With the rise of Trump and other candidates in the GOP that are far from the religious right values type, and with Cruz, the religious right's candidate of choice, now having zero chance of getting close to a nomination (unless in a contested election), is the religious right's stranglehold on the Republican party now a thing of the past? Is the religious right going to even be relevant anymore? Will we now stop seeing candidates falling all over each other trying to pander to that wing of the GOP?
He draws 38% of white evangelicals nationally, according to a Pew Research Center poll. In the Missouri primary, exit polling showed he drew 38% of white evangelicals — enough to beat Ted Cruz by two-tenths of a percentage point and win 37 delegates to Cruz’s 15.
The raw data have been indisputable: Trump wins “big league†with what might be considered blue-collar cultural Christians, and he also pulls in a decent size share of suburban weekly churchgoers. Both groups of voters are abundant in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where polls suggest Trump will pull off big primary wins on Tuesday.
He draws 38% of white evangelicals nationally, according to a Pew Research Center poll. In the Missouri primary, exit polling showed he drew 38% of white evangelicals — enough to beat Ted Cruz by two-tenths of a percentage point and win 37 delegates to Cruz’s 15.
The raw data have been indisputable: Trump wins “big league†with what might be considered blue-collar cultural Christians, and he also pulls in a decent size share of suburban weekly churchgoers. Both groups of voters are abundant in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where polls suggest Trump will pull off big primary wins on Tuesday.
Do you think any Trump's policy positions (such as they are) or messaging is being directed specifically at the religious right? If so, how so?
[Edited on 4/27/2016 by gondicar]
Do you think any Trump's policy positions (such as they are) or messaging is being directed specifically at the religious right? If so, how so?
I don't study Trump's policy positions, but I do not think he "panders" as the OP suggested, yet according to this article/poll, he still gets the support.
I simply posted an article that suggested the opposite of what the OP eluded to.
Do you think any Trump's policy positions (such as they are) or messaging is being directed specifically at the religious right? If so, how so?
I don't study Trump's policy positions, but I do not think he "panders" as the OP suggested, yet according to this article/poll, he still gets the support.
I simply posted an article that suggested the opposite of what the OP eluded to.
Sorry I don't understand, what is the "OP" are you referring to?
I thought you were responding to 2112's question on whether the religious right is still relevant enough that the candidates need to "pander" to that particular voting block, and what you posted seems to support an answer of "no"...Cruz is the candidate that seems most aligned with the religious right, yet Trump is still getting their support without "pandering" to them. That tells me that they don't have the same amount of pull within the party that they seem to have had over the last decade or so.
Is the religious right going to even be relevant anymore? Will we now stop seeing candidates falling all over each other trying to pander to that wing of the GOP?
Policywise, they've always been irrelevant to the GOP. Roe v Wade was handed down in 1973, has the GOP overturned that yet?
Maybe they won't pander as much as they used to and, really, do they have to? None of those folks are ever going to vote for a Democrat anyway.
Maybe they won't pander as much as they used to and, really, do they have to? None of those folks are ever going to vote for a Democrat anyway.
I think pandering for religious right support is more prevalent in the primary stage than in the general. I don't see that changing anytime soon. Trump is an anomaly.
Do you think any Trump's policy positions (such as they are) or messaging is being directed specifically at the religious right? If so, how so?
I don't study Trump's policy positions, but I do not think he "panders" as the OP suggested, yet according to this article/poll, he still gets the support.
I simply posted an article that suggested the opposite of what the OP eluded to.
Sorry I don't understand, what is the "OP" are you referring to?
I thought you were responding to 2112's question on whether the religious right is still relevant enough that the candidates need to "pander" to that particular voting block, and what you posted seems to support an answer of "no"...Cruz is the candidate that seems most aligned with the religious right, yet Trump is still getting their support without "pandering" to them. That tells me that they don't have the same amount of pull within the party that they seem to have had over the last decade or so.
Yes, this maybe states what I was asking better than I did. Trump is winning without "pandering" to the religious right. That is not exactly true, as he has given speeches at Bible Collages in an attempt to woo their vote, and screwed up proving that he knows nothing about the Bible. But in the big picture, he is not aiming for that vote as directly as Cruz and most of the other Republican candidates (Carson, Huckabee, Santorum, etc). It seems that the GOP has historically pandered for that vote, and for the third presidential election in a row the candidates that pandered the most won't be winning the nomination (unless it happens through a contested convention). So, maybe the question is better stated as: - Is pandering to the religious right necessary in today's GOP or has the power of the religious right portion of the GOP been overestimated?
