The New Evangelicals

In Newsweek, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson lays out the agenda for the "new evangelicals" and the problems they pose for the GOP (not to mention the Dems).  You should read the whole thing, but here's a taste:

Republicans will find it increasingly difficult to appeal to the new evangelicals with tired symbols like school prayer or the posting of the Ten Commandments. And candidates like Senator McCain will need to be more creative in their outreach than an uncomfortable speech at the Liberty University commencement. These activists will expect serious proposals on an expanded moral agenda—as President Bush has delivered on human trafficking and global AIDS. And they will not respond to a crude libertarianism that elevates the severe pleasures of cutting food stamps or foreign aid over the pursuit of the common good.

Joe Knippenberg is encouraged, but skeptical, hoping that "Republicans and conservatives can find a way to converse with these folks, providing some of the soundly practical ballast that Democrats and liberals who can appeal to their decency and moral energy can’t necessarily provide." 

"Soundly practical ballast" is needed from the same party that has brought us trickle-down economics and a "mission accomplished" in Iraq?  As for me, I see the new evangelicals as just what we might need to make our Seamless Garment Party a reality.

Rob