Q: What are you doing to mobilize voters this fall?
A: Well, we're trying to draw attention to the fact that we have an election coming up. There are some very important issues on the ballot. We're here in Tennessee where there's a marriage amendment -- one of eight states that will have amendments on the ballot. Sixteen states have passed them since Massachusetts imposed same-sex marriage, twenty total states; this would make twenty-eight. And we just want to make sure people know these are not going to pass themselves. I think people have become a little complacent because of what's happened. They've all passed. The court rulings, for the most part, have been in favor of marriage. We're just sending the message of we need to vote. It's on the ballot -- need to vote.
Q: You are particularly targeting people of faith in this effort?
A: Well, we are -- people that are concerned about the moral direction of our nation, concerned about the institute of marriage, concerned about the future of their children and grandchildren. And so we're letting them know that this is an opportunity for them and the responsibility of them to participate in our process.Q: Tell me about the religious connection here. Why is this an issue that people of faith should care about?
A: Well, as Christians we're told by Jesus to be salt and be light, and that's not just within the walls of the church. That's in the culture as a whole. And when we look at the moral direction of the nation, we have a responsibility to make it a better community where people can prosper, where children are free to learn and are safe. And a lot of that depends on the moral setting and moral condition of our society, and so we have an obligation to be personally involved in people's lives, to help those that are poor, to be part of those ministries of the local church, whether it be homeless shelters, whether it be working with fatherless children. You know, those are all responsibilities, and we look at the policy arena. We look at the direction that policies are being made. Are they moving in the same direction, those policies? Are they encouraging strong families? Are they encouraging personal responsibility? And so the two have to come together. We've got the faith component working here and the policy component, and they need to be moving in the same direction. That's why we encourage people to be involved.
Q: Do you sense that some of these people aren't as energetic as they were a couple of years ago?
A: Oh, there's no question that people aren't as energetic and enthused as they were two years ago, and there's a couple of reasons for that. One, it's not a presidential election year, and so that historically midterm elections are not as a presidential election. So that's part of the factor, part of the equation. Clearly, some of the problems the Republican Party has had also played into it. You know, the Foley scandal has clearly dampened enthusiasm and has raised questions in many people's minds that have most of the time voted Republican, and this is a distinction that I think people are beginning to see among values voters -- that their allegiance is not to a party. Their allegiance [is] to those values. They're called values voters. They're not called Republican voters; they're values voters, and they will go with whomever supports their positions and their values, and I think the whole episode with Foley and the party has some sitting back saying, "You know, all this talk about big tent strategy -- this looks more like a three-ring circus. I'm just not sure this is a party I want to be a part of."
Q: Do you sense a growing dissatisfaction with the whole process? What are these people going to do on Election Day? Will they stay home, as some people suggest?
A: Don't mistake a discouragement toward the Republican Party as a backing away from the political process, because not only do you have congressional races on the ballot this fall, but you have state and local races on the ballot, and you have marriage amendments, you have other propositions, and so people are going to not be involved. Now you'll have folks on the margins that will fall off, marginal values voters, but the core will go out and vote. What they may do, though, is they may not vote for candidates who have not taken distinct positions on the issues. If it's unknown, if it's a choice between two unknowns, they may simply skip over that and vote for the ones they do know stand for and represent their values.
Q: What message do you have for officials in both parties about these voters who have been so influential in the past?
A: I would warn politicians -- those seeking the support of values voters, those that care about the moral direction of our country and are predisposed to follow and focus primarily on those issues -- that they have to be consistent. They've got to not only campaign on, but they've actually got to do policies surrounding, or create policies surrounding those issues. And if you take these folks for granted, you've made a big mistake. They're not wed to a party. They're wed to a core set of issues and values, and that's where they will go, and when a party or a political figure leaves those issues, those voters will leave that person or that party.
Q: We've heard Democrats recently talking about faith, framing issues on moral grounds, talking about values, talking about reducing the number of abortions. Will that have an impact among church people?
