Religious Right Figure Gets Chills: Obama Could Win 40 Percent Of Evangelicals

"With clients like Focus on the Family, Franklin Graham, and Campus Crusade for Christ, Mark DeMoss may be the most prominent public relations executive in the evangelical world. A former chief of staff to Jerry Falwell, DeMoss became then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney's chief liaison to evangelical leaders."

In a new interview with Dan Gilgoff for BeliefNet's God-o-Meter, DeMoss explains the lack of religious enthusiasm for McCain and predicts a potential major shift to Obama.

How is John McCain doing among evangelicals, a crucial Republican constituency?

The evangelical world or the conservative religious world is not his natural habitat, so he doesn't strike me as being all that comfortable with it. I think that's evidenced by the strong comments made in 2000 about Falwell and Robertson. ...

You represent some of the nation's most powerful evangelicals. What do those leaders say about McCain?

This is one guy's perspective, but I am surprised by how little I've seen or read in conservative circles about McCain since February. I don't think I've gotten one email or letter or phone call from anybody in America in the last four months saying anything about this election or urging that we unite behind John McCain and put aside whatever differences we have. Back in the fall and winter, you'd get several things a day from conservatives saying, "The future of the Supreme Court is at stake. We have to stop Hillary Clinton. Get behind so and so--or don't' go with this guy." It's just very quiet. It could meant there's a real sense of apathy or it could mean they're' waiting for the general election to begin. But it's a surprise, given the way email networks work now.

Barack Obama is trying hard to win evangelical voters. Does that effort stand a chance?

If one third of white evangelicals voted for Bill Clinton the second time, at the height of Monica Lewinsky mess--that's a statistic I didn't believe at first but I double and triple checked it--I would not be surprised if that many or more voted for Barack Obama in this election. You're seeing some movement among evangelicals as the term [evangelical] has become more pejorative. There's a reaction among some evangelicals to swing out to the left in an effort to prove that evangelicals are really not that right wing. There's some concern that maybe Republicans haven't done that well. And there's this fascination with Barack Obama. So I will not be surprised if he gets one third of the evangelical vote. I wouldn't be surprised if it was 40-percent.

Read the full interview here.

Comments

[pinkypeterson]

Thank you Evangelicals, never thought I would type those words, for coming around to common sense.

[lewes17266]

Christians are too trusting and gullible. They have been preyed upon long enough by their manipulative, self-serving leaders, the fake holymen who are now millionaires through the exploitation of the very souls who they "heal" and "prophesy" to. These faithfuls do as they are told, including vote, which only empowers the frauds. The holymen are accountable to no one AND they know the mind of God. Pat Robertson has a license to lie, to cheat, and to steal and to say that God blesses him. Pat Robertson is a self-professed holy prophet of God and now his adulterer son Gordon is poised to bilk the next generation of faithfuls.

We need to all avoid these father/son holyman outfits...­please. Any candidate who does not call these father/son outfits CONS and predators, and instead seeks their endorsement is negligent as a leader.

This interview enlightened me. I did not know that McCain spoke at a Liberty commencement. He is looking very hypocritical to me.

[riverhouse]

Decent people are attracted to other decent people.

[cricket]

pinky, i read somewhere 2/5th of evangelicals are dems. my good friend and her family are die hard dems. her mother supported bush now she backed off supporting obama. progressive should truly be what they stand for and start detoxing limbaugh ,foxnews GOP toxins

[UrsaMajority]

The adultery, serial marriage issue may bring Obama's numbers up above Bill Clinton's as well. Bear in mind one difference here from any election involving Bill Clinton and Dubya. This time, it's the Democratic candidate who has the rock solid marriage without whispers, and the Republican who's admitted to womanizing and adultery with his current wife while married to another. You've got to think that this character turnaround will have a little impact upon many evangelicals. Heck, I'm a wild-eyed Berkeley-grad liberal, and I look askance at anyone who doesn't take his or her marriage vows seriously enough to remain faithful.

[JLee]

Agreed. The way I, another lefty intellectual, see it, everyone has a right not to get married if they don't want to stay faithful to one person. The marriage vow, like the witness oath, is a promise one gives willingly--actually more willingly than a witness oath. If you swear in as a witness and break that oath, that's perjury. Breaking a marriage vow, similarly, is a sign of character weakness in my book. Neither fatal nor unforgivable, since we all are human after all, but wrong nonetheless.

