The Angry Liberal has a post agreeing with Andrew Sullivan on the religious right and the moral values thing.

It's not just that the evangelical/born-again vote was a big contributor to Bush's win, but also that this block of voters is like money in the bank. Karl Rove is fully aware of how to nail down their votes, quick and easy. Throw them some red-meat Bible issues (gay marriage, abortion) and presto, you have their vote no matter what else may happen in the world. It's robotic in nature. The economy, Iraq, the environment, healthcare -- it all means zilch to this voting block as long as you line up correctly on those few religious issues.

The fact is that the Religious Right is so well and tightly organized that it takes relatively little money to get the message out among them in force. When you have the 700 Club every afternoon and the Praise the Lord on Trinity Broadcasting Network, every night, and then the myriad of televangelists preaching the Gospel of Bush, you've got it made. It's an avalanche--all you need do is get it started.

One problem that I have had with all this analysis is that I'm not sure the pollsters asked the right questions. I haven't checked them, but it is different if you ask whether morality had anything to do with your decision than if you ask whether moral values were the sole reason for one's vote.

The reason is that the moral values could have very well have been the hook for Bush to get a hearing in the months prior to the election. That way he could sell his platform as a moral man. So some may then claim terrorism was the main reason for their vote, but it only got that way because they heard their pastor speaking glowingly about Bush's anti-terrorism efforts.

The other thing is the evangelistic culture. Christian fundamentalists believe it is their mission to spread the Gospel and they have learned to do it everywhere and at anytime. They preach what they believe, ardently. If you can sell Bush to them, they will sell it to others, unsolicited and free of charge.

I agree, not only is this block of voters money in the bank, it carried a hell of a lot of interest with it.