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Grassroots Activism and Party Politics: the Christian Right in State Republican Parties

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Grassroots Activism and Party Politics: the Christian Right in State Republican Parties Grassroots Activism and Party Politics: The Christian Right in State Republican Parties DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kimberly H. Conger, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2003 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Paul Allen Beck, Advisor Professor Herbert Weisberg _________________________________ Professor Kira Sanbonmatsu Advisor Department of Political Science ABSTRACT One of the most important phenomena in contemporary American politics has been the development of the political Christian Right. Many scholars have made significant contributions to our understanding of both the origin and development of the national movement and the unique situations in individual states and their Republican parties. However, few have sought a theoretical explanation for the variation we see across states. My dissertation develops and tests, using quantitative and qualitative data, a theory of the varying influence of the Christian Right in state level Republican parties that focuses on the most important ingredients for Christian Right influence. Building on an elite “political observer” survey conducted after the 2000 election, I create a useful measure of the Christian Right’s influence in all fifty states and find that the characteristics of the Christian Right in the state, primarily the quality of movement leadership, have the most impact on the potency of that influence. Then, utilizing a rigorous case study methodology, I combine publicly available state-level data with face-to-face in-depth interviews of party and movement elites from several states to gain a comprehensive and contextual understanding on the relationship between the Christian Right and the Republican party in that state. Complementing scholars’ understanding of the interplay between social movements and political parties, two major conclusions are presented. ii First, the structures of the Republican party and state politics have a significant impact on the Christian Right’s ability to gain access to the party organization. Second, the character of the Christian Right movement in a state, based upon extensive Evangelical and conservative social networks and grassroots political activity, greatly determines the effectiveness with which the movement can promote its policy goals. iii For Michael, for all the raisins iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A dissertation is intended to be the culmination of the research and scholarship of an individual. But without the support, advice, and time of myriad others, this project would never have been completed. I would like to especially thank the members of my dissertation committee, Paul Allen Beck, Herbert Weisberg, and Kira Sanbonmatsu for their tireless efforts to make me a better scholar and this dissertation a better project. Their intellectual encouragement and support, along with the reading of innumerable drafts, the correction of errors, and extended discussions of the finer points of the research and analysis provided the necessary impetus and guidance for the completion of the project. John Green of the University of Akron generously gifted me with his time, resources, and vast knowledge of political parties, religious conservatives, and academic life. His insight and encouragement smoothed over many rough patches in the research process. Dr. Green is a model for the kind of researcher, teacher, and person that I want to be. The scholars and facilitators of the Civitas Program in Faith and Public Affairs provided me the invaluable services of their friendship and wide-ranging and extensive discussion and reflection on politics and the life of faith. Stanley Carlson-Theis, Keith v Pavilchek, James Skillen, Jeanne Heffernen, Heather Moret, Michael Boda, Bryan McGraw, and Robert Shelledy particularly deserve my thanks; they consistently remind me why I want to be a political scientist. My family has been a constant source of support and encouragement throughout the years of this dissertation project. My parents, in addition to instilling in me from an early age the love of learning and the desire to figure out the world around me, have for many years endured my pontifications with good-natured grace. Thanks for listening. My husband, Michael, was present at the advent of the idea for this dissertation and he has seen it through with more patience than I. For his forbearance, eternal good humor, excellent cooking skills, and most especially for his unfailing faith in me, I am inexpressibly grateful. Finally, there are a considerable number of organizations and foundations without whose financial support this project would not have been possible. The Ray Bliss Institute at the University of Akron provided support for the national Political Observer Study. A grant from the Graduate Student Alumni Research Award of the Ohio State University provided the travel funds necessary for the completion of the case studies. A Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood and a grant the Ohio State PEGS program allowed me to concentrate full time on the research and writing of this dissertation for nine months. Finally, a Civitas Fellowship served at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC gave me the time and freedom to finish and revise this dissertation as well as begin the preliminary work of extensions to the project and reflect on the normative impact of my research. vi The research conducted for this project received Ohio State Institution Review Board approval under protocol numbers 00E0360 and 01E0180. vii VITA September 23, 1974. Born – Akron, Ohio June, 2000 . M.A. Political Science, The Ohio State University 1997 – 1998. University Fellow The Ohio State University 1998 – 2002. Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant The Ohio State University 2002 – present . Civitas Fellow Ethics and Public Policy Center PUBLICATIONS Research Publications 1. Kimberly H. Conger and John C. Green. 2002. “The Christian Right in the States: 2000.” Campaigns and Elections. 23:1 (Feb.) pp. 58-60, 64-65. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Political Science viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract. ii Dedication . iv Acknowledgments. v Vita . viii List of Tables. xi List of Figures. xii Chapters: 1. Introduction . 1 2. Political Parties and Social Movements. 30 3. Measuring Christian Right Influence in the States. 53 4. Bringing the Divergent Into Focus. 87 5. Pragmatic, Activist, and Interconnected. 116 6. Mechanisms of Christian Right Influence . 164 7. Conclusion . 205 Appendix A – Request for Political Observer Study Participation. 222 Appendix B – Survey Instrument. 224 ix Appendix C – Exploration of Alternative State Influence Index Calculations. 227 Appendix D – Interview Participants . 229 Appendix E – Template Letter Requesting an Interview . 231 Appendix F – Interview Protocol . 232 Appendix G – Case Study and Interview Methods. 234 Bibliography. 236 x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Response Rate by State and Observer Type . 59 2 Bivariate Correlations of Index Questions 1,2,3, and 4. 68 3 Matrix for Factor Analysis of Index Questions 1,2,3, and 4 . 69 4 Cronbach’s Alpha for Questions 1,2,3, and 4 . 69 5 State Christian Right Influence Index Scores and Standard Deviation. 72 6 State Christian Right Influence Change from 1994 to 2000 . 76 7 Crosstab of Perception of Change in Christian Right Influence from 1994 to 2000 . 77 8 Influence Variation Model. 100 9 Influence Variation Model with Reduced N . 107 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Distribution of State Influence Index Scores. 74 2 Scatterplot of Relationship Between the State Influence Index and Its Standard Deviation . 81 3 Confidence Levels for State Christian Right Influence Index. 84 xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The fortunes of the Christian Right (CR) in American politics have ebbed and flowed in the 20 years it has been a part of the landscape. No sooner has a political pundit offered its obituary than it returns to the fray in some resurrected or reconstituted form. Periods of relative quiet have been followed by prolonged moments of militancy and vociferousness. Thus, while the rhetoric of current political culture is one of studied inclusiveness and tolerance, seemingly precluding much of the Christian Right’s agenda, its basic political ideas, represented by organizations like the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, continue to guide the political choices of millions of voting Americans. It is for this reason, if no other, that we should continue to observe the evolving influence the Christian Right exerts on American politics. Perhaps the most tangible and enduring result of the presence of the Christian Right in the American political arena is the effect its influence has had upon the Republican party at all levels. Like the persistence of the movement itself, the relative power the Christian Right has enjoyed within the Republican party has been debated with fervor by both scholars and journalists. Some suggest that the party has been “captured” by the Christian Right, while others cite the movement’s divergence from the mainstream 1 as its terminal pathology as a party player. Most agree, however, that the movement has become a permanent fixture in the calculations of Republican political strategists. Many believe that the political mobilization of conservative Christians holds the key to Republican victories at all levels of electoral contest. This may have been born out in the 2000 presidential election, when many commentators
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