On Sunday's This Week on ABC, CNN's S.E. Cupp called on social conservative Christians to drop their opposition to same-sex "marriage" and adoption: "I will say conservatives have got to move on gay marriage....[and] on gay adoption. If abortion is the abhorrent option – and I believe it is – then adoption by any two loving people has got to be the better option."
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile agreed with the atheist Crossfire host, and took the opportunity to attack conservatives by implying that they are somehow against human rights and in favor of human trafficking: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: They have to move on more than just gay marriage. They have to move on human rights, human trafficking, climate change – there's so many issues that I think animates young people. They want a church that's inclusive. They want a church like the Gospel itself – that preach about the least of these; that – that provide a way out of no way; that gives sinners an opportunity to repent, but to be redeemed. They want a church that is part of their lives – not that condemns them, but brings them closer to their God.
Cupp's advice came on Easter Sunday, the holiest day of the year for Christians, in which the faithful remember Jesus Christ's victory over death and sin. The right-of-center pundit may have given a pro-life spin to her socially liberal stance, but the timing of her call could be seen as tone-deaf, to say the least, by social conservatives.
Substitute host Martha Raddatz brought on Cupp and Brazile, along with Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol and ABC correspondent Jeff Zeleny for the panel discussion. Raddatz raised the topic of the previous segment, which was the influence of evangelical Christianity in politics and whether it was on the decline. A slanted on-screen graphic wondered, "Are Evangelicals Losing Political Potency?"
S.E. CUPP, CO-HOST, CNN'S 'CROSSFIRE': Well, yeah, that was fascinating. I'll – I'll remind people that in 2009, on Easter, the Newsweek cover was called 'The Decline and Fall of Christian America.' Ralph Reed was right. The death of Christianity has been claimed for – for years and years – decades, in fact. There was that Time magazine cover in 1966, 'Is God Dead?'
Raddatz reacted to her guest's remarks on marriage by spotlighting that when "you look at the numbers, that's what stuck out. Seventy-five percent of all Americans under 30 say they support gay marriage, and 43 percent of evangelicals."
Brazile then launched her attack on conservatives, and Kristol and Zelany followed by downplaying any apparent decline of the evangelical Christian vote:
MARTHA RADDATZ: Bill Kristol, quickly on the politics: is their [evangelicals] influence waning?
BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: No – not as much as people here think....
JEFF ZELENY: I think Bill is right. I mean, the influence is not waning, particularly in the Republican presidential primaries in 2016. There's not a litmus test as there used to be, but there will still not be a pro-choice Republican on the ticket, I don't think – hard – hard to win the nomination. And also, in the mid-term elections, abortion is still an issue on some ballot issues and things. So, it's not waning as much as we think.
