Matt at Stones Cry Out links to a post on Instapundit that expresses worry the Republican party is becoming the party of Dobson and Falwell. Glenn Reynolds said,

The Republicans' weakness is that people worry that they're the party of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. They tried, successfully, to convince people otherwise in the last election, but they're now acting in ways that are giving those fears new life.

Matt agrees with Reynolds, to a point,

In all honesty, I don't think that Glenn's worries are unfounded. If nothing else, we must be aware of public perception. The GOP is running a very real risk of convincing the swing voters of this country that it is the party of James Dobson and Jerry Falwell. I don't for one second believe that to be the total truth, but if you're naive enough to be a swing voter, chances are you won't be sharp enough to tell the difference between George W. Bush and Pat Robertson.

Conversely, I think it is legitimate to worry that non-Christians, or at least the unchurched, may percieve that traditional evangelicals and, I suppose in some cases, Catholics, are the religion of the GOP. I doubt very seriously that Justice Sunday helped to dispell that notion. As with the GOP itself, I don't think it's an entirely fair stereotype. Nevertheless we must be aware of public perception, however skewed it might be.

Good points all. We need to be very careful about how we present ourselves to the public at all times. However, the Democrats and their allies at places like PFAW will scream "theocracy!" whenever anyone opposes their positions on social issues like abortion and the definition of marriage. The only way to avoid that charge is to leave the political arena entirely, or at least to give up on social issues. And that is simply unacceptable. We have to make the argument that people of traditional religious faith have the same right to the public square as every other citizen. We have to win that argument, not abandon it. But people like Reynolds and Andrew Sullivan are not just calling for a change of presentation, they are opponents on those social issues. Their comments need to be considered with that in mind.

WILLisms says it's all about the price of gasoline. (link via Instapundit) That's probably much more true than not.