Changes

At the urging of some friends, I decided to go [to the briefing in Dallas]. I did not expect much, but when I arrived, I found a packed arena, full of enthusiastic individuals hearing great speakers. I went to the phone after the first few hours, called Nancy [his wife], and said, ‘Get a baby-sitter for the children. You must come up here and hear what is going on.’ She flew to Dallas, and we had the opportunity to attend together. This was the first time either of us had met Ronald Reagan. [Dallas businesswoman] Mary Crowley invited us to a reception for him at the Hyatt. Jimmy Carter had been invited to speak but did not attend.<ref name=bpnews/></blockquote>

At the urging of some friends, I decided to go [to the briefing in Dallas]. I did not expect much, but when I arrived, I found a packed arena, full of enthusiastic individuals hearing great speakers. I went to the phone after the first few hours, called Nancy [his wife], and said, ‘Get a baby-sitter for the children. You must come up here and hear what is going on.’ She flew to Dallas, and we had the opportunity to attend together. This was the first time either of us had met Ronald Reagan. [Dallas businesswoman] Mary Crowley invited us to a reception for him at the Hyatt. Jimmy Carter had been invited to speak but did not attend.<ref name=bpnews/></blockquote>

In a 1981 interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', McAteer said his group was committed to "public policy concerning moral issues," specifically support for [[school prayer]] and national defense as well as opposition to abortion, [[pornography]], and [[communism]]. John C. Green, a [[Political science|political scientist]] at the University of Akron in [[Akron]], [[Ohio]], said that McAteer and the better known [[Jerry Falwell]], a [[Baptist]] pastor from [[Lynchburg]], [[Virginia]], 

In a 1981 interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', McAteer said his group was committed to "public policy concerning moral issues," specifically support for [[school prayer]] and national defense as well as opposition to abortion, [[pornography]], and [[communism]]. John C. Green, a [[Political science|political scientist]] at the University of Akron in [[Akron]], [[Ohio]], said that McAteer and the better known [[Jerry Falwell]], a [[Baptist]] pastor from Lynchburg, [[Virginia]], 

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In 1984, McAteer ran as an [[Independent voter|Independent]] for the [[United States Senate]] seat from Tennessee, a post vacated by the [[Republican Party|Republican]] Majority Leader, [[Howard Baker|Howard Henry Baker, Jr.]] McAteer opposed the Republican nominee, Victor Ashe, later the long-term [[mayor]] of [[Knoxville]], who like Baker was considered a [[Rockefeller Republican|Moderate Republican]]. The easy winner of the race was the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Al Gore]], then a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Tennessee's 4th congressional district and later the vice president under [[Bill Clinton]]. McAteer finished with 87,234 votes (5.3 percent) in the contest. Gore won handily despite the easy reelection of President Reagan and Vice President [[George Herbert Walker Bush]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3707|title=TN U.S. Senate|publisher=ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=May 26, 2016}}</ref>

In 1984, McAteer ran as an [[Independent voter|Independent]] for the [[United States Senate]] seat from Tennessee, a post vacated by the [[Republican Party|Republican]] Majority Leader, [[Howard Baker|Howard Henry Baker, Jr.]] McAteer opposed the Republican nominee, Victor Ashe, later the long-term [[mayor]] of [[Knoxville]], who like Baker was considered a [[Rockefeller Republican|Moderate Republican]]. The easy winner of the race was the [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Al Gore]], then a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Tennessee's 4th congressional district and later the vice president under [[Bill Clinton]]. McAteer finished with 87,234 votes (5.3 percent) in the contest. Gore won handily despite the easy reelection of President Reagan and Vice President [[George Herbert Walker Bush]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=3707|title=TN U.S. Senate|publisher=ourcampaigns.com|accessdate=May 26, 2016}}</ref>

Falwell, who worked with McAteer and others in the organization of the former [[Moral Majority]], once said that what "the press today calls the 'religious right' was really McAteer's dream."<ref name=nbcnews/> McAteer was particularly known too as a defender of the nation of [[Israel]]. He was overshadowed in the national limelight by Falwell and other colleagues, such as televangelist [[Pat Robertson]], and [[Ralph E. Reed, Jr.]], the former head of the [[Christian Coalition of America]], who at the time of McAteer's death in 2004 was working in the successful re-election campaign of U.S. President [[George W. Bush]], who had defeated McAteer's former rival, Al Gore, in a close, contested match in 2000.<ref name=nyt/>

Falwell, who worked with McAteer and others in the organization of the former [[Moral Majority]], once said that what "the press today calls the 'religious right' was really McAteer's dream."<ref name=nbcnews/> McAteer was particularly known too as a defender of the nation of [[Israel]]. He was overshadowed in the national limelight by Falwell and other colleagues, such as televangelist [[Pat Robertson]], and [[Ralph E. Reed, Jr.]], the former head of the [[Christian Coalition]], who at the time of McAteer's death in 2004 was working in the successful re-election campaign of U.S. President [[George W. Bush]], who had defeated McAteer's former rival, Al Gore, in a close, contested match in 2000.<ref name=nyt/>

McAteer's break with the Republicans came because the party delivered little of the conservative Christian agenda. “We were dropped like a hot potato once they got out of these Christians what they wanted,” McAteer said of the [[Republican Party|GOP]].<ref name=nbcnews>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6276308/ns/politics/t/staying-right-sideof-political-movement/#.V0eyR4-cEa4|title=Staying on the right side of a political movement: Conservative Christians - and their ideas - threaded throughout Bush administration|publisehr=[[NBC News]]|date=October 27, 2004|author=M./ Alex Johnson|accessdate=May 26, 2016}}</ref>

McAteer's break with the Republicans came because the party delivered little of the conservative Christian agenda but instead catered to the party's moderate wing. “We were dropped like a hot potato once they got out of these Christians what they wanted,” McAteer said of the [[Republican Party|GOP]].<ref name=nbcnews>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6276308/ns/politics/t/staying-right-sideof-political-movement/#.V0eyR4-cEa4|title=Staying on the right side of a political movement: Conservative Christians - and their ideas - threaded throughout Bush administration|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=October 27, 2004|author=Alex Johnson|accessdate=May 26, 2016}}</ref>

==Legacy==

==Legacy==