Tim Wildmon

AFA president

November-December 2006 – I have often heard news commentator Sean Hannity say he is a “Reagan conservative.” He says this when someone accuses him of being a lap dog for the Republican Party. What he is saying is that he has convictions like Ronald Reagan and that those convictions are not for sale to any political party.

I really don’t care for the two-party system we have here in our country. I think it would be much healthier for our country if we had more than two viable political machines. But the fact is we don’t, and while there have been sincere efforts to bring about other political parties, none have ever proven viable or shown staying power.

Since Ronald Reagan was elected president, conservative Christian voters have become closely identified with the Grand Old Party. The Republican Party welcomed the millions of Americans who, at the time, believed that human beings in the womb deserved legal protection. The Democratic Party became the party of abortion on demand. The Republican Party also became generally known as the party that welcomed people with traditional values. The Democrats increasingly became known as the party that supported the radical homosexual rights agenda. I am generalizing here, of course. There are people within both parties who hold views opposite those of the national party, but for the most part, this is how the two parties are seen today.

One danger of having only two major political parties is that each of the parties begins to take their traditional constituents for granted. In the case of the Democratic Party, one large, reliable block of voters are African-Americans. For the most part, African-Americans view the Democratic Party as the party for civil rights, and view the Republican Party as the party of bigotry and discrimination. I have come to the conclusion that there is not much Republicans can do, try though they may, to change that image among many African-Americans. It’s a regrettable fact of life. A case in point was what happened in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A high percentage of African-Americans believe that President Bush intentionally held back rescue and relief for those stranded at the Superdome and Convention Center, and did so because the people were black. And President Bush is a Republican; therefore, Republicanism is, by definition, racist. For those who believe this, perception is reality.

But – and here is my point – some argue that if Democrats are assured that 95% of African-Americans are going to vote for them regardless of other issues, Democrats are less likely to take seriously the issues that black voters care about most.

Likewise for the GOP.

Since the vast majority of evangelicals and conservative Catholics vote Republican, the party leadership knows that these “values voters” have nowhere else to go, so they often only give their issues lip service. But they don’t really care about the pro-family agenda that many voters support and candidates promise.

It seems to me the best way to avoid being taken for granted is to take control of the party itself. In the case of the GOP, at the federal level, many pro-family conservatives have been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in recent years. But sadly what seems to happen often with these congressmen is that when they get to Washington, they suddenly forget who sent them there.

And in fairness to these congressmen, while they may make promises to their pro-family constituency, the truth is when they get to Washington they are only one of 100 in the Senate and one of 435 in the House.

Another thing those of us who are passionate about law, government and politics have to understand is there are hundreds of lobbyists and special-interest groups all pushing for legislation that is favorable to their particular cause. In my opinion, that is all the more reason for those of us referred to as “values voters” to let these men and women hear from us often and in great numbers. In other words, our lawmakers need to be reminded regularly of the issues that will keep them in office. One thing that is almost universally true of our politicians: They want to stay in office.

Personally, I wish there were four or five or six viable political parties. But that’s not going to happen in my lifetime. So, for now, we have to deal with what we do have, and work hard to make a mark for traditional values within this imperfect system.