Simon Cox Blog: Searching for Gorsuch: For Many Evangelicals "It's the Supreme Court, Stupid”

Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Searching for Gorsuch: For Many Evangelicals "It's the Supreme Court, Stupid”

Many Evangelicals Voted for Trump to Get Neil Gorsuch, So Let's Stop Painting Them with Every Other Brush

Today, President Trump nominated a new Supreme Court Justice and Neil Gorsuch is as the President promised: in the mold of Antonin Scalia.

That’s what many Evangelicals were hoping—and why many voted the way they did. During the announcement, President Trump indicated that he knew this was the most important issue for many people, and he’s right— it was for Evangelicals.

James Carville famously said during the Bill Clinton campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid.” For many Trump-voting Evangelicals, it’s the Supreme Court.

Dana Bash, moments ago on CNN, explained:

A lot of times during the campaign we would ask why on earth would conservatives— really hard core conservatives— back someone like Donald Trump and work so hard for him. This is why. Because that is not the person that Hillary Clinton—if she were president—would be putting on the bench. Not even close… so much of this election… [was] about this.

Yes, this is one of the key reasons that many Evangelicals voted for Trump.

In fact, in a Christianity Today article, 70% of white Evangelical voters said the Supreme Court appointment was a top election concern, listing among others terrorism, the economy, immigration, foreign policy, gun control, and health care. The Supreme Court nomination is a critical position to fill in light of the changing political and societal changes we have been facing.

And this is why many Evangelicals voted for Trump: issues—in many cases, this particular issue. In fact, as Christianity Today explained before the election: