If you can’t change their influence, make them irrelevant?

That’s nothing new for the media. Just don’t be duped.

Recent articles in The New York Times and other mainstream media outlets have suggested that evangelical voters have lost their focus and are now “irrelevant.”

Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy at Focus on the Family Action, said it’s no surprise such stories are being published.

“On schedule every four years near a presidential cycle,” he said, “the media predict the demise of the evangelical social conservative public policy movement.” …

But Dave Kinnaman of the Barna Research Group said a soon-to-be-published study will show that nine out of 10 evangelicals still consider abortion a major issue, and seven of 10 take note of a candidate’s views on homosexuality. 

“The movement is still focused on values,” he said.

So are the media. They’re just an altogether different set of values.