In 2004, we posted an entry "bush elected & 11 states banned gay marriage" and said that using gays as a wedge issue to win an election is ultimately a war that will be lost by the Christian Right and would damage Christianity.

Fast forwarding in Nov 2012, President Obama has won the US 2012 Presidential election to become a 2nd term President. It was not too long ago that he was just an unknown State Senator from Illinois from 1997 to 2004. His election marks the lost by the Christian Right/ GOP who spent 100 million trying to unseat him.

With an increasing deficit, high unemployment rates, continuing wars in Iraq and Afganistan, it should have been an easy victory for the Republican Party. However, the GOP has turned far right and had alienated much of the middle ground.

NOM, an anti-gay organization, even prophesised that Obama would loose when he decided to openly support gay rights and gay marriage despite further harming his election chances. But at the end, all the 4 referrendum to limit gay rights were defeated.

As a result, gay marriage was made legal in Maine, Maryland and Washington state bringing the total number of states allowing gay marriage to nine.

Ralph Reed, the head of the evangelical Faith & Freedom Coalition was still adamant declaring that  "It's still 32 victories on our side and four on theirs." But the victories were in 2000, and 2004 and the tide has turned in a very big way. The Supreme Court decisions are pending and few of the justices would likely vote in the wrong side of history.

The President of the Southern Baptist, Rev Albert Mohler calls the election "I think this was an evangelical disaster". He was right. The evangelical gospel mandate was twisted to worship a pagan angel high up at Salt Lake city. Was it worth it?

The Rev Billy Graham took off Mormonism from his organization's list of cults and pleged to support Romney, hence in a way sided with the god of this world undermining his own legacy. He entered into the political arena, and came out against gays. It distorts the image and the name of Christ.

The demise of evangelical christianity started with President's Bush election in 2004 where he used gays as a wedge issue to drum up support to get into the White House. The shameful focus on gays was done by putting gay marriage on the ballot resulting in 11 states banning gay marriage.

 The Rev Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) lamented after the election where he openly supported Romney with ads that "We have turned our backs on God". This is true, for the GOP which he had supported was so keen on denying health care and social justice to 47% of the population. There was no mercy nor grace.

The use of gays as a scapegoat did not work in the 2012 election because America had changed. Support for gays and gay marriages had crossed the 50% mark and so for the swing voters in the middle, the support was clear especially amongst the younger voters.

In 2004, the Gallop poll in US indicated that 42% supported gay marriage. It remained stagnant in 2008 at 40%, but a strong rise to 53% in 2012 with an upward trend. Romney had wanted to deny gay rights despite his faith having a historical legacy for one man to have many wives.

The Supreme Court in the US cleverly pushed any decision to hear California's Proposition 8 on gay marriage well after the election on Nov 30, 2012. If the court decides to review and hear out the arguments, it could set a precedence for gay marriage for the entire USA by July 13.

If the Supreme Court does not take up the case, gay marriage will only be legal in California. It's a loosing battle for the Christian Right because a ballot in California in 2016 will definitely support gay marriages if they indeed loose the supreme court battle in 2012.

Perhaps its time the church return to being christian with the focus on the gospel, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the stricken and miraculously healing the sick. The church had engaged in a cultural war blaiming gays for the sins of society because power has gone out from the church and covered up by loud talking and rethoric against the weak and the outcasts.

It's a new moral landscape in America where hypocrisy of the rich and the powerful of the Christian faith will not be easily tolerated. Just because a person is a "minister" of the faith or graduated from a bible college doesn't make him/her right nor exempted from increasing scrutiny. The child sex abuse cover-up by the Catholic Church and the excesses of prosperity theology have made many skeptical.

The internet has made this world such a small place with news travelling through the speed of light and details analysed and opinions shared. We have an information overload that little could be hidden for long. The election was lost because one party couldn't be trusted and cared for the right dogma rather than people. How could evangelical christians honestly look past Romney's faith in a Mormon god and equate it to somehow being a Christian conservative and evangelical?