[apikores]

Unfortunately we lefty intellectuals are the only ones who give a shit. That story has been around for ages and it just doesn't stick--the kind of people who are really into McCain probably think it makes him more of a "manly man." Sadly, it's OK if you're a Republican­...I like to think about what it would be like if Michelle Obama had been busted for stealing painkillers from a medical charity...­no friggin equality in this country..

[londubh]

Halle-fuckin-lujah That should more than make up for the rabid Clintonistas who said they are going to vote for McCain.

[M3Man]

I wonder how many Evangelicals hear the words of Rev Wright and realize that when he says God Damn America for the way it treats its poor and for starting an unnecessary war that killed thousands of innocents, see that he is in fact preaching the gospel, not hating America?

Many a Methodist has leveled the same criticism, although using less harsh language. I see them trying to keep the Bush Library out of Southern Methodist Univ. Many Catholics too.

Jesus spent a lot of time preaching about taking care of "the least of these." Without Karl Rove promising political payoffs and clout to the Pat Robertsons of the world, some of these Evangelicals may start to realize that Obama's view of the world is more Christian that any war mongering Republicans

[rowzeer]

I read how some Catholic priests were refusing to give communion to those who support Democratic candidates that supported a womans right to choose because they value a culture of life. But these same HYPOCRITES still give communion to those who supported a candidate that was willing to start an unnecessary war causing the deaths of 100's of thousands of Iraqs and 1000's of Americans, who cut back on programs that help children in poverty and without healthcare. Please clergy practice what you preach before you deny anyone anything!!

[Kalima]

I have never heard anything more ridiculous and it would not be allowed in
the Church. I think that American Catholic priests are making up their own
rules as they go along. If in fact you have a link and can prove this, they
should be reported to a Bishop. Do you have a link?

[ChristianEcon.com]

Yep--the double-standard shows their true anti-Christian political colors.

[jp5472]

That is a continuation of why the Protestant Revolt took place - Martin Luther was fed up with the behavior/practices of the Catholic Church at the time and stood up against it at his own peril. Too bad the behavior has continued and extended into the Protestant community as well.

[lewes17266]

I wish you would read my profile to find out about how Christ-like Pat Robertson really is.

[markkraft]

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Hence, "blessed are the peacemakers", "blessed are the merciful", "blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice"..­. people who do God's work on earth, loving each other like they love God... with all their heart, soul, and mind... loving them as they would themselves.

Change we can believe in.

[ChristianEcon.com]

Amen. It's about time real Christians rejected anti-Christian neocon ideology of warmongering and capitalism.

[lewes17266]

They are irresponsible, are actually the opposite of Christ, and the idiotic statements concerning the terrorist attacks and Katrina, implying that we brought the suffering on ourselves, should have convinced everyone to turn away, yet the money keeps pouring in.
Robertson's words fuel hate and bigotry, not to mention fear. I pray there is a special place in Hell for people like these who have profited off of faith and used deception to convince faithfuls to send them their money out of obedience to God.

[FatallyHip]

Capitalism as a philosophy­/lifestyle is no more inherently flawed than communism or religion as a governing philosophy­/lifestyle­. What makes these things flawed is human nature. We have no free market right now. We have "leaders" controlled by the funding of gigantic and multinational corporations.

This reality can be easily compared to the communist dictatorships of China, North Korea and Cuba because the powerful few in those countries have so much more than the starving masses.

I would assert as well that this world's powerful religious leaders are the same sort of hypocrites.

[elevate]

I find this fascinating. I'm a former Christian, left religion in general and now feel acutely uncomfortable with belief of most kinds, particularly because of religious conservative family. But I always acknowledge that any belief I have in community, social justice and even radical politics comes from that early experience.

As other commentators have noted, the deeply Christian community is not monolithic in its beliefs or politics. The group I had belonged to was sadly bad on LGBT rights (a reason I left), but was very genuinely strong on feminist and women's rights. So really, is it that surprising that a good number of deeply religious folks would support Obama, a Christian candidate with a strong sense of morality and justice? Especially since if anyone actually knows the history of civil rights and contemporary Christianity in this country, churches have been one of the strongest proponents of getting into the nitty gritty work of racial justice.

