Hightower Lowdown

All the pundits and consultants are unanimous these days about what Democratic party candidates must do to gain political favor: emulate Republicans by wearing religion (specifically, Christianity) on their sleeves.

But as usual, the pundits and consultants are wrong. Yes, professing one's heartfelt spiritual beliefs can be a positive thing to share with voters, and Democrats will be on particularly strong turf by expressing their political vision and goals in terms of Jesus's own values of economic and social justice. But it's totally wrong to think that faith talk and photo-ops with evangelicals will be enough to convert people to the Democratic cause. Such quick-fix thinking misunderstands what goes on inside those megachurches that are home to millions of evangelical Christiansincluding millions of lower-income working- class folks who logically should be Democrats. While the pundits and consultants focus on the preaching inside such churches, the congregations themselves are filled with people who go because of the ministering that the churches provide.

Many of the megachurches offer a community that not only says "We care," but also provides vital services, including child care, legal help, job searches, housing assistance, dental work, and language classes. Labor unions used to fill this social void, as did many of the Democratic party's big-city political machines of old, delivering real service and earning true loyalty in return. The Democratic party should get back to ministering, not preaching.