Ahmanson, a multi-millionaire who inherited his family's banking fortune, notes in conversation with Parker the main reason for the conversion—taxes. "Specifically, he was offended by the California Republican Party's insistence during a recent state budget battle that there would be no tax increases for any reason, no matter what. 'They're providing one issue, and it's just a very silly issue.'" Parker also says that Ahmanson is an issues-based benefactor, rarely donating large amounts to individual candidates.
The philanthropist was a major force behind the creation of Proposition 8, the California referendum that banned gay marriage in November 2008. He has also supported a pro-independent business Political Action Committee, as well as the Discovery Institute, which works to promote anti-evolution causes.
Ahmanson's philanthropic resume recalled William Martin's With God on Our Side, insofar as he seems a paradigm of the issues-based evangelical politics that Martin posits as a driving force behind the rise of the Religious Right. Public figures such as the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson made their living designing social-political schemes to put Republicans in office—mainly by giving voice to evangelical Christians who had felt they had no place in government. Ahmanson was friends with R.J. Rushdoony, a leader of the Christian Reconstructionist movement. Rushdoony is credited as the inspiration for the Christian homeschool movement and was a noted Calvinist philosopher. Although Ahmanson doesn't share some of Rushdoony's extreme views—such as giving the death penalty to all homosexuals—he seems firmly entrenched in the Evangelical-Republican complex.
What does Ahmanson's sudden conversion mean for the Republican Party? It could be perceived as another harbinger of the collapse of the Christian Right, or an indication of a new Democrat-led order in state and national politics. I doubt that Ahmanson will change his views on fundamental social issues. He will likely continue fighting abortion and gay rights and other "liberal" agendas. He switched allegiances due to what he thought was a perversity of the California Republican Party–the unwillingness to tax. Perhaps this switch is indicative of something completely different than the downfall of conservative Christianity. Perhaps it is only the realist perspective of one of the wealthiest Americans realizing that Republican fiscal conservatism is not the solution to the international economic crisis.
How long will it be until another "dependable" conservative benefactor realizes it?
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6 comments:
Interesting questions you leave off with Jake. I do not think that this indicates the fall of the Christian Right, as the Republican Party is still very supportive of many Christian initiatives. However, I do believe that it shows that the Republicans need to revise their economic policy. Ahmanson seems to be switching sides because he is utterly appalled by the Republican Party's lack of constructive action in this climate of economic crisis. I agree with your last words that the Republican Party really needs to wake up and realize that it needs to stop clinging onto their previous fiscal policy and instead revise it to help in the economic crisis.
I think this goes to show that it will be more difficult for Republicans to retain support simply due to their stance on social issues at this point in time. As our economy worsens, people are going to focus on improving the condition of themselves and their families - in other words, problems that need the most immediate solutions - and less on social issues that are more abstract. Furthermore, fighting something like taxation based on principle is not going to change the reality that our country needs to take action, and that action generally requires funding; even our seemingly crisis-immune millionaires can see that. It's a bit ridiculous for the party to be so uncompromising here.
I do not believe that the defection of Mr. Ahmanson from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party represents a shift from Evangelical values serving at the core of the GOP. I feel that Mr. Ahmanson leaving the party is a signal that Republican politicians will no longer be able to justify lowering taxes for their wealthy donors with religious doctrines. For several years, Evangelical leaders and GOP officials stood side-by-side in demanding lower taxes. Religious leaders used justifications such as if they send their children to private, Christian schools, why should they pay taxes for public schools? With this logic, all they were doing was giving GOP leaders cover to give wealthy Americans greater and greater tax cuts. During these times, people who earn more, especially Christians, should be willing to pay a small amount more in taxes if it will help us get out of our current economic crisis.
I agree with the previous posts that claim Ahmanson's move does not represent a shift in the thoughts of Evangelical conservatives. This situation sounds much like a contradiction of the situation Frank outlined in his piece "What's the Matter with Kansas", where conservatives campaigned solely on abstract issues in an effort to overshadow the real problems afflicting the area. In Ahmanson's case, he has realized that a policy of 'no taxes whatsoever' is ineffective. This may not bring a change in his views on the abstract social issues, like stem cell research, as mentioned in the article, but it is a good start. I think Jake's conjecture that some conservatives are slowly realizing the effects of their economic policies and deciding to try something different is pretty accurate.
I agree with Jake and the other comments that Ahmanson switching to the Democratic Party does not symbolize a greater shift of the Religious Right to the Democratic Party. Republicans still cater extensively, and certainly more so than Democrats, to the views and beliefs of Evangelicals; many believe that Sarah Palin was chosen as vice-presidential nominee solely to appease those on the Religious Right. The situation with Ahmanson, then, as Jake says, is more likely a sign that some conservatives are growing weary of Republican fiscal policy. However I also think it is important not to jump to too big a conclusion; this is only one example and many conservatives still have whole-hearted faith in Reagonomics and the "low-taxes low-spending" approach.
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