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| | FIRST THINGS: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life |
 | | The association of the Democratic Party with secularism, according to press accounts from the current electoral cycle, is a relatively recent development that is largely attributable to the person of Howard Dean—with his arrogant style, his Northeastern elitism, and his indifference to the religious sensibilities of middle America. |
 | | Their substantial presence at this convention, combined with their zeal and cohesion, overwhelmed the culturally traditionalist (southern Evangelical and white ethnic Catholic) wings of the party, which in the past could be counted on to temper secularist policy initiatives. |
 | | The core opposition to school vouchers, faith-based charities, the Defense of Marriage Act, and the banning of partial-birth abortion is overwhelmingly on the Democratic side of the aisle. |
| www.firstthings.com /article.php3?id_article=338 (2370 words) |
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