The Values Campaign?: The Christian Right and the 2004 Elections

INTRODUCTION: The March Goes On: The Christian Right and the 2004 Values Campaign

introduction The March Goes On The Christian Right and the 2004 Values Campaign john c. green, mark j. rozell, and clyde wilcox The christian right never ceases to surprise professional observers of American politics. Since its inception in the late 1970s, this social movement among conservative Christians has been the subject of numerous obituaries and revivals. The “values campaign” is a good example : After the 2000 election the Christian Right was widely perceived to be moribund—only to be declared a major factor in the 2004 election results. Behind these volatile assessments lies a deeper reality. The Christian Right has been engaged in a long and torturous march from outsider status into the mainstream of regular politics. The “values campaign” reveals that the march goes on. This volume is the fifth in a series of research reports on the statelevel activities of the Christian Right, beginning with God at the Grassroots (Rozell and Wilcox 1995) and followed by God at the Grassroots, 1996 (Rozell and Wilcox 1997); Prayers in the Precincts (Green, Rozell, and Wilcox 2000); and The Christian Right in American Politics: Marching to the Millennium (Green, Rozell, and Wilcox 2003). We have served as conveners of a community of scholars who have followed Christian Right activities at the state level; this volume includes contributions by several scholars who have been involved since 1994, as well as insights from several new colleagues. These state-level studies have focused on the electoral and organizational activities of the Christian Right, adding an important dimension to   green, rozell, and wilcox the extensive literature on the movement. This broader literature includes descriptions of the religious communities that form the movement’s core and peripheral constituencies in the mass public (Wilcox 1992; Leege and Kellstedt 1993; Kohut et al. 2000; Layman 2001); the attitudes and activities of the leaders of these constituencies, especially pastors (Jelen 1991; Guth et al. 1997); and the characteristics of the movement’s corps of activists (Wilcox 1992; Rozell and Wilcox 1996; Green et al. 1996; Green, Rozell, and Wilcox 1998; Oldfield 1996). What accounts for the prominence of the Christian Right in the 2004 “values campaign” and its continued political march? The case studies in this volume suggest that three factors were especially important: alterations of the movement’s motives, means, and opportunities (see Green, Guth, and Hill 1993; Green, Guth, and Wilcox 1998; and Green, Rozell, and Wilcox 2003 for fuller discussions of these themes). From its inception the Christian Right has been motivated by a desire to restore traditional morality to public policy. In this regard, many of the movement’s activities have been reactions to policy changes. For example, Christian Right activists have sought to reinstate legal restrictions on abortion, protect religious expression in public institutions, and limit the expansion of gay rights (Wilcox 1992, 2000). Although some of the movement ’s goals have been proactive, such as support for school vouchers and faith-based social service providers, the level and intensity of Christian Right activity are explained in large measure by policy shifts away from traditional morality. Such a shift occurred in 2004: legalization of samesex marriage in Massachusetts and the fear that other states would follow suit. This change provided a powerful motivation for movement activity. This change in motives was followed by expanded means for Christian Right operations—including, as in the past, organizational innovations (Rozell and Wilcox 1996). On one hand, many existing Christian Right groups gained new vitality; on the other hand, new groups were founded at the state and national levels. Some of these groups were specific to the 2004 campaign, but others were more general-purpose organizations that may persist in the future. Indeed, a lasting effect of the “values campaign” may be expansion of the movement’s organizational infrastructure. Thus, in addition to a newly prominent issue in 2004, the movement’s activities also enjoyed new prominence. These new motives and means came together with new political opportunities in 2004 (Green, Rozell, and Wilcox 2003, 10–13). The samesex marriage issue spawned a serious of state ballot initiatives that gave focus to the movement’s activities. Although these state-level efforts were important in their own right, they also had implications for the rest of the ballot—especially President George W. Bush’s reelection bid. Moreover, The March Goes On: The Christian Right and the 2004 Values Campaign  the presidential campaign itself presented an important opportunity...