[kardwell]

White Evangelical churches, which is the group we are talking about, were not instrumental in the Civil Rights movement. Black churches, predominantly, led the charge.

Having grown up in an Evangelical environment and been exposed to countless churches, I can assure you that social justice is far from the top of the list of their concerns, and sadly, yes they are somewhat monolithic. Any form of politics that would tend towards the concept of inclusion, would mean accepting and supporting the rights and concerns of individuals who are politically and socially marginalized -- LGBT's, feminists, people of varying ethnicities and political identifications -- which starkly contrast to the the core principals of the Evangelical dogma. Not faith mind you, but dogma. The Evangelical platform has nothing to do with true Christian faith, and everything to do with bigotry, judgment, coercion, fear-mongering, and control. In my view, it is a cult of epic proportions, that we have allowed to penetrate the highest ranks of government and US military and manipulate matters of the state.

I am not so eager to bring these terribly misguided sheep into my fold. To the contrary, I hope the next administration will pull the plug on all of the funding they've been receiving from the Bush administration for their "abstinence only programs and for proselytizing to the US military personnel.­..not to mention their twisted campaign to convert Iraqi's to their brand of Christianity.

[Amalek]

Much as the Republicans have learned that Bush and his neocons were not Reagan style conservativees, the Evangelicals are figuring out that the Dobsons, Fallwells and Robertsons are not Christians. The unholy alliance between the neo-noncons and the unchristians has been very painful for the world.

The true Christians will repent and someday the true conservatives will rise again to assert their real values. Christianity has little to do with conservatism and nothing to do with the neocon agenda. As Christians stop allowing others to motivate them through hate, they will rediscover that Christianity is about making disciples for Christ - people who care for one another and for God's creation. They will find much more in common with the current democratic party than they will with the currently corrupted Republican party.

[ThirdSection]

You have a point. I might add that it's been said that the Antichrist will most likely attempt to appear to be Christian.

[knighthowl]

Yes, he did. GWB.

[lewes17266]

They are on tv everyday. I wish they would all wear blue and pink wigs and black mascara though. So many souls are tricked by them. It is so sad. I would have more respect for them if they went out and robbed a bank. They instead exploit the most faithfuls and gullible souls for money and power.

[ChristianEcon.com]

"Reagan-style conservatives" were the original neocons. They're the ones who started this whole slide.

[SiberianRat]

I'm amazed to this day how effectively the far Right has hijacked Christianity in the name of division, no compassion, killing of others, intolerance, exclusion, greed, and vanity. I hope for these "Christians" that they are indeed thinking for themselves and coming around to the conclusion that all of the high principles Jesus taught are in no way reflected in the far Right's agenda--quite the opposite (or ANTI Christ's teachings). Let's also follow the leave-unto­-God/Caesa­r example and keep religion out of politics (as the Constitution also mandates).

[PatrickforO]

Don't forget torture - Oh, I guess it's only torture when organs fail...

[kardwell]

Too easy, my friend. The Evangelicals were not "hijacked" by the GOP. To the contrary, the Evangelicals saw the GOP as an easy vehicle to hijack and perpetuate their agenda. Two groups with a mission to control the world through through fear and hatred -- a match made in heaven.

[BillyT]

It's time Obama goes to some well-known church and give a sermon.

That'll shut up the gossip from folks who have no qualms saying "He's really a Muslim" and "He went to a church with a nutjob PASTOR" in the same breath.

[UrsaMajority]

He did that on Martin Luther King's birthday at King's old church in Atlanta. But I think you're right - it would help. It was Obama's speech in (I believe) 2006 about the need for Dems to embrace -- and not run from -- religious issues that made me realize that this guy might be on to something.

[johnqdemocrat]

He did. In addition to speaking at Dr. King's church in Atlanta, he also addressed the congregation at a Sunday morning service in Greensville, SC (Redemption World Outreach Center - Apostle Ron Carpenter, Pastor).

