Tim Wildmon
AFA president
February 2015 – I have come to the conclusion that America would be better off if there were more than two viable political parties. But I have also come to the conclusion that building a third party that could win elections is impossible at this time because it would take enormous amounts of money, personnel, leaders, etc. Billionaire Ross Perot tried it 22 years ago but even he, with all his money, was a four-year flash in the pan.
As for the two major parties today, many Christians don’t have much in common with the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the Republican Party treats Christians as if we have no other place to go, so they take our votes for granted. The result is that most Christians who are active in politics have decided to get involved in the GOP and try to influence the party from within.
Democrats should thank God for big cities from whence most of their support comes. But that’s not likely to happen because delegates removed a historic acknowledgment of God from their platform at their last convention and booed when it was put back in at the insistence of some party leaders. Still, if it were not for a handful of large cities, the Democrats would be in even worse shape nationally than they are today; and they are in really, really bad shape today. Look at a red (conservative) and blue (liberal) map of America, and you will see the blue places are mostly dots representing the largest metropolitan areas such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, etc. The rest of the map is red.
For decades many pundits had called the U.S. a “center-right” country. They meant that most Americans were either political moderates or conservatives, and liberals were in the minority. Looking back through the last half of the 20th century, even Democrats such as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton were considered to be moderates, if not moderately conservative, depending on the issue.
However, with the election and re-election of Barack Obama, it appeared that our country had changed to a “center-left” position. But the evidence is clear now – that is not the case, and Obama himself is an anomaly. Yes, Obama has been elected twice, but his presidency has absolutely eviscerated the Democratic Party, and it may be a long time before they recover their massive losses in Congress, in governorships and in statehouses since Obama was sworn in six years ago.
According to the Gallup organization: “After the midterm elections that saw the Democratic Party suffer significant losses in Congress, a record-low 36% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of the party, down six percentage points from before the elections. The Republican Party’s favorable rating, at 42%, is up slightly from 40%. This marks the first time since September 2011 that the Republican Party has had a higher favorability rating than the Democratic Party. These results come from a November 6-9 Gallup poll, conducted after Republicans enjoyed a breathtaking sweep of important contests throughout the country in this year’s midterms. The party gained control of the Senate and will likely capture its largest House majority in nearly a century. Additionally, the GOP now controls 31 governorships and two-thirds of state legislative chambers.”
Soon, Americans will begin to ask if Republicans can win back the White House in 2016. Hillary Clinton, the lone Democratic star will be the nominee if she chooses to run. I’m not so sure she will. She looks tired and worn out. But, again, because of the big cities, the Democrats have the advantage in any national election because they will win California, New York, and Illinois even if Bozo the Clown is Hillary’s vice presidential candidate.
Right now there seem to be 10 to 15 Republican possibilities. I hope a candidate emerges that Christians can get behind with enthusiasm. We don’t need to split our votes between three or four candidates in the primaries only to see a moderate nominee (e.g., John McCain, Mitt Romney) who loses the general election in large part because Christians and conservatives have no excitement for either candidate.It’s time for us to be alert, educated and involved. 
