Christians Mobilise for US Mid-Term Elections

As the Republican and Democratic parties gear up for a final whirlwind day of campaigning before Tuesday's key mid-term elections, Christians up and down the US are mobilising their brothers and sisters in Christ to take to the polls and use their vote.

Leading ecumenical ministry Faith and Action is looking to mobilise 60,000 of its Evangelical, traditional Catholic and conservative Orthodox and Protestant supporters across the country to personally motivate and facilitate others to cast their ballots on Election Day.

The group will use video e-mail to demonstrate that voting is a mandate found in the Bible and to warn of the serious consequences of neglecting such an obligation.

Faith and Action founder and president, Rev Rob Schenck, said about the last-minute campaign, "We will urge our people to get out and vote as well as personally reach out to family, friends, colleagues and fellow church members urging them to do the same.

"But we won't stop simply at the need to vote. We will ask our folks to offer to accompany others to the polls, give them a ride or watch their kids so they have no excuse not to go. We want our people to do everything they can to multiply their vote exponentially."

And both parties are champing at the bit to win the faith vote. Republicans could at one time rest assured of the Evangelical vote. That voting security has disappeared, however, as many Evangelicals admit they have grown weary of Republicans who have repeatedly failed to deliver on campaign promises.

The party that was once unequivocally the party for America's Christians has also been rocked by sex scandals and allegations of corruption.

Now the Democrats are hoping to cash in on the 'God Gap' as a string of their candidates eagerly step forward to espouse their Christian faith.

These include the self-described pro-life Catholic Bob Casey who is running for a seat in the Senate in Pennsylvania, and Harold Ford Jnr, a young black Democrat in Tennessee, who even recorded a publicity TV ad in a church in which he proclaimed: "I'm Harold Ford Jnr and here I learned the difference between right and wrong."

The Democrats have their work cut out, however, if they are to convince America's Christians that they can cater to their sense of morality, largely at odds with a number of traditional Democratic policies - particularly the party's pro-abortion stance.

Meanwhile the niece of Martin Luther King Jr has urged Christians to hit the ballot box on Tuesday with a pro-life vote ahead of the Supreme Court's debate on Wednesday on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban.

"Vote as if your life depends upon it. Someone's life does! Be encouraged that you are not alone in your desire to see an end to the senseless violence against the most helpless of our brothers and sisters. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to care for the least of these. We can demonstrate our compassion by voting for pro-life candidates in the upcoming elections," she said.

With turnout at Tuesday's poll expected to be no more than 40 per cent, Dr King warned against complacency: "My uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said, 'Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.'"

Her statement was welcomed by Fr. Frank Pavone, the director of Priests for Life, who said that Dr King's statement "reveals with clarity that at the basis of every human right is the right to life itself".

A special prayer vigil organised by the Christian Defence Coalition was held on Capitol Hill Sunday ahead of the mid-term elections. The Coalition has also organised a prayer initiative at the US Supreme Court on Tuesday that will continue for 24 hours as it hears the arguments on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban.