How the Democrats Got Religion

(5 of 5)

PARTING THE RED SEA
Going into last fall's midterm elections, Vanderslice decided that the party was just not going to move quickly or boldly enough, and she set up shop on her own. She formed Common Good Strategies in July 2005 and recruited Price's staffer Eric Sapp, who has degrees from Duke in policy and divinity, as a partner in October. It was the first Democratic-tilted, faith-based political-consulting firm. They acted as matchmakers between candidates and receptive clergy and helped candidates navigate the Christian media markets and develop a message that crossed party and religious lines. Overall, Vanderslice and Sapp's candidates — including Michigan's Governor Jennifer Granholm, a pro-choice Catholic, and Ohio's Ted Strickland, a former Methodist minister — did at least 10 percentage points better than the Democrats' national average among white Evangelicals and churchgoing Catholics.

But the 2006 election results, rather than providing aid and comfort to those who hoped to close the party's 30-year God gap, actually did the opposite. Democratic House candidates pulled in 67% of the secular, nonchurchgoing vote last year — 7 percentage points more than in 2004. That growth spurt made it easier for skeptical factions inside the party's power structure to argue that nonreligious voters are an even more vital part of the Democratic coalition now — and that religious outreach is a waste of precious resources and time.

So for all the progress since 2004, there are unmistakable limits to the party's great awakening. Democratic leaders are delighted to talk about their outreach to faith voters but will not divulge how much money they're actually spending on it. Several outside advisers said the DNC has been slow to craft religious-outreach strategies in key states for 2008. While Pacific Islanders and rural Americans and seniors can easily find places on the DNC website to join the party's activities, faith-minded voters still cannot. And Dean, while eager to meet with religious constituencies, is still his own worst enemy when he appears on The 700 Club to explain that Democrats "have an enormous amount in common with the Christian community," as though there were no Democrats in the Christian community.

Democratic candidates walk a sensitive line, weaving into their personal stories the role their faith has played in shaping their values while signaling that those values remain ecumenical and expansive. By a 2-to-1 margin (62% to 29%), Republicans say a President should use his faith to guide his decisions. Democrats reject this idea by a similar margin.

All that helps explain why some conservative leaders are not yet worried about the Democratic rebirth. "It's a positive thing that Democrats are willing to talk about faith and values," says Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "But they are aligned with organizations that sue to stop kids from praying and block the Ten Commandments." Only when the policies evolve, he argues, as opposed to the rhetoric, will the party have a chance to make real gains with Evangelicals.

Honest brokers from both sides say it never does a constituency any good to be taken for granted by either party. If Democrats rediscover a voice they lost a generation ago, they may find they are preaching to a much larger congregation. "The lessons Democrats have learned here is that they can engage [Evangelicals] on these issues," says former DNC chairman David Wilhelm. "We haven't won 'em over. But they are listening."