There are lots of us, and what's more, we have the Bible on our side. Jesus said fifty times more on the subject of wealth than he ever said about sex. He talked about the poor all the time, but said not a word about homosexuality. His language toward the religiously pious was blistering--"brood of snakes," "hypocrites," "white-washed tombs"--but he always had a word of hope and welcome for those on the social and economic fringe.
We need to make poverty a moral issue, as Jesus did. Five million children without health care is a moral issue. Enron and other forms of corporate theft is a moral issue. Torture, pre-emptive war, and civilian casualties are moral issues. As liberal evangelical Jim Wallis puts it: "Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence?"
There are millions of politically moderate, sincerely devout Christians who are open to other options than those provided by conservative evangelicals. About half of mainline protestants and Roman Catholics are Democrats, and even evangelicals are not necessarily a Republican monolith. (Many large suburban evangelical churches are moderate, not conservative. Clinton and Gore both received about a third of the evangelical vote--not that bad, considering.)
We need to start framing our issues in moral and visionary language. Today's white liberals don't know how to do this, although RFK did, and black evangelicals do. We should read, study, meditate upon, diligently ponder, and inwardly digest the speeches of Robert Kennedy and the sermons of Martin Luther King.
The Kerry campaign supposedly had a "people of faith" outreach effort, but I didn't see much evidence of it. I contacted the campaign early on to help with this. I sent an email outlining the ways I thought I could help, pointing out that I was a national delegate and had a fairly large network of people and pastors across several denominations that I had worked with in Habitat for Humanity. When nothing happened, I called them twice. No call back. Finally, I received an email from the "regional director" of "people of faith." I emailed back suggesting we get together. Never heard a word.