From The New York Times Magazine, an article on The Evangelical Crackup: After the 2004 election, evangelical Christians looked like one of the most powerful and cohesive voting blocs in America. Three years later their leadership is split along generational and theological lines. How did it all come apart? Values voters schism: The Christian right is embroiled in an internal culture war, pitting true believers against pragmatists looking for a candidate to satisfy the antitax and neoconservative wings of the GOP. In the 1960s, hippies, rock stars and progressives flocked to Francis Schaeffer's Christian retreat, L'Abri - - but his ideas laid the ground for America's religious right. A review of Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge by Don Lattin. Who watches the Watchmen: A international, virulently anti-gay group, Watchmen on the Walls, is networking with conservative Christians in the US. Growing up Idahoan: There's one thing about growing up in a place like Idaho: If you can't make friends with conservatives, you won't have many friends. From The Nation, the new right-wing smear machine: A web-savvy form of conservative propaganda, written anonymously and forwarded via e-mail, is altering the political landscape; and the new McCarthyism: Right-wing activists on college and high school campuses are targeting Muslims, Arabs and other Mideast experts, indifferent to the truth or decency of their charges.
