Blacks Find Religion in the GOP
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum

(FORTUNE Magazine) – When most liberals picture George W. Bush's "armies of compassion," they see Pat Robertson's Christian soldiers. Likewise, they view Bush's controversial effort to aid religious groups--the faith-based initiative--as payback to the religious right for years of Republican loyalty.

Well, not entirely. In one of Washington's oddest twists, Bush's sop to white, suburban evangelicals has been rejected by many conservatives and embraced by the African-American community, which last year went for Al Gore over Bush by a nine-to-one margin. GOPers now tout the initiative as a way to attract black support.

The idea of giving regulatory flexibility and subsidies to religiously affiliated food kitchens and drug-rehab clinics started out as a neoconservative alternative to the welfare state. It gained momentum when Bush learned in the late 1990s that the leading young lights of the Christian ministry in Dallas also championed the cause. During his 2000 presidential campaign, Bush touted the initiative as a tent pole of compassionate conservatism.

Then something strange happened: After Bush won, a few of the religious right's most established leaders, especially the Christian Coalition's Robertson, attacked the faith-based initiative as a Trojan horse that would bring government mandates inside the church. In March, Robertson wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "If government provides funding to the thousands of faith-based institutions but...demands in return that those institutions give up their unique religious activities, then not only the effectiveness of these institutions but possibly their very raison d'etre may be lost."

Such broadsides have been a boon for Bush, since GOP strategists can now market the initiative to minorities. A number of black officials, including Walter Fauntroy, who is a Democrat, a minister, and a former D.C. delegate to the House, have publicly praised the plan. Most of the 500 religious leaders attending a recent summit on Capitol Hill to promote the initiative were black or Hispanic. "It's surprising how well it's been received," admits Karl Rove, a top Bush aide.

The plan is also helping the GOP groom leaders in black and other minority communities who are willing to vouch for Bush--support he desperately needs. Polls show blacks overwhelmingly reject Bush-backed policies, even when the Congressional Black Caucus favors them. "I don't think you'll see six out of ten black people voting Republican in 2002 or 2004," concedes Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, Congress' highest-ranking black Republican. "But the faith-based initiative could build some bridges." And maybe move some votes: Bush's approval rating among blacks hovers at 30%. That should be more than he needs to win. Insiders estimate that if he were to increase his share of the black vote from 10% to 20% and his Hispanic support from 38% to 50%, he would be a shoo-in for reelection. He's praying that the faith-based initiative will bring him at least part of the way.