The Question of Faith: Part II

This isn't really a surprise, is it?

But there are a number of things that are quite disturbing. For instance, you were just talking briefly about religion, which is obviously an issue in every election, but since the Republicans have taken charge under George W. Bush, it’s been a hugely significant issue. And it turns out that Karl Rove, the man who is the architect behind evangelical voters and their turnout and a voter delivery system of the Christian right, is agnostic. He doesn’t have any deeply held faith.

What people do not realize about this man is that everything about him is political utility. When he looked at what was going on with the megachurches, and when he did the polling and he saw how gay marriage was animating the Christian right, Karl decided he was going to take these gigantic churches on the Christian right and to turn them into a gigantic vote delivery system. And that’s precisely what he has done. This is not a man who has deeply held religious faith. It’s a man who believes that faith can be used to drive voters to the polls. In fact, his own president, in an interview with -- or an offhand unguarded moment aboard the press plane with my co-author, Wayne Slater, had referred to the Christian right and the fundamentalists north of Austin as “whackos.” They hold these people in more disdain than these individuals are aware of.

James Moore, co-author of The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power.