Searching for Gorsuch: For Many Evangelicals "It's the Supreme Court, Stupid”
Many Evangelicals voted for Trump for the Supreme Court, so let's stop painting them with every other brush |
Ed Stetzer
Today, President Trump nominated a new Supreme Court Justice. Neil Gorsuch is, as the President promised, in the mold of Antonin Scalia.
That’s what many Evangelicals were hoping—and why many voted the way they did.
During the announcement, President Trump indicated that
he knew this was the most important issue for many people, and he’s
right—it certainly was for Evangelicals. (Christianity Today tweeted he
was an “Evangelical favorite” and the CT article is here.)
It’s the Supreme Court, Stupid
James Carville famously said, during the Bill Clinton campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid.” For many Trump-voting Evangelicals, it was the Supreme Court.
Moments ago on CNN, Dana Bash explained:
A lot of times during the campaign we would ask why on
earth would conservatives— really hard core conservatives—back someone
like Donald Trump and work so hard for him? This is why. Because
that is not the person that Hillary Clinton—if she were president—would
be putting on the bench. Not even close… So much of this election…
[was] about this. [bold / Italics added.]
Simply put, the Supreme Court is the reason that many Evangelicals voted for Trump.
In fact, in a Christianity Today article,
70% of white Evangelical voters said the Supreme Court appointment was a
top election concern, listing among others terrorism, the economy,
immigration, foreign policy, gun control, and health care. The Supreme
Court nomination is a critical position to fill in light of the changing
political and societal changes we have been facing.
In fact, as Christianity Today explained a Pew report (before the election), many were voting against the alternative, not for the candidate:
More than three-quarters of self-identified white
evangelicals plan to vote for Donald Trump in the fall (78%). But they
aren’t happy about it.
According to a Pew Research Center survey of 1,655
registered voters released today, more than half of white evangelicals
said they weren’t satisfied with their ballot options (55%), reflecting
the feeling of Americans at large (58%).
And 45 percent of white evangelicals said they meant
their vote as opposition to Hillary Clinton, not as an endorsement of
Trump.
