Can Harris Sell Churchgoers On Abortion And Sexual Immorality?

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris continued her efforts to woo churchgoers on Sunday, with an appearance at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia. Her last-minute, "souls-to-the-polls" campaign in historically black churches comes as up to 40 million self-identified Christians plan not to vote in the upcoming election, according to a recent George Barna survey. Harris's church-focused push began three days after she ejected two rallygoers who exclaimed, "Jesus is Lord."

The Harris campaign has struggled to sell churchgoing voters on their candidate, in large part due to the fact that they lack a product this audience wants. "The sole issue that Kamala Harris has been running on" is abortion, said David Closson, director of Family Research Council's Center for Biblical Worldview, on "Washington Watch" Friday. "This really is the only issue on which she has been consistent and clear and energetic."

At a characteristic rally in Texas on Friday, Harris took the stage with pop megastar Beyonce "where pretty much ... the main issue that they campaigned on is abortion," Closson described. "In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first nominee to come out publicly and say she would be in favor of getting rid of the Hyde Amendment," he added. But "Hillary Clinton's position on abortion looks tame in comparison to the Harris-Walz ticket. They are the most ardent, energetic abortion supporters ... to ever run for president and vice president of the United States."

Harris underscored her commitment to absolute abortion in a recent sit-down interview with NBC's Hallie Jackson. When Jackson asked what concessions Harris would consider as president to win codified abortion protections from a hypothetical Republican-controlled Congress, Harris first avoided the question so obviously that Jackson asked the question again, "So it's a question of pragmatism then: What concessions would be on the table? Religious exemptions, for example, is that something that you would consider?" Harris finally replied, "I don't think we should be making concessions when we're talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body."

The question was designed as an easy lay-up. Harris was given an opportunity to position herself as a pragmatic, bipartisan negotiator, while at the same time planting a flag for hypothetical negotiations next year. On the second pass, Jackson lowered the difficulty further, signaling that this was a "question of pragmatism" and proposing an example of a relatively painless concession that Harris could latch onto. Yet Harris refused to budge even an inch.

"In one sense, she's been consistent," responded Closson. "When she was a senator, she voted against the Pain-Capable Act that would have provided protections for babies when they can feel pain. She voted against a piece of legislation that would provide legal protections for babies who survive botched abortions."

"If Harris is in the Oval Office on January 20th, the abortion lobby will have the most energetic supporter that they have ever had," he added. "Clearly, according to Kamala Harris, even our first freedom is not as important as the sacrament of abortion. ... Abortion has been elevated to this almost quasi-religious position in the modern-day Democratic Party."

Abortion is the lead role in a cast encompassing the entire Sexual Revolution. Closson noted how Harris and other progressives in Congress support the poorly named Equality Act, a bill "that would prioritize these contested claims of sexual orientation and gender identity" so that they would take precedence "whenever they come into conflict with a religious liberty claim." When Harris first ran for president in 2019, she wrote on a candidate questionnaire that gender "transition treatment" was "a medical necessity," which taxpayers should fund for prisoners and illegal immigrants in federal custody.

This issue is less popular than abortion, so it isn't one Harris likes to talk about. Yet Jackson gave Harris an opportunity to stake out a more moderate position in this election, asking, "Do you believe that transgender Americans should have access to gender-affirming care in this country?" Harris responded, "I believe we should follow the law." Again, Jackson gently pressed and Harris again deflected, "I'm not going to put myself in the position of a doctor."

The sexual libertinism of the Harris campaign's closing pitch is underscored by a pro-pornography advertisement that Democrat-aligned super-PACs intend to run in the seven key swing states in the final week before Election Day. In a desperate attempt to scoop up disinclined male voters, the ad suggests that Republican politicians will ban pornography. (This is untrue; some GOP-controlled state legislators have merely required age verification to prevent minors -- that is, non-voters -- from accessing pornographic sites.)

Can you imagine if Harris brought this pitch to the pulpit? "Vote a blue ticket. We'll keep porn legal." The parents training their 10-year-olds to pay attention during "Big Church" would be outraged. Miss Tamara, the semi-retired potluck hostess in the stylish hat, might faint right there in the pews. But the recently divorced young women -- perhaps some with children -- whose ex-husbands refused to kill their sinful addiction might be the most grieved of all. These are, admittedly, stereotypes; in reality, a shift in trends means that young men are more likely to be in church than young women.

"It's really frightening how many of these issues directly oppose biblical teaching," responded Family Research Council Action President Jody Hice. "And they're entrenched and embracing those things."

"We just need to be really clear as Christians," declared Closson. "There are issues of clear biblical morality on the ballot: abortion, sexuality, marriage, a host of other issues." The Bible addresses these fundamental moral issues in multiple places, but Paul's letter to the church in Corinth may be the most succinct: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

"Why do we care about politics? Why do we need to be out there voting?" Closson continued. "One, a love of neighbor. ... Can you say that you comprehensively love your neighbor if you're not engaging in the process that affects our basic rights and liberties and our freedoms?" A second reason, he added, is stewardship. "God calls us to be faithful stewards of everything he's entrusted us with. And I think for those of us ... who live in the United States ... we need to be good stewards of our vote."

It's clear that Vice President Harris is making a pitch for churchgoing voters. It's less clear whether it will succeed. It may come down to whether churchgoers want to buy the vision of America that Harris is selling. After Harris's second deflection on the question of abortion concessions, NBC interviewer Jackson gave a response that may prove ominously fitting, "I will move on. But I don't know that I heard a clear answer from you on the issue."

Originally published at The Washington Stand