You’ve heard of tea partiers, but what about ‘teavangelicals’?
That’s the term Christian Broadcasting Network chief political correspondent David Brody ascribes to evangelicals allied with the tea party movement in his new book, “Teavangelicals: The Inside Story of How Evangelicals and the Tea Party are Taking Back America.”
“Teavangelicals are conservative Christians, mostly evangelicals who agree with the tea party movement and have joined the cause,” he explained to The Daily Caller.
“They’ve done so for various reasons, but the bottom line is they see our severe fiscal situation through a biblical worldview believing that that God’s Word speaks about the immorality of the debt, a return to fiscal responsibility and that that the all-powerful federal government is in many ways replacing God in people’s lives as being the most powerful force in it.”
Though Brody says Mitt Romney was not teavangelicals’ first choice for the Republican nomination, he argues that the former Massachusetts governor will be the beneficiary of their dislike for President Obama.
“Teavangelicals simply don’t like President Obama’s policies, and they have a real palpable fear that if he is re-elected in 2012, that America will be changed forever for the worse,” Brody said.
“Romney ends up being the luckiest guy in the world because he doesn’t have to do too much to get teavangelicals all riled up for the 2012 general election. President Obama has done a lot of the work for him.”
As evangelical Christians, do teavangelicals have any problem with Romney’s Mormonism?
“Let’s be clear: there is a small portion of the teavangelical electorate that has a real problem with Romney’s Mormonism and just won’t vote for him no matter what,” Brody said.
“However, most teavangelicals have an even bigger problem with President Obama’s agenda, which they believe is scary and downright dangerous for the future of this country.”
Check out TheDC’s full interview with Brody about his book, where teavangelicals stand on foreign policy and whether they believe social issues are more important than economic issues:
What are ‘teavangelicals’ and what do they stand for?
Teavangelicals are conservative Christians, mostly evangelicals who agree with the tea party movement and have joined the cause. They’ve done so for various reasons but the bottom line is they see our severe fiscal situation through a biblical worldview believing that that God’s word speaks about the immorality of the debt, a return to fiscal responsibility and that that the all-powerful federal government is in many ways replacing God in people’s lives as being the most powerful force in it.
How are they associated with the tea party?
The tea party wants to return to constitutionally limited government, and guess what? Teavangelicals want that as well, but they happen to call it something else: a return to Judeo-Christian principles. They are breaking bread with the tea party because both libertarians and evangelicals view the U.S. Constitution in much the same way our Founding Fathers did. That is, a belief in a limited view of the federal government’s power and a strong belief in the Almighty God.
Are social issues more important than economic issues to a teavangelical? What do teavangelicals think of social issues taking a backseat to economic issues this election cycle?
The beauty of the teavangelical is that while social issues may be more important to most teavangelicals, the truth is that fiscal issues are nearly equally important because of the current fiscal state of our country. They have crept up the ladder of the years. Teavangelicals believe social issues and fiscal issues are inextricably linked. In a teavangelical’s mind, you can’t separate the two. In other words, their view is that good social policy is good fiscal policy and vice versa. It all makes for a good pro-family policy agenda. For example, the federal government spends over $100 billion dollars a year in programs devoted to unwed moms and divorce. If you strengthen families and cut the divorce rate in half you can save $50 billion dollars. Defunding Planned Parenthood is another issue where a social issue (abortion) combines with a fiscal issue because if you eliminate funding for the pro-choice organization, taxpayers would be off the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.
As for social issues taking a back seat to fiscal issues, that isn’t a problem for the teavangelical because teavangelicals aren’t a one- or a two-trick pony. They care about a lot more than just the hot-button issues of abortion and traditional marriage. Furthermore, let’s remember that when you elect a fiscal conservative to office, he or she will most likely be a social conservative, so that social agenda is being addressed as well.
Is Romney’s Mormonism a problem for teavangelicals?
Let’s be clear: there is a small portion of the teavangelical electorate that has a real problem with Romney’s Mormonism and just won’t vote for him no matter what. However, most teavangelicals have an even bigger problem with President Obama’s agenda, which they believe is scary and downright dangerous for the future of this country.
What do teavangelicals think of President Obama? Does Romney really have to be worried about getting them to vote for him?
Teavangelicals simply don’t like President Obama’s policies, and they have a real palpable fear that if he is re-elected in 2012, that America will be changed forever for the worse. Romney ends up being the luckiest guy in the world because he doesn’t have to do too much to get teavangelicals all riled up for the 2012 general election. President Obama has done a lot of the work for him. Having said that, while the politically astute teavangelicals will show up and vote for Romney (even if they have to hold their nose), the real question is how many MORE teavangelical-type voters will show up at the polls in 2012 compared to 2008? There is ample evidence that teavangelicals will be much more present this time around. This is about the raw vote total especially in key swing states. So while the teavangelicals will overall support Romney, what we need to watch for is, will they bring a friend to the polls and will they organize for Romney? There is a difference between “support” and “enthusiastic support,” considering the fact that the teavangelicals are really the worker bees within the conservative base.
Are teavangelicals hawkish on foreign policy? What do they think about the Iran issue?
While teavangelicals don’t bring up foreign policy too often at tea party events, they are most definitely hawkish on foreign policy and their love for Israel is off the charts. As the Israelis know, conservative evangelical Christians are their biggest friend and so teavangelicals have a true heart for Israel. They believe Iran is not only a direct threat to Israel but also so much so that they believe stopping the regime at all costs is a non-negotiable. The good news for Romney here is that he sees the issue the same way.
Is there a teavangelical leader? And are they any potential teavangelical Romney running mates?
There isn’t one single teavangelical leader but rather there are several. They are (in no particular order) Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Mike Huckabee, Allen West, Marco Rubio and Mike Pence. All of them have different strengths, and that’s why I have deemed them in the book as, “teavangelical political powerhouses.” I actually make the case that Mike Pence may end up being the first teavangelical president of the United States. As for Romney’s VP Pick, teavangelicals wouldn’t mind seeing one of the following: Tim Pawlenty, Bob McDonnell, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee or Marco Rubio.