John McCain’ nomination for president once represented the waning of the Christian Right after the high watermark of its influence in 2004.
Then Sarah Palin, a darling of the movement, became John McCain’s veep pick. The movement seemed to have some influence left after all.
And the AP reports a mostly overlooked story about the crafting of this year’s Republican platform, with its promotion of a complete ban on abortion remains in tact, without exceptions for rape, or incest, or to save the life of the mother, despite McCain’s support for those exceptions:

The votes came the same day that Palin and her husband, Todd, revealed that their unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant. The couple said their daughter planned to marry the baby’s father and keep the child.
During his 2000 campaign, McCain argued for loosening the convention platform to include abortion exceptions. That triggered a backlash among social conservatives, who reared up again in recent weeks amid word McCain might be considering a running mate favoring abortion rights.
In a May interview being published in the October issue of Glamour magazine, McCain reiterated his support for the exceptions.
“My position has always been: exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother,” the senator said.
When asked if he would encourage the party to include them in the platform, he replied, “Yes,” adding: “And by the way, I think that’s the view of most people, that rape, incest, the life of the mother are issues that have to be considered.”
In a subsequent July 30 interview with Glamour, McCain said he had “not gotten into the platform discussions.”

Plus, the party’s evangelical contingent has been front and center at this week’s convention.
Given all these developments, isn’t it safe to say that the GOP still belongs more to the Christian Right than to John McCain?

8