For all the instant analyses that the tea party movement was the key to Christine O'Donnell's stunning victory in Delaware, a more in-depth analysis by the state's leading newspaper found that the Religious Right was probably a bigger factor than the tea partiers.
The News Journal story by Jeff Montgomery, Beth Miller, and Ginger Gibson reports that O'Donnell, herself a Religious Right PR type for most of her adult life, benefited from "a rise in evangelical activism" that is not entirely exclusive of the tea party movement.
Here's a taste, from a part of the state that delivered O'Donnell's biggest majorities:
Ella Shank recalls saying a little prayer Tuesday before casting her Republican primary vote in the Greenwood Fire Hall.
"I believe that God is waking America up," said Shank, who attends a Mennonite church. "If people don't start voting for what's right, God will punish us."
More, below.
The reporters talked to conservative voters, pastors of conservative churches, academics and political operatives. The general consensus is that Religious Right voters have become more politically active, egged on by national conservative leaders like Glenn Beck, whose not-so-big rally was quite religious, and their local pastors.
A former head of the Sussex County Republicans explained:
I wouldn't call it the Christian Coalition, but there was definitely a faith basis to a lot of this. The faith community tends to get involved periodically. It's obviously much stronger here in Sussex County (which was the bedrock of O'Donnell's support).
Pastors who pushed the tax-exemption envelope for O'Donnell naturally agreed, here are quotes from two of them:
I really think there is more participation. A lot more of the churches are getting involved in actually getting out there and identifying the candidates, what they stand for, and looking for some kind of truth in them.
I've been a pastor for 45 years and I've never seen such anger. They're very disillusioned with the government and with the old Republican leadership. I haven't met anyone in my travels or get-togethers who agrees with health care or cap-and-trade or tax policies.
While some pastors are discussing health care, cap-and-trade, and tax policy with their congregants, conservative social issues -- abortion, gay civil rights, and stem-cell research -- were championed by O'Donnell and Glen Urquhart, who beat a mainstream Republican to win the GOP Congressional nomination.
Urquhart's opponent said that, for many conservative Republicans, abortion is the one and only issue:
All the time I talked about the economy and jobs, they could never get off the pro-life issue. It will drive everything they do. I have always felt that the pro-life, very far right is very fervent about what they believe. There's nothing less than 100 percent agreement with them. I would never meet that standard, neither did I try to.
Urquhart, for his part, said that his victory was "God's will."
The political operatives' take on this is unsettling.
A former head of the state Democratic Party said:
It's scary to see a legitimate political party run by people I respect -- but have profound differences with -- taken hostage by basically extremists. It's not good for America. It's not good for Delaware.
As former state chairman, I should be rolling on the floor with glee. This will be very good for Chris Coons and John Carney. But it's a very, very sad day for our country to see the Republican Party put up a nominee who is really way off the fringe element.
A national-level Republican operative seemed to agree:
When there's a bad economy, there's a darker element in our party that emerges, kind of a populist, angry wing.
The tea party is not a unifying group. There are some that are just focused on fiscal issues, there are some that are really concerned about social issues. There's a faith-based community and there are angry people.
We are searching for our soul in the party. We haven't found it yet, and there are a lot of victims along the side of the road.
The good news in all this is that Religious Right (and tea party) voters are a minority of the total electorate, except in some Confederate and Mormon states.
And that, as a result of their flexing their muscles in Delaware, the Democrats will hold an otherwise endangered Senate seat and pick up a House seat this year.