'Values Voters' Bring Home the Bacon on Election Day

by Jody Brown and Allie Martin
November 4, 2004

(AgapePress) - The hierarchy in the mainstream media and the Democratic Party seem to be falling all over themselves in trying to explain how, on Election Day, "moral values" trumped traditionally important issues like the economy and the war in Iraq. Pro-family and religious leaders could justifiably offer the following response to those surprised by the phenomenon: "We told you so."

According to an Associated Press report, three-fourths of white voters who describe themselves as born-again Christians or evangelicals say they supported President Bush on November 2. That according to exit polls conducted among more than 13,000 voters for AP and the television networks. Those white evangelicals -- a crucial voting bloc for the president -- represented about one-fifth of all voters nationwide, and their top issue was moral values. Exit polls found that voters who rarely attend church overwhelmingly supported John Kerry.

So what was the top "moral issue" on Election Day? The founder of the American Family Association says the debate over marriage was the key to President Bush's victory. Voters in 11 states approved constitutional amendments protecting traditional marriage. AFA's Dr. Don Wildmon says the overwhelming margin of victory in all of those states is proof that average Americans are not ready to embrace the radical homosexual agenda.

"The marriage amendments passed [in all eleven states] because of the 'values voters' -- and this is only the beginning," Wildmon says. "We're not going to stop, we're not going to let up. There will be others [voting on similar amendments] two years from now. The momentum is there, and we're going to go for it."

Oregon was the only state in which the vote on the marriage amendment was somewhat close (57%-43%), as homosexual activist groups poured much of their resources into that state's ballot measure in hopes of pulling off at least one victory on Election Day.

Dr. Don Wildmon

In another state -- Ohio -- the measure passed overwhelmingly (62%-38%). The Buckeye State turned out to be a decisive state in the victory for President Bush. In fact, Wildmon says Ohio's marriage amendment played a critical role in the president's re-election.

"Had it not been for the marriage amendment being on the ballot in the state of Ohio, George Bush would not be president-elect again," he emphasizes. "That's how important, how critical [the values voter was] -- and even secular, liberal news sources are saying that. That is the truth, and the values voter can no longer be ignored by those in charge of either party."

Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America, agrees that the marriage issue was of genuine benefit to President Bush. "There is no doubt that because four radical, left-wing Massachusetts judges ruled [in November 2003] that homosexual 'marriages' are constitutional...there was a conservative backlash which played a major role in the election outcome [on Tuesday]," she says in a press release. "Christian evangelicals made the major difference once again this year."

And Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute is convinced the support for traditional marriage was the driving force behind Bush's victory. He says the assault on the institution of marriage was the "signature issue" that drove many voters to the polls -- even those who were not necessarily Bush supporters. That bloc of voters, Knight says, "correctly saw [John] Kerry as the defender of sexual anarchy and appeasement" he says has taken hold in the Democratic Party over the past several years.

"By embracing the homosexual lobby, and accusing his fellow Americans of 'hatred' and 'bigotry' for defending marriage, Kerry didn't need to tell us any more about his 'values,'" Knight writes for WorldNetDaily.

The Future for Values
So how should President Bush respond to an electorate's obvious willingness to beat a path to the polls when moral issues are at stake? Dr. D. James Kennedy encourages the chief executive to take his cue from Tuesday's election and make moral issues a focal point in the next four years.

Kennedy, founder of the Center for Reclaiming America in Fort Lauderdale, says Bush's successful re-election bid is proof that the United States is not ready for the radical, liberal agenda -- and that there are "a great many people" in America who are concerned about moral issues.

"From all of the surveys that I have read, the number of evangelical Christians in this country has been growing at about one percent per year, up to about 46 percent," Kennedy offers. "That doesn't mean every evangelical Christian is going to vote the way I think they should, but it does mean there's going to be a growing, ever-greater number of people who are going to be concerned for moral issues and for [their] spiritual views."

And Kennedy disputes the charge heard throughout the election that the Bush administration takes for granted the values voters. "We have a number of Christians who have been appointed to significant positions in the government," he says. But he says he understands the criticism.

"I think it's probably always going to be true that evangelical Christians tend as a whole to focus on a few moral, spiritual issues -- whereas a president has a lot of other things and other constituents that he's trying to take care of and please of as well. So there's always a likelihood of feeling that way," he says.