Newdow and the Democrats' dilemma

On Monday of this week, a US district court judge threw out California atheist Michael Newdow's lawsuit against the government for its use of "In God We Trust" on coins and currency. Not dissuaded, Newdow says he will appeal to the ultra-liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

If you'll recall, Newdow was also the person who went all the way to the Supreme Court in a prior lawsuit that protested the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. That suit was dismissed because of a technicality. Nevertheless, Newdow seems hell-bent (pun intended) on poking his finger in the eye of the country's religious establishment.

I have no idea of Michael Newdow's political leanings, but his crusade against faith and religion could pose problems for Democrats in the fall. In recent elections, "values voters" have been turning out in strong numbers at the polls and they tend to vote Republican. Of course, after the Massachusetts Supreme Court gave the thumbs-up to gay marriage in 2004, the rallying cry against so-called "activist judges" became louder than ever. Newdow's one-man mission against any and all symbols of faith and God in the public square will only serve to propagate the political interest of voters of faith to whom these issues matter. And if these church-going values voters show up in large enough numbers in November, that will almost certainly benefit the Republicans again. Even a slight edge can make all the difference in the world (cough-cough-Florida).

Now I don't think the Democratic establishment has anything to do with Newdow and his faith-targeted litigiousness. Quite the opposite, I'm a bit surprised that I haven't yet heard from some of the left's conspiracy theorists that Newdow's quest for a God-free society is a dastardly plan hatched by Karl Rove in an attempt to "turn out the base". It's pretty clear, though, that Newdow is not doing the Democrats any favors and they really need him to dial it down a notch or two. Maybe they have an atheist witness relocation program that they could enroll him in. Or perhaps they could get him to cease and desist with a bribe of some sort. I don't know. I truly believe, though, that there is an inverse correlation between the amount of press Newdow gets and the Democrats' chances in November.

In other words, if Newdow continues on with his mission, the Democrats may not have a prayer of returning to power in Washington.