Dan Gilgoff

A much needed and interesting insight into James Dobson, de facto leader of the "Christian" right, this book traces Dobson's rise as well as the broader development of religious right influence and outright control over the Republican Party. Gilgoff's writing is very reportorial and non-judgemental, and he's probably right that no one at Dobson's outfit would be offended by the book. (They were offended by the book's title.)

One thing I found a bit troubling was Gilgoff's implicit assumption that the Democrats need to "get religion" in order to win elections. In fact, perhaps they need to communicate common interests that exist between secular Americans and religious Americans, but "becoming religious" is not the right way to go; as he points out, it abandons the Constitution's proviso that there be no religious test for political office. Given the fact that Gilgoff cites, that secular Americans are the fastest growing demographic -- especially among young people -- it's clear that part of the reason for the politics of fear, manipulation, and outright deception on the right is that their constituencies are becoming smaller and smaller proportion of the voting public.

Gilgoff seems optimistic that the evangelicals will potentially shift to the Democrats if they (evangelicals) continue to focus on issues like poverty and human rights. I'd say that the Dems should be open to working with anyone who'll help them with their agenda of helping the least-advantaged parts of our society. But the Democrats shouldn't sell their "soul" for a few votes. They don't need to do that in order to win elections. They just need to stand up and speak clearly and forthrightly about the values that the Democratic party stands for.… (meer)