"The only explanation for legislators comparing cells in a petri dish to babies in the womb is the extension of religious doctrine into statutory law."
Not pulling any punches is he. And this from a stalwart Republican who may well have been the initial Vice Presidential choice of the Bush campaign in 2000. Danforth was one of the administration's most effective advocates of prioritizing in US foreign policy many of the liberal, idealistic principles that the president and his conservative Christian base frequently embrace. And of course he is an Episcopal minister himself. But he thinks that the Christian right has done terrible damage to his political party. He contrasts the party he sees today with the stances Republicans took when he was in the US Senate (1977-1995), representing the people of an area that sees itself as the heartland of America (Missouri):
"We believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation and regulation. We encouraged the private sector, so that a free economy might thrive. We believed that judges should interpret the law, not legislate. We were internationalists who supported an engaged foreign policy, a strong national defense and free trade. These were principles shared by virtually all Republicans.
But in recent times, we Republicans have allowed this shared agenda to become secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.
The historic principles of the Republican Party offer America its best hope for a prosperous and secure future. Our current fixation on a religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction. It is time for Republicans to rediscover our roots."
I greatly hope Danforth's plea is heard, and his party mends its ways. But I doubt that will come to pass for many years to come.
Posted by armand at March 30, 2005 08:47 PM | TrackBack | Posted to PoliticsAs long as the "conventional wisdom" is that you can't win without getting support from the Republican base, and so long as Republicans believe that their base are evangelical conservatives, the present state of affairs will continue. Everyone already believes that the reason W. won last November was "moral values", even though most post-election analysis shows this is wrong (he won because of terrorism/national security). There is no sign of change: people will believe the conventional wisdom until it is proven wrong, and that will only happen when they lose an election. Hence, the earliest point for change is 2008, and possiblly not until 2012.
Posted by: baltar at March 31, 2005 08:44 AM | PERMALINK