Hope and change were the winning campaign themes of 2008 and now the Republicans are trying to follow suit. One particular group in the GOP tent, the vaunted "Religious Right" is also making a change this year so that they can appeal to others. Of course, that wouldn't include their policy goals and ideas, heaven forbid! Going after teh gays is far more important than trying to combat poverty. No, instead, the change they seek is merely in their name.
From ThinkProgress:
Christianity Today reports that some “politically conservative evangelicals” no longer want to be referred to as the “religious right.” According to social conservative leaders like American Values President Gary Bauer, the term “religious right” and others like it have “become synonymous with extremism“:Gary Bauer said this week, “There is an ongoing battle for the vocabulary of our debate. It amazes me how often in public discourse really pejorative phrases are used, like the ‘American Taliban,’ ‘fundamentalists,’ ‘Christian fascists,’ and ‘extreme Religious Right.’”
A Focus on the Family official added that the “religious right” label might generate negative impressions: “Terms like ‘Religious Right’ have been traditionally used in a pejorative way to suggest extremism. The phrase ’socially conservative evangelicals’ is not very exciting, but that’s certainly the way to do it.“
Bauer is as narrow-minded about reality as are his views of the world. The only reason that everyone else uses "Religious Right" in a pejorative way is that those in the group make themselves deserving of that form. Bauer and his ilk can call themselves "Santa's bigger helpers" or "The Keepers of Falwell spirit" for all I care, but as long as they continue to preach a message of hate and divisiveness they'll always be referred to with a heavy dose of negative connotation.
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