WASHINGTON–In 2004, Michael Hancock a 45-year-old technician voted for George Bush. Hancock, an Evangelical Republican, felt his conservative views on marriage and abortion fit best with Bush’s. He believed that supporting Bush would fulfill his obl
WASHINGTON–In 2004, Michael Hancock, a 45-year-old technician, voted for George Bush. Hancock, an Evangelical Republican, felt his conservative views on marriage and abortion fit best with Bush’s. He believed that supporting Bush would fulfill his obligations to vote for a candidate who would keep the country in faithful progression amidst a war.
“At the time, the administration provided valid arguments to why the nation should pursue that particular course of action,” Hancock says.
Four years later, Hancock feels the GOP has lost its way, and he will be voting for Sen. Barack Obama in November.
“He is a man of faith and direction, and it shows very clearly in the character we see in the headlines and on television, even in light of those rumors of him being Muslim,” Hancock told the District Chronicles.
Hancock is the type of Christian Evangelical voter Obama is courting. They are a formidable voting block, and both Obama and McCain are aggressively seeking them.
A 2004 survey of religion and politics estimated their numbers as 26.3 percent of the U.S. population. In the 2004 presidential election, they voted for President Bush by a ration of four to one.
But now, Brian McLaren, a former Evangelical pastor and informal adviser to Obama, believes the Evangelical bloc is cracking up, with as many as between a third and half taking a new leap of faith to Obama.
“John McCain is trying very hard to maintain his party’s views continuing this war in Iraq and tries to flaunt his foreign policy experience, but he’s playing a risky game with lives, which in a way could equate with Sen. Obama’s views on abortion,” says Latique Simmons, a member of the Rankin Memorial Chapel at Howard University.
As Christians, the decision between the candidates may be a tough one because of their differing personalities, opposing views on abortion rights, foreign policy and the economy. Simmons, a 23-year-old marketing account manager, believes that her Christian views are represented better by Sen. Obama’s campaign, despite his stance on abortion. She, too, will be voting for Obama in November.
Rev. Diane Dixon-Proctor, pastor of John Wesley United Methodist Church in Glen Burnie, Maryland, agrees that for Christians, this year’s elections will be pivotal, with both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama courting the evangelical vote and taking tough stances on controversial issues as the war, abortion rights and gay marriage.
Special to the NNPA from the District Chronicles
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