[kgb999]

Honestly, Wright is more or less a black Evangelical preacher. I wonder if the flip side of the Wright fiasco is that it brought Obama CLOSER to evangelicals than he would have been otherwise. I'm not endorsing this view - just pondering it.

[Marichu]

Unless DeMoss has empirical data supporting his claim that 1/3 of evangelical Christians voted for Bill Clinton in 1996, I don't believe it. And to follow up and say that he thinks that many will vote for Obama is even less likely-- a la when pigs fly scenario. I mean think about it, favorite son Tom DeLay just branded Obama a Marxist. How many evangelicals worth their narrow-minded views are going to vote for a Marxist?

[Boris]

NOBODY, and I mean, nobody, gives a damn about a lying, cheating scoundrel like Tom Delay. His day has passed and he is about as important as gum on your shoe.

[Marichu]

Boris

Just because you and I have a low opinion of DeLay doesn't mean that there are others that share our sentiment. Delay still holds sway over evangelicals and many republicans. They do give a damn and consider his opinion important. If this was not the case, do you think the media will still be giving him face time?

[Melissa]

I Don't believe this article for a minute. Abortion is still their #1 issue.

[bhenry112]

Also, DeMoss says that the 1996 vote was "at the height" of the Lewinsky scandal. If memory serves, that story didn't break until January 1998. Am I having a McCain moment?

[Marichu]

Nope, no McCain moment for you, in fact I would say the total opposite, what a great memory and recall! I on the other hand did not know until someone posting here made mention of the date.

[jadez]

i am not surprised by this.
if anyone watched the cnn religious town hall they had a few months back you will remember Obama was very warmly received and spoke with passion about his faith.

in fact Obama is rare in political life because unlike bush he ,Obama IS a man of God and faith.
and i mean that in its best sense,not in a political way like mccain who sought out nutty preachers for political gain.
Or even hillary who claims great faith but by all accounts is part of some weird right wing cult that passes for a church.

in any event i do not believe anyone can listen to Obama and not accept that his faith is real and guides him in his life to work for the good of people less fourtunate.

its only natural others would see that too.

[rowzeer]

You don't have to be religious to have strong values and ethics. Religion requires blind faith and I'm tired of politician's blindness. Most ethical, compassionate, caring people I know are not religious at all. They do good because they feel they want to make the world a better place and it is within their power to do it, not because they're trying to earn a place in heaven.

[Deaninphilly]

Hillary is Episcopalian, hardly a right wing cult. Can we stop with the Hillary bashing please!

[butchie65]

I still can't believe Hillary's church,The Family," was never brought up more. Not only that, her minister is in prison for molesting a child. All we ever heard was Obama's Rev. Wright. I hope people wake up to the fact that Obama will bring people together. Obama seems to be the ony one in years to really be religious. He has helped a lot of poor people in Illinois. That shows me he is a caring man.

[KarateKid]

Shocking, isn't it? Democrats actually go to church AND live up to its ideals. And we don't fall for the palaver of the lunatic preachers like Parsley and Hagee.

[beekeeper]

SHAME ON any Clinton backer that votes McCain. You ARE all this wrong with this country...­. hypocrites and poor sports. That makes me more angry to hear than anything that puke Bush did.

[kanglecap]

Fact is, “christians” live nothing like Yahushua (jesus) did. Yet, they go around asking: “What would jesus do”? Today’s “christian” has no idea WHO this man was, HOW He lived, or WHAT He taught. They don't even know his NAME! This man would not have been seen shopping at Target on Shabbat nor would he have sat down to a meal of dead animal at Fridays!

Mr. Obama is welcome to all the “christians” he can find! Believe me, there’s no shortage of these incredibly deceived individuals.

The “christians” put George W. Bush in 8 years ago and then gave him a chance to regurgitate his magnificent performance 4 years later, and we all know how well that worked out … right?

Oh yes! Mr. Obama without a doubt DESERVES all the “christians” and all the “christians” DESERVE Obama!

Should anyone be interested in my humble work, please visit:
http://www.firstcenturywalk.com

[rowzeer]

Yes....WWJ­D? Go around in his gas guzzling SUV buying consumer goods manufactured by slave and child labor in a third world country while kids in his own town go hungry and then show up to Church on Sunday and call himself saved.