From AndrewSullivan.com:

EMAIL OF THE DAY: "Have to disagree with David Brooks and evidently you. To point out that the evangelicals voted in the same proportion for Bush as they did in 2000 gets a fact right and misses the point. What matters is that the Bush vote by these folks did not erode in the face of catastrophic management of post-invasion Iraq, prisoner atrocities, transformation of the surplus into a suffocating deficit and terrible job performance. It seems to me that their religious views trump everything. You switched your vote - why didn't they? The answer is complex, but you can bet it includes homophobia deftly catalyzed by Mr. Rove et. al." He's got a point, no?

Yes, he does. That's what I've been writing about here for days. It's not just that the evangelical/born-again vote was a big contributor to Bush's win, but also that this block of voters is like money in the bank. Karl Rove is fully aware of how to nail down their votes, quick and easy. Throw them some red-meat Bible issues (gay marriage, abortion) and presto, you have their vote no matter what else may happen in the world. It's robotic in nature. The economy, Iraq, the environment, healthcare -- it all means zilch to this voting block as long as you line up correctly on those few religious issues. That's exactly what the emailer is saying, that in 2000, voters at least had a blank slate with regards to GW and there still remained some hope with his administration. But four years later, after a laundry list of failures, this same % of evang. voters showed up to vote for GW. Exactly my point! I've seen figures that say the % is even higher than in 2000 (as Rove had hoped), but irregardless my point remains -- "their religious views trump everything."