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by Niles S. Campbell

Niles S. Campbell is an NRA board member and award-winning staff writer for the Mineral Daily News-Tribune located in Keyser, W.V.

The recent spectacle of Judge Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court confirmation hearings, with all the attendant hypocrisy, lies, deceit, and downright stupidity and foolishness, should confirm for American Christians the need to reclaim the political arena for Christ. Unfortunately, the body of Christ in this country will continue, head in the clouds, to ignore the body politick and thereby further hasten the erosion of our values and rights as American citizens.

However, should the Holy Spirit move in the hearts of His people to do something about the deplorable condition of politics in this country, we would at once be presented with a problem of strategy. One of the first decisions that must be made is the subject of this month's Christian Statesman forum: Should American Christians form a separate and consciously Christian political party?

To do so, in my opinion, would be a waste of time and resources and destined to fail for at least three reasons. First of all, Christians are not prepared to finance an independent political party; second, Christians generally haven't a clue how to organize and run a political party; and third, there aren't enough Christians either interested in or talented enough to successfully manage a third party, let alone get elected to office.

Christians currently do not support the Lord's work. Few tithe. Fewer still will support a worldly enterprise like a political party. If Christians will not do what is biblically required of them (namely, support the local work of the Church), it is naive to believe they will support a political cause. Let's face it, politics costs a great deal of money. Campaigns are tremendously expensive. Political parties need money to pay for operational expenses and to help finance party candidates. Will a people who are loathe to render unto the Lord what is rightfully His, render unto a candidate Caesar the funds necessary for him to obtain an office? I think not. Without a tremendous amount of financial support, a newly formed Christian party will be stillborn.

The second reason why an independent Christian party is doomed to fail is that most Christians haven't any idea how a party operates, let alone how to run a campaign. Each municipality has its own set of precinct and ward rules. Every state has its own election laws. A party organizing a nationwide campaign must know in detail the mechanics of both. When we talk about forming an independent Christian party, we are talking about creating from scratch a very complicated and manpower-intensive organization. And that leads to the third reason that a Christian political party will not work.

To many believers, politics is a messy, sinful, and worldly affair. And, if anything, the recent Senate confirmation hearings demonstrate that, without Christians, politics quickly becomes a very ugly affair indeed. Over the past 20 years, Christians have attempted to get involved in politics, but those efforts are often pyrrhic. Usually supporting some independent candidate running in either the Republican or Democratic party primaries, neophyte Christian activists quickly drop out when their candidate loses to a more experienced politician. Rarely do Christian political activists stay in long enough to gain political acumen. We lack Christians who are willing to take part in the political process, who are knowledgeable about the political process, and who have the drive necessary to make a political effort succeed. And winning a campaign, after all, is what the game is all about.

But, not only do we lack staff and volunteers necessary to a viable political venture, we have few--very few--talented and electable Christian politicians. With the exception of Christian businessman and television host Pat Robertson, most Christians who run for political office are not qualified to lead the country (and some would argue that Robertson, for all his business success, is not politically experienced enough to be president). Many Christian politicians, who can't get themselves elected, can't even hold a job. That may seem a harsh judgment; nevertheless, I believe it's true.

If we are to present to the American voter a candidate with true integrity, honesty, and strength of character, then we must, as a people with a shared set of values and traditions, make the sacrifice of money and time to redeem the political arena.

But before launching an embarrassing and foolish attempt to found a political party, only to have it fail for the above-outlined reasons, we must encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to learn the ropes of American politics by getting involved in the existing political infrastructure.

Which leads to a secondary question of our forum: Which party should Christians take over?

I believe we should continue to penetrate and eventually overtake the Republican party. The GOP already subscribes to several positions we find agreeable, namely opposition to abortion and support of school choice legislation. The Republican party has plenty of money, a good organization and plenty of sharp, experienced, and young political activists to work with and learn from. The Republican party also provides an excellent position from which to distance ourselves from the current mire of Democratic party politics. Like it or not, a successful campaign often needs a scapegoat, and the Democratic party, with its strong inclination to the far left and willingness to kowtow to every interest group except Christians, provides a perfect scapegoat.

By reshaping the Republican party along consciously Christian lines, distancing ourselves from the extremism of the Democrats, and providing a true alternative to the mediocrity and duplicity of current politicians from both parties, we may appeal to that vast, under-represented (and currently uninterested and unregistered) electorate of the middle class. By investing the party of Lincoln with a true and carefully thought-out Christian character, we can present a refreshing change of pace to the American public.

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