Religion and Politics in Ohio
by TChris
The religious right, hoping to tear down the wall that keeps a respectful distance between church and state, is working "to win control of local government posts and Republican organizations" in Ohio.
In a manifesto that is being circulated among church leaders and on the Internet, the group, which is called the Ohio Restoration Project, is planning to mobilize 2,000 evangelical, Baptist, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic leaders in a network of so-called Patriot Pastors to register half a million new voters, enlist activists, train candidates and endorse conservative causes in the next year.
Pastor Russell Johnson of the Fairfield Christian Church takes credit for the election of a half dozen congregants to local political offices, including Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen. Here's a taste of things to come if Johnson has his way in statewide elections:
Sheriff Phelan's official letterhead now reads, "With God, all things are possible."
Some Republicans fear that the efforts of religious extremists to move the party even farther to the right will alienate voters, leading to Republican losses. The Restoration Project supports Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the most conservative of three Republicans seeking to replace Bob Taft as governor in 2006.
In a three-way primary, many Republican leaders say, Mr. Blackwell has a solid chance of winning because conservatives represent much of the party's base. But moderates worry that he could alienate independent voters and lose the general election. Some are discussing enlisting the White House to prod Mr. Blackwell to quit the race.
Would the president alienate his right-wing religious base by discouraging one of their favored candidates from running? If Blackwell wins the primary, will Ohio voters protect the state from an evangelical takeover by voting for a Democrat?
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