Tired of being duped by conservative-sounding Republican presidential candidates who secretly harbored support for gay marriage, abortion and other socially liberal issues, evangelical pastors plan to investigate the backgrounds of White House hopefuls and their top aides.
“Personnel is policy,” said David Lane, whose American Renewal Project is working with 100,000 pastors to push 80 million evangelicals and 40 million Catholics who typically don’t vote to the polls in 2016 to elect a conservative Republican.
“We need to bring these things up on the table,” he told Secrets. “Evangelical pastors aren’t as much interested in budget issues as they are social issues,” he added.
Lane’s group, influential in conservative presidential politics and early primary and caucus states, will vet the positions of the candidates and their top aides. He already has dispatched reports about Jeb Bush’s aides supporting same-sex marriage.
He also wants to uncover the potential first ladies’ positions on social issues since they can hold great sway with their spouses.
The American Renewal Project is working to push apathetic evangelical and Catholic voters to the polls.
“The challenge facing faith-grounded conservatives in 2016 is that candidates, and all those surrounding them, staff and family members, say one thing during the campaign, but then govern in the exact opposite manner once in office,” Lane said in a memo being sent to pastors this week.
In the memo, provided to Secrets, he wrote, “Moderate Republicans are fond of placing politics before principle-making an argument about electability. On the surface that sounds sly, but the results have been disastrous for the Republican Party-and America. Moderates flushed the legacy-and branding-of limited government, lower taxes, deregulation of business, and the attitude of ‘the-one-thing-that-government-can-do-for-me-is-leave-me-alone’ bequeathed to the Grand Old Party by President Reagan. Note: The Gipper won reelection in 1984 with 49 States while running on principle and moral absolutes.”
Two past examples of say one thing, do another stand out to evangelicals: former first lady Laura Bush’s belated support for same-sex marriage and the move by former President George W. Bush’s political ace Ken Mehlman to come out as gay and push for same-sex marriage, a position Bush opposed.
“I’m not anti-gay,” said Lane, explaining that “I get beat up for saying what I believe.” But, he added, “I’m not going to let them redefine marriage.”
His group doesn’t endorse in the primaries, though it does give a boost to those like Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and current Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal who pay attention to Christian issues like marriage and life.
It is most known for the “Pastors and Pews” events Lane hosts around the country bringing together pastors and politicians to discuss major issues and for prayer.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
