Values voters need new strategy

By ROD DREHER
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Joseph Bottum is editor of First Things, the flagship intellectual journal of the "theo-cons," which is to say, the religious right. And Joseph Bottum is not a happy man.
"Social conservatism is in little better shape now than it was when Bush was first elected. In many ways, it is in worse shape," he writes in the magazine's current issue. "Every conservative I know is depressed these days, and they are right to be."
Hate to say it, but for religious and social conservatives, the Bush administration will have been the last political hurrah at the national level for some time.
If so-called values voters couldn't get meaningful action on the two issues that have most animated our side this decade -- abortion and gay marriage -- with an evangelical president and both congressional chambers in Republicans' hands, it's not going to happen.
Most voters oppose same-sex marriage, but it's a generational thing. Younger voters have no problem with it. Whether by court order or popular mandate, gay marriage is going to be the law of the land.
And on abortion, even if Roe v. Wade collapsed, the issue would merely return to state legislatures. An important pro-life goal, to be sure, but polls show that public support for abortion rights is, sadly, solid and secure. Because of the war and the GOP candidate selection, culture-war concerns simply won't be as much in play in 2008.
Costly commitment
With the fading of GOP rule in Washington, it's becoming clearer how much it has cost culture-cons to be a subsidiary of a party that's taken our votes but not delivered. We have painted ourselves into a strategic corner with Democrats in much the same way environmentalists have with Republicans. True, Democrats have been hostile, but we haven't given much reason to talk to us, either. A new generation of leaders, among Democrats and the culture-con grassroots, must change that.
It's not that theo-cons should give up our principles, but the movement should, and will, expand its interests. Darryl G. Hart of the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute recently noted that "while the older generation of evangelicals read the Bible for its application to sex and family relations, younger evangelicals turn to holy writ for guidance on war, hunger and poverty."
This is not about theo-cons becoming more liberal. This is about becoming more authentically conservative and true to our religious tradition. Theo-cons are right to be anxious over sexual disorder and its social consequences, but we are by and large untroubled by the role unrestrained capitalism plays in our cultural crisis.
Big business has nothing to fear from political Christians, mostly because they fail to see the threat unrestrained consumerism poses to the values we wish to conserve.
Common cause
Theo-cons could make common cause with Democrats on, say, the environment. Treating the earth with an ethic of stewardship is becoming more important to younger Christians. There is also commonality on economic security. A 2006 poll by the non-partisan Pew Center found that social conservatives strongly favor universal health coverage and overwhelmingly oppose job outsourcing. Culture-cons get how vulnerable families are to job loss and health-care costs.
While cultural conservatives need to diversify our political portfolio, we should also recognize the limits of politics. We are losing the culture war. It can't be won by electing more Republicans; it can only be won by changing hearts. In a powerful American Conservative essay, Paul Weyrich and William S. Lind argue that a revitalized conservative movement "must lead growing numbers of Americans to secede from the rotten pop culture of materialism, consumerism, hyper-sexualization and political correctness and return to the old ways of living."
The authors call on conservatives to rethink their lifestyles, particularly the way they shop, use technology and relate to the community. For instance, they favor "small is beautiful"-style initiatives, like supporting family farming and local businesses, and a return to old-style neighborhood design as elements of a more holistic conservative agenda. The best way to change culture, they persuasively argue, is to show others by example the fruits of traditional living.
In post-Bush America, cultural and religious conservatives will huddle on the margins of political debate if we don't fundamentally change the way we practice politics.
Rod Dreher is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.