want to, but if the candidate running for president is not pro-life, pro-family . . . you're not going to win," he said

He was right, but I hope it is changing.

[The Magistrate]

1. Why Would You Want that To Change, Ma'am?

It is a good thing; it guarantees their defeat over the long run. All who are not actively part of that movement despise it, and so it serves as an excellent device for unifying opposition against the right.

[underpants]

2. The numbers don't add up in the whole evangelical movement

He says they have 45 million

Pastor Ted claimed 30 Million-that is one in every 10 Americans. Further investigation showed that he was basically counting everyone who had ever contributed to the Salvation Army

Yet the exhaustive Pew research study showed that less and less Americans, over the last 20 years, consider themselves evangelistic. Their numbers and support waned in other areas as well.

I could go looking for numbers and links but basically the numbers don't add up.

So why all the fuss about this?

Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd. That has always been true but today's America suffers from a dreadful group think. It is COOL to be just like everyone esle, to even rebel just like everyone else. So these organizations, which know more about recruiting than anything else, have used grandiose numbers to bring more into the fold.

At the same time it serves to grow their power in sheer numbers it also serves to grow their power politically. Suddenly all these votes popping up in Florida or Ohio or the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (W won this state by 8% ????) doesn't seem all that odd. And who are you to question them? Don't you want to go to heaven?

[janx]

3. The "Moral Majority" is dead.

It's dead politically. It died before Jerry did. All of the corruption in the GOP during the last few years really did a number on it.