{"id":50,"date":"2008-09-16T14:06:21","date_gmt":"2008-09-16T14:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/09\/candidates-outreach-to-religio.html"},"modified":"2008-09-16T14:06:21","modified_gmt":"2008-09-16T14:06:21","slug":"candidates-outreach-to-religio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/09\/candidates-outreach-to-religio.html","title":{"rendered":"Candidates’ Outreach to Religious Voters is Worth Watching"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Presidential campaigns enter the final seven weeks before the election, it will be interesting to watch how evangelical Christians, Catholics, and other religious voters respond to the outreach efforts of both sides.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The Obama campaign has taken a page from political playbooks of the past and is now preparing to roll out “a new line of ‘faith merchandise’<\/a>–the latest move in an ambitious effort to win over religious voters.” The items include “Believers for Barack, Pro-Family Pro-Obama, and Catholics for Obama buttons, bumper stickers and signs.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

On the Republican side, the selection of Governor Palin as the Vice Presidential nominee has energized many young evangelical Christians, a key group that both candidates are vying for. Here is what the Associated Press <\/a>is reporting: “On the whole, evangelicals under 30 say Palin enthuses them because she’s a fresh face with a compelling family story, a reputation as a reformer and a champion of conservative moral values.” As one evangelical college freshman put it: “‘Palin is fresh and new, but she is also rock solid on issues like abortion. A lot of young evangelicals would have a hard time supporting Obama’ for his abortion rights stance.”<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Young evangelical voters are viewed as being more open to voting for a Democratic candidate in this election than older evangelicals, according to the AP report: “A Pew survey last fall showed under-30 white evangelicals are increasingly up for grabs politically: 40 percent identified as Republican, down 15 percent from 2005. Most who abandoned the GOP were becoming independents, not Democrats.”<\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

“‘I think the jury is still out on young evangelicals,’ said Cameron Strang, editor of Relevant magazine, an influential publication for this group. ‘Both parties have the opportunity to address issues of deep concern for this voting bloc.'” Strang had accepted an invitation to give an invocation at the Democratic National Convention but later declined over concerns that he would be viewed by young evangelicals as endorsing Obama.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

The question of how effective Sen. Obama’s outreach to young evangelicals will be remains to be answered. When they look past the excitement and buzz of the Obama campaign, will young evangelicals really vote for an ardently pro-abortion candidate en masse? The answer to that question may help to decide the outcome of the election.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

So Barry, what are your thoughts on the targeted outreach?<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Presidential campaigns enter the final seven weeks before the election, it will be interesting to watch how evangelical Christians, Catholics, and other religious voters respond to the outreach efforts of both sides.   The Obama campaign has taken a page from political playbooks of the past and is now preparing to roll out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-election-08"],"yoast_head":"\nCandidates' Outreach to Religious Voters is Worth Watching - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}