Liberal-Evangelical Alliance?

Something has happened. Something rare. Something wonderful, bordering on the miraculous.

David Brooks wrote a coherent, interesting column today.

My only quibble is that he still seems locked in the belief that evangelical Christians and progressive liberals are mutually exclusive groups. It's not necessarily that liberals and conservatives are working together -- although in many instances, that is no doubt exactly what is happening -- but I would wager that the progressive evangelical base is larger than most people suspect. Also, not all social conservatives are anti-tax zealots losing sleep over gay marriage.

While it's true that most self-identified evangelicals say they support President Bush, let us remember that the President we got is not the President he promised he'd be. His actions haven't matched his rhetoric. (Remember when he decried nation-building? And why is it that multilateral diplomacy was "useless" with Iraq but the only option for North Korea?) While abortion and gay issues are still the hot-buttons for many evangelicals, a lot of conservatives are deeply worried about the nation's financial health, the way the war has been prosecuted, the shifting rationales for the war as well as the ill-defined and elusive ultimate goals, the environment, health care and poverty. Additionally, academic research conducted just prior to the 2004 election showed that most self-described Bush supporters had fundamental misunderstandings of the President's actual positions on issues such has nuclear weapon and landmine treaties, the environment and social security.

Doubtless, our government is infested with power-hungry ideologues who want to impose their morality on the rest of us. But it shouldn't really be a surprise that social conservatives are concerned about poverty.