There was a REASON why all those people stayed home. Most of them were not freepers, either. I went out and voted, and so did most freepers, I’m sure.
But the average social conservative stayed home because the Republicans spent two years kicking him in the teeth. Are you surprised?
There was a long history in modern times of Evangelicals not voting, because they figured it was hopeless, and their true home was in heaven. Jerry Falwell and others managed to turn that around, and persuade Evangelicals that they are sojourners in the Earthly City, as Augustine called it, as well as citizens of the Heavenly City, and that they owed the country their concern and support as long as that was possible.
In two years, the Republicans kicked that support away. It would be more productive to think about why it was kicked away, and what could be done to start fixing the problem, than to curse the folks who stayed home because they were too discouraged to vote.
No point yelling at us, we voted. But we said that a lot of people probably wouldn’t, because of the stupidity of the Republican leadership (not Bush so much as his advisers and congressional leaders), and unfortunately that proved to be right.
If the party fails to get it this time, and nominates someone like Giuliani, then the damage will be completed, and the party destroyed. You can’t win elections if you keep screwing your own base.
we may seek to live on the mountaintop, but are sent into the valley to live our lives, where the work of the Lord goes on.