During the 2008 campaign, Democrats worked hard to appeal to evangelicals and Catholics. But after the election they routed large amounts of funding and personnel away from faith and values initiatives. This raised questions about whether the new religious fluency was substantive or merely cosmetic. Right on cue, just half a year before the 2012 election, Democrats are starting to ratchet up their campaign to reach people of faith. Here’s the report from CNN:
Washington (CNN) – Just as it confronts fallout with some religious communities over President Barack Obama’s newly expressed support for same-sex marriage, the Obama re-election campaign is hiring a religious outreach director, it confirmed Tuesday.
Michael Wear, who currently serves as executive assistant to the executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will join the Obama campaign in Chicago as faith vote coordinator, a campaign official said.
Wear, who was raised a Catholic but now attends a nondenominational, evangelical-style church in Washington, has spearheaded White House outreach to evangelicals and has focused on policy issues like adoption throughout Obama’s first term.
David R. Swartz 