Religious Groups Push Platform Agenda

NATIONAL ELECTIONS

This month, Democrats meeting in Atlanta will hammer out the platform that will carry them into the November elections. And Republicans will get their chance next month when they meet for their convention in New Orleans. Recalling their strength in the 1980 and 1984 campaigns, Christians from a variety of perspectives have been attempting to get both parties to consider their platform concerns.

The Republican Connection

Representatives of several Christian groups testified at a Republican-sponsored platform-committee hearing in Kansas City, Missouri, last month. Robert Dugan, director of the National Association of Evangelicals’ Washington Office on Public Affairs, highlighted six principles his group would like to see incorporated into platform planks: the retention of religious liberty in this nation, recognition of God in public life, the protection of life as sacred, the provision of justice for all, restoration of traditional values to education and legislation, and the preservation of the traditional family.

Similar themes were stressed in testimony by Jerry Falwell, chairman of the Moral Majority; Chicago television executive Jerry Rose, representing the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB;) and Elizabeth Kepley of Concerned Women for America (CWA.)

Testimony was also offered from groups that want the Republicans to move away from their conservative positions of the past two elections. Randall Moody of Republicans for Choice urged the party to “eliminate” platform planks supporting a constitutional ban on abortion.

For the first time, Republicans took the testimony of an official representative of the homosexual community. John Thomas of the Human Rights Campaign Fund urged the GOP to “recognize [the gay community] as part of the pluralistic society … Republicans champion.”

Such appearances highlighted speculation that the influence of the Religious Right on the Republican platform may be waning. But at a press conference, Republican National Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf denied suggestions from reporters that his party would move toward a more moderate platform. Noting that “many problems in this nation have changed” in the past eight years, he added, “We want to take the fundamental philosophy [from 1980 and 1984] … and come up with approaches to apply to the problems.”

The Democrats’ Dilemma

Several conservative religious groups that testified before the Republicans were denied the opportunity to give oral testimony before the Democrats, due to changes in the party’s platform process, NAE, CWA, and the Family Research Council all submitted written testimony to the Democrats after their requests to give oral testimony were refused. Observers say denying multiple special interests the opportunity to give oral testimony was devised to help erase the image of the Democratic party as the “special interests’ party” and to defuse some of the party’s more controversial stands.

The NRB’s Rose said he was not aware that his group could submit written testimony and felt “very excluded” by the Democrats. “It’s almost as if they have written off the evangelicals.”

Family Research Council Executive Director Jerry Regier said he was “rather surprised and disappointed” about the way the Democrats conducted their platform process. “We are providing written input, but I’m not very optimistic [about its impact] given the fact that they wouldn’t allow us any verbal input,” he said.

A spokesman for the Democratic Platform Committee declined to comment on why more religious representatives were not allowed to make personal appearances, but he insisted all written submissions were made part of the official consideration of the committee.

Vying For The Family

Throughout the platform process, both parties have been paying much attention to family issues. The Democrats devoted one forum to the American family, discussing long-term health care, child care, drugs, and housing. At the forum, Michigan’s governor, James Blanchard, said his party can pick up where the Republicans have failed on the issue. “We have a good record on family issues,” he said. But Frank Monohan, of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC), urged the Democrats to change their stand on abortion and support “legal protection for the lives of the unborn.”

The Republicans also concentrated on family issues during their domestic-policy hearing in Kansas City. Representatives from a variety of groups, including many religious groups, appeared before the committee to urge the GOP to adopt planks on various family issues.

Education Secretary William Bennett encouraged the Republicans to maintain the momentum on “kids’ ” issues. “Democratic proposals put families to one side, seeming to accept as inevitable the declining importance and role of the family,” he said. “The Republican party needs to stand foursquare for children and for the family as the institution central to the care of children.”

Hoping to take advantage of the current attention to the family and promote a more conservative vision in both parties, a coalition of profamily groups is sponsoring Family Forum 88 conferences just before both political conventions this summer. Conference coordinator Patrick Fagan said the theme “2020 Vision” emphasizes their goal of “setting a positive long-range agenda, beginning the radical shift from being a reactive, defensive movement into an offensive, positive movement.”

Fagan said the cosponsors of the conferences, including several Christian groups, want to be sure that politicians and the grassroots are not “confused” by all of the profamily rhetoric on both sides. “What we want to see is government supporting the family, but not supplanting it,” he said.

By Kim A. Lawton in Washington, D.C., and Kansas City, Missouri.

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