Beliefnet’s Steven Waldman examines seven myths about God and the American voter for Slate:
1) Evangelicals all vote Republican . . .
2) The religious right flooded the polls for George W. Bush in 2000 . . .
3) Bush’s religion talk has appealed to his base but has alienated swing voters . . .
4) In this era, no candidate would lose votes just based on his or her religion . . .
5) Most religious extremists are in the GOP . . .
6) Hispanics are conservative . . .
7) The key to the Catholic vote is abortion.
(“How Prayers Poll,” Steven Wildman, Slate 10.10.03)
Meanwhile, UUA President Bill Sinkford wants Unitarian Universalists to promote get-out-the-vote efforts in 2004. A good idea — but this sentence in his appeal seems wholly unmerited: “We will have only ourselves to blame if the only effective voter participation campaign between now and next November is organized by the religious right.” There are, after all, dozens and dozens of highly effective get-out-the-vote campaigns that won’t be organized by the “religious right” — most notably those organized by political parties, political action groups, unions, professional associations, mainline churches, the League of Women Voters, MTV’s Rock the Vote, and on and on. We’re not nearly so lonely as we sometimes think we are.