Right Religiously...or Not

via Discount Blogger in this post from here:

Some prominent evangelical Christians say they have not been invited to participate in or attend the Republican National Convention less than three weeks before the event is to begin.

Analysts said the move likely reflects a GOP desire to sideline its more polarizing supporters during a tight presidential race, but convention organizers deny they're marginalizing the religious leaders. Republican strategist Ralph Reed said Wednesday that invitations just started going out to evangelical figures, but he would not release any names.

...Republicans are doing everything possible to turn out the evangelical vote, since conservative Christians are among Bush's core supporters. The president's chief political strategist, Karl Rove, has estimated that 4 million conservative Christians did not vote in 2000, and the campaign is working hard to prevent that from happening this Election Day.

Analysts say that denying a prominent spot to leaders such as Robertson or Falwell likely will not hurt this effort. John Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron, said that after years of activism in Republican campaigns, conservative Christians are now party insiders who may not require a specific religious appeal at the convention.