One might be forgiven for wondering what the US Christian Right is thinking, now that the federal Republicans stand to lose everything in several weeks time.

Well, not completely everything. One suspects that institutional conservatism will still be alive and well and entrenched in Washington DC and Colorado Springs. Meanwhile, courtesy of the UK Guardian, Suzanne Goldenberg reported recently on their state of mind.  Apparently, Republican Presidential nominee John McCain was insufficiently socially conservative and ideologically pure when it came to banning abortion and same-sex marriage. They even dumped on Bush over the fact that his economic mismanagement has contributed to the global economic crisis, as well as his “lack of leadership”. Ouch.

 Is it “mass hypnosis,” wondered one fundamentalist congregational member at Mountain Springs Church. Whereas San Francisco is a gay mecca, Colorado Springs is an antithesis. Local government officials lured US Christian Right pressure groups there by dangling tax breaks in front of them. As a result, the city is a Republican stronghold in an increasingly Democrat-oriented Colorado state, especially in urban centres like Denver and Boulder. There is reportedly also Republican internal resentment at the influence that social conservatives have had over public policy, at the cost of outreach to more mainstream Americans.

With all this going on, the US Christian Right will be far too stretched to bother with its overseas satellites. For example, our own.

Recommended:

Susan Goldenberg: “Is God still on McCain’s side?”: Melbourne Age: 26.10.08: http://www.theage.com.au