Democracy

When November 2004 postelection analysis pinpointed religious folks as a key swing bloc that had swung even further to the right, Democrats quickly set out to un-corner the GOP's market on God. They continued to do so right up through November 2006. Democratic leaders began invoking faith more in their speeches. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi launched the party's Faith Working Group. Sen. Harry Reid and others began framing "Democratic" issues like poverty as questions of morality rather than social justice. In October 2006, Democratic strategists even teamed with some prominent evangelicals to hype global warming as a "Christian" issue in midterm battleground states. The beat goes on: Presidential hopefuls including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Kerry have hired high-profile religious advisors, each hoping to reach the faithful in time for 2008.