THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND CONGRESS
Matthew C. Moen
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa and London
Matthew C. Moen
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa and London
Copyright © 1989
The University of Alabama Press
Box 870380
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Paperback Edition 1992
The University of Alabama Press
Box 870380
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Paperback Edition 1992
Preface
The manner in which the Christian Right influenced the agenda of the
U.S. Congress during the Reagan years is the central focus of this book.
The answers that are provided about this subject have been derived from
some objective indices, such as the number of bills introduced and hear-
ings held on their issues, and more importantly, from personal interviews
with about three dozen individuals who were involved in various ways
in the Christian Right's struggles on Capitol Hill.
Ever since it arose in the late 1970s, the Christian Right has attracted
the interest of scholars. Those from different academic disciplines began
early to examine such facets of the movement as its historical roots, its
electoral influence, and its theological underpinnings. When I embarked
upon this project, researchers had almost entirely ignored the impact of
the Christian Right on Capitol Hill. It was an understandable omission,
given the problems they faced in ascertaining interest-group influence on
legislative struggles in the nation's capital; it was also an unfortunate
omission because the Christian Right was resolute in taking its grievances
to Congress for a good deal of the Reagan presidency. As conservative
activist Paul Weyrich explained it so succinctly in 1980, when queried
by a reporter about the need to focus attention on Capitol Hill: "If you
want to change America, you have to change the Congress."
The subject of this book was approached with few preconceptions.
After completing about a dozen interviews, it seemed to me that any
influence of the Christian Right on Congress that existed was minimal.
After completing more interviews and weighing some of the empirical
indices, however, I came to a rather different conclusion. Of course, the
view that the movement was influential, particularly in the first Reagan
term, will not surprise one early interviewee, who mischievously pointed
out that the mere fact that I was poking around Capitol Hill asking
questions about the impact of the movement was testimony to its effec-
tiveness.
This book has been written for several different audiences. It is
hoped that scholars will appreciate my attempt to tackle the subject;
students of social movements, interest groups, and Congress will benefit
from the tale that is told; historians will find useful the "snapshot" of
Christian Right activity during the first decade of its existence; and in-
terviewees will be interested in the detailed treatments of struggles in
which they were personally involved. Because the book is grounded in
interviews and is therefore non-technical, it should serve a wide read-
ership.
The debts incurred during the course of this project are numerous.
The American Political Science Association's Congressional Fellowship
Program and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center,
at the University of Oklahoma, provided me the opportunity to conduct
personal interviews in Washington. The interviewees graciously donated
time from their busy schedules to converse with an academic who had
little to offer them in return. Ronald M. Peters, Jr., Director and Curator
of the Carl Albert Center, and Gary W. Copeland, its Associate Director,
provided sagacious counsel during that period and subsequently on drafts
of a number of the chapters.
The office of Congressman Phil Sharp, where I spent my fellowship
year on the Hill, provided a hospitable environment for my interview
forays. My warmest thanks go to Phil Sharp, Mike Kraft, Tom Wanley,
Donna Imus, Lita Levine Kleger, Don Kaufman, John DeLap, and Frank
Meinhold for their interest and constant encouragement. It was clear
what an honorable group they were when in absentia I won the office
lottery for the one available ticket to President Reagan's 1984 State of
the Union speech.
A number of scholars offered valuable suggestions at various points,
including Larry B. Hill, Donald J. Maletz, and Rob Griswold. Frederic
D. Ogden, formerly of Eastern Kentucky University, and Anson Shupe,
Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Indiana
University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, graciously provided detailed
suggestions from which I profited immensely. I thank them for their
efforts. Of course, none of the people mentioned should be held respon-
sible for the book's interpretations or shortcomings.
My departmental colleagues at the University of Maine have pro-
vided a pleasant milieu in which to work. Chairman Ed Collins supported
the project in every possible way, managing to find both time and re-
sources whenever I needed them. Bahman Bakhtiari and Kenneth Palmer
provided written suggestions about the manuscript. During the latter
stages of the project, Carol MacMannus supplied valuable research and
typing assistance. Finally, the Faculty Research Fund Committee and
Greg Brown, Vice-President for Research and Public Service, graciously
offered monies in support of the project.
The University of Alabama Press has been extraordinarily helpful
throughout the publication process, for which I am very grateful. Mal-
colm MacDonald, Director of the Press, kindly took interest in the proj-
ect, steered it through the review process, and kept me abreast of its
status. Judith Knight assisted in a variety of ways thereafter, and Robert
Ferris did a superb job of editing. It has been both an educational and
enjoyable experience working with them.
Finally, thanks of a different sort must be accorded Donna Lynn
Shalley, whose willingness to tackle some of the pedestrian aspects of life
during the time I was busy with this study was a godsend. Her acceptance
of a marriage proposal along Maine's rocky coast on a foggy summer
evening, while I was in the midst of writing this book, was a glorious
day in the life of this political scientist.
Questia Media America, Inc. http://www.questia.com/
Publication Information: Book Title: The Christian Right and Congress. Contributors: Matthew C. Moen - author. Publisher: University of Alabama. Place of Publication: Tuscaloosa, AL. Publication Year: 1989.
The manner in which the Christian Right influenced the agenda of the
U.S. Congress during the Reagan years is the central focus of this book.
The answers that are provided about this subject have been derived from
some objective indices, such as the number of bills introduced and hear-
ings held on their issues, and more importantly, from personal interviews
with about three dozen individuals who were involved in various ways
in the Christian Right's struggles on Capitol Hill.
Ever since it arose in the late 1970s, the Christian Right has attracted
the interest of scholars. Those from different academic disciplines began
early to examine such facets of the movement as its historical roots, its
electoral influence, and its theological underpinnings. When I embarked
upon this project, researchers had almost entirely ignored the impact of
the Christian Right on Capitol Hill. It was an understandable omission,
given the problems they faced in ascertaining interest-group influence on
legislative struggles in the nation's capital; it was also an unfortunate
omission because the Christian Right was resolute in taking its grievances
to Congress for a good deal of the Reagan presidency. As conservative
activist Paul Weyrich explained it so succinctly in 1980, when queried
by a reporter about the need to focus attention on Capitol Hill: "If you
want to change America, you have to change the Congress."
The subject of this book was approached with few preconceptions.
After completing about a dozen interviews, it seemed to me that any
influence of the Christian Right on Congress that existed was minimal.
After completing more interviews and weighing some of the empirical
indices, however, I came to a rather different conclusion. Of course, the
view that the movement was influential, particularly in the first Reagan
term, will not surprise one early interviewee, who mischievously pointed
out that the mere fact that I was poking around Capitol Hill asking
questions about the impact of the movement was testimony to its effec-
tiveness.
This book has been written for several different audiences. It is
hoped that scholars will appreciate my attempt to tackle the subject;
students of social movements, interest groups, and Congress will benefit
from the tale that is told; historians will find useful the "snapshot" of
Christian Right activity during the first decade of its existence; and in-
terviewees will be interested in the detailed treatments of struggles in
which they were personally involved. Because the book is grounded in
interviews and is therefore non-technical, it should serve a wide read-
ership.
The debts incurred during the course of this project are numerous.
The American Political Science Association's Congressional Fellowship
Program and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center,
at the University of Oklahoma, provided me the opportunity to conduct
personal interviews in Washington. The interviewees graciously donated
time from their busy schedules to converse with an academic who had
little to offer them in return. Ronald M. Peters, Jr., Director and Curator
of the Carl Albert Center, and Gary W. Copeland, its Associate Director,
provided sagacious counsel during that period and subsequently on drafts
of a number of the chapters.
The office of Congressman Phil Sharp, where I spent my fellowship
year on the Hill, provided a hospitable environment for my interview
forays. My warmest thanks go to Phil Sharp, Mike Kraft, Tom Wanley,
Donna Imus, Lita Levine Kleger, Don Kaufman, John DeLap, and Frank
Meinhold for their interest and constant encouragement. It was clear
what an honorable group they were when in absentia I won the office
lottery for the one available ticket to President Reagan's 1984 State of
the Union speech.
A number of scholars offered valuable suggestions at various points,
including Larry B. Hill, Donald J. Maletz, and Rob Griswold. Frederic
D. Ogden, formerly of Eastern Kentucky University, and Anson Shupe,
Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Indiana
University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, graciously provided detailed
suggestions from which I profited immensely. I thank them for their
efforts. Of course, none of the people mentioned should be held respon-
sible for the book's interpretations or shortcomings.
My departmental colleagues at the University of Maine have pro-
vided a pleasant milieu in which to work. Chairman Ed Collins supported
the project in every possible way, managing to find both time and re-
sources whenever I needed them. Bahman Bakhtiari and Kenneth Palmer
provided written suggestions about the manuscript. During the latter
stages of the project, Carol MacMannus supplied valuable research and
typing assistance. Finally, the Faculty Research Fund Committee and
Greg Brown, Vice-President for Research and Public Service, graciously
offered monies in support of the project.
The University of Alabama Press has been extraordinarily helpful
throughout the publication process, for which I am very grateful. Mal-
colm MacDonald, Director of the Press, kindly took interest in the proj-
ect, steered it through the review process, and kept me abreast of its
status. Judith Knight assisted in a variety of ways thereafter, and Robert
Ferris did a superb job of editing. It has been both an educational and
enjoyable experience working with them.
Finally, thanks of a different sort must be accorded Donna Lynn
Shalley, whose willingness to tackle some of the pedestrian aspects of life
during the time I was busy with this study was a godsend. Her acceptance
of a marriage proposal along Maine's rocky coast on a foggy summer
evening, while I was in the midst of writing this book, was a glorious
day in the life of this political scientist.
Questia Media America, Inc. http://www.questia.com/
Publication Information: Book Title: The Christian Right and Congress. Contributors: Matthew C. Moen - author. Publisher: University of Alabama. Place of Publication: Tuscaloosa, AL. Publication Year: 1989.
.
-Read it online@
.,
No comments:
Post a Comment