In Defense of the Religious Right, by Patrick Hynes - Oct 12

This book is written by a Republican political consultant who is not an evangelical but believes evangelicals get a bad rap from those around them, including other Republicans. He argues that the Right is the lifeblood of the party and terrifies the Democrats. The bulk of the book is an argument that the Right does reflect in terms of values and views where the majority of the country stands. He shows this by data and anecdote. He also argues that Democratic efforts to use God language also come across as insincere as when Howard Dean called Job his favorite New Testament book. He contends that the 2004 election was in part a values reaction (a point denied by many writers on that election looking to devalue the role of values) to recent efforts by the court to support the gay agenda, which led to many ballot initiatives in that election. He reminds people that evangelicals are not as monolithic as some claim. The book is a pragmatic look at politics as a numbers game. The book does not address certain issues. The sense of it is that the majority should rule. This does not take adequate account into the fact that the USA was also set up to be sure that minorities were not simply overtaken. This I why the USA is a republic and not merely a democracy. Where Hynes treats Jesus’ view of the poor, there is a sense that he has understates the case when he argues Jesus merely taught to love all the creation, even the poor. The poor were more than an afterthought or sidebar for Jesus as his ministry to those on the fringe shows. However, what the book does show is that there is a great deal of inconsistency and inaccuracy in how commentators present the Religious Right and critique it. Hynes key premise is that evangelicals are very much, your neighbor next door.