Falwell says evangelicals control GOP, Bush’s fate By Scott Shepard, COX NEWS SERVICE

The Rev. Jerry Falwell said yesterday that evangelical Christians, after nearly 25 years of increasing political activism, now control the Republican Party and the fate of President Bush in the November election.

“The Republican Party does not have the head count to elect a president without the support of religious conservatives,” Falwell said at an election training conference of the Christian Coalition.

Falwell said evangelical Christians are now “by far the largest constituency” within the Republican Party, their route to dominance beginning in 1979 with his founding of the Moral Majority, a precursor to the Christian Coalition. …

Falwell expressed confidence in a Bush victory over Democratic Sen. John Kerry, adding, “You cannot be a sincere, committed born-again believer who takes the Bible seriously and vote for a pro-choice, anti-family candidate.” …

The speakers included:

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said Bush’s re-election is critical because “the next president is going to appoint two, perhaps four, Supreme Court justices,” making it possible to reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion-rights ruling.