Prisjämförelser Det religiösa Republikanska partiet
USAs mäktigaste politiska parti, det republikanska, har idag en kristen fundamentalistisk agenda som utgör ett allt starkare hot inte bara mot USAs befolkning utan mot hela världen. Schaivo-fallet var bara det sista av ett antal exempel på hur det republikanska partiet idag är ett de-fakto religiöst parti med en extrem-höger agenda. Men som The Economist påpekar i en artikel, så är det Röda USA inte homogent, utan består av ett antal olika grupperingar. Det är därför inte helt säkert att den amerikanska kristna högern kommer att kunna behålla sin exempellösa makt även i framtiden.
Traditional evangelicals form the party’s single largest constituency. In 2004, according to John Green of the University of Akron, they accounted for 27% of Mr Bush’s total vote, twice as much as any other single group. If you include traditionalist Catholics and other religious types, “traditionalist Christiansâ€? cast more than two-fifths of Mr Bush’s total vote.
What matters far more for Republican members of Congress is that religious voters are disproportionately influential in their local parties. A study in 2002 by a magazine, Campaigns and Elections, found that, of the 31 states Mr Bush won in 2004, the Christian right was strong in 15 and weak in none. In all, its influence had grown in 15 states and fallen in only eight. It has probably grown further since then.
For Republicans in the House of Representatives, gerrymandering has made this even more important. Their seats are safe from Democrats, so they have no wish to offend people with the power to deselect them in primary contests.
