Hynes on the Dems' Attempt to "Get" ReligionPatrick Hynes, one of
my other favorite people in the blogosphere, also has a
column up at Townhall that's worth a gander.
In our base-against-base political environment, Republicans presently enjoy an advantage because: 1) The GOP base is larger than the Democratic base; 2) The GOP base is growing while the Democratic base is shrinking; and 3) The GOP base is dispersed throughout the states and congressional districts in a manner more advantageous to winning congressional majorities.
But if the GOP’s conservative Christian base is disaffected and unhappy with Republican candidates, who will stuff the envelopes come election time? Who will pound the yard signs? Man the phone banks? Hand out literature? Register new voters? Bus people to the polls?
The neo-cons? The free-market types? The "Main Street" Republicans? I don’t think so. He's got that right. Both sides need their base; both sides suggest that the other side needs to get rid of its base if they want to appeal to moderates. The difference is that our base is not out of the mainstream.
