Hillary Clinton's campaign emailed word last night that Clinton's Kentucky blowout was more evidence of her lock on values voters:
There continues to be no emerging trend lines other than the one established at the beginning of the Democratic Primary: American faith and values voters connect with and support Senator Clinton. Tonight in Kentucky there is no difference. Senator Clinton has the hearts and support of Bible and Rust Belt voters.With Hillary Clinton the much discussed “God Gap” disappears.
That's a pretty sweeping claim, and while it might be at least partly true were Clinton to face John McCain in November (God-o-Meter thinks Clinton would narrow the God Gap but that religious voting patterns are too well entrenched for her to completely close it over the course of a single election cycle) the Kentucky exit polls, like West Virginia's last week, contained little evidence of a God Gap between Clinton and Barack Obama. Yes, Clinton won 66-percent of Bluegrass Staters who attend church more than once weekly, but she fared just as well among those who attend only occasionally, and almost as well among those who never do.
The results from yesterday's Oregon primary told a different story. Despite his commanding 58-42 victory there, Obama took a modest 51-percent of Catholics and 53-percent of Protestants. Those two groups accounted for 60-percent of the vote.
Obama was able to run up his margins by winning big among voters who claimed "other" as a religion or those who claimed none. That latter group accounted for a hefty 28-percent of voters, and Obama won 60-percent of them.
So the intra-Democratic God Gap does exist. And from a general election standpoint, Obama is on the wrong side of it.
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In this election the religious right is going to be the great irrelevancy. It's going to be the economy, the economy, the economy. People can't afford values right now.
Foolish people have counted out the religious right and faith voters in the past. Just ask John Kerry and Al Gore.
Do you think these people have simply gone away and given up on what they believe in?
Anderson makes a great point when he says:
At the same time, if McCain wins the presidency in November, even with key Christian Right leaders (Dobson, etc.) against him, doesn't the Christian Right really risk irrelevance, at least at the national electoral level?
We hope that Hillary Clinton will move on to be elected as the candidate for the Presidential election. When Bush and Chaney are impeached there may be a damper on what happens to T. McCain. It will not do him any service, even the fact that the Impeachment Proceedings will press forward by the Grass Roots efforts of Ralph Nader and his Independent Party. God Bless America!
Clinton wins Puerto Rico and has the Hispanic Latino following not only in Puerto Rico but in the States. She is accepted by all ethnic groups and faiths because she is open to listening to people from all faiths. I know she will win at the convention because the Super Delegates will realize that she is the best candidate and vote for her.
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