September 10, 2006
Democrats Trying to Win 'Values' Voters with Clinton-Inspired Appeals
by Scott Shepard
Austin American-Statesman
Democratic candidates are increasingly unwilling to surrender so-called values voters to Republican opponents this year despite the longstanding allegiance of religion-oriented voters to the Republican Party.
Democrats say they are trying to broaden the fall election debate about family values with an updated version of the middle class economic appeals that propelled Bill Clinton into the White House 14 years ago.
They argue that the Republican Party, despite its reputation as "God's party," has lost touch with the average American family by ignoring the economic and cultural pressures Americans are coping with.
It's an argument, though, that some analysts say may not be strong enough to break the ties that religious conservatives have had with the GOP since Ronald Reagan's election to the presidency in 1980.
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