In the Reagan era, the Christian right was recruited into the GOP…
In the Reagan era, the Christian right was recruited into the GOP as a new constituency, but somewhere along the way, the evangelicals stopped being a mere constituency and took over control of the party.
What I think is really interesting is the alliance that has formed between the evangelicals and the neo-cons (an alliance which has dominated the last eight years of Bush’s term in office). Both sides think they are using the other. The evangelicals thing they are using the Jews and Israel as their ticket to heaven since, as we all know, we’re living in the End of Days and Armeggedon is right around the corner. The neo-cons, on the other hand, are using the evangelicals so that the neo-cons can push forward their pro-zionist agenda. The neo-cons pay lip service to the evangelicals religious beliefs, but they don’t believe any of this end-of-the-world crap.