Christian Coalition cheers GOP winners, but waits for action

ATLANTA - Conservatives rallied Saturday to cheer a slate of Republicans they helped elect last fall. But the Christian Coalition of Georgia isn&#39;t claiming victory just yet. <br> <br> Even though the state Senate and governor&#39;s office are in Republican control for the first time in decades, the GOP victors aren&#39;t making top priorities of two issues important to the coalition abortion and school vouchers. <br> <br> The 200 or so Christian Coalition members attending the daylong rally said they don&#39;t mind waiting. <br> <br> So excited were the coalition members to hear from Gov. Sonny Perdue they gave him two standing ovations before he even started talking. The new governor stood in a Baptist church&#39;s fellowship hall but talked for just five minutes, promising only discussion of abortion. <br> <br> ``We&#39;re finally free to discuss the issues that need to be discussed, including the life issue, in the public forum,&#39;&#39; Perdue said. <br> <br> The governor supports a bill that would require women to wait 24 hours for an abortion. Women seeking an abortion also would have to be given detailed information about risks from the procedure. <br> <br> Perdue did not mention that bill specifically, and he did not attend an anti-abortion rally last week at the Capitol. His staff has said Perdue&#39;s top priorities are education and ethics, not abortion. But that didn&#39;t seem to bother Christian Coalition members. <br> <br> ``Our people realize you don&#39;t throw many 100-yard passes in a football game. You do it five and 10 yards at a time,&#39;&#39; said Sadie Fields, head of the Christian Coalition of Georgia. <br> <br> ``The fact that he&#39;s talking about other issues doesn&#39;t mean he has any lack of commitment to protecting innocent life, born or unborn. And certainly that&#39;s not the only issue we care about, either,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> If Perdue has said little about abortion, he&#39;s said even less about school vouchers. The Republican says he would like to study education more to find school choice programs that work. <br> <br> The state school superintendent, fellow Republican Kathy Cox, also spoke to the crowd without mentioning vouchers or school choice. <br> <br> ``I think vouchers are something we&#39;ve got to re-evaluate,&#39;&#39; Cox said after her remarks. ``Whether that will end up being a viable option in Georgia, I don&#39;t know.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Rally attendees were little bothered by the soft sell they heard from politicians. Coalition members said they were confident conservative ideas will get a fair hearing now that Republicans have been elected to more state posts. <br> <br> ``To get somewhere, you&#39;ve got to start taking a few small steps,&#39;&#39; said Diane Donaudy, a volunteer for Operation Outcry, which opposes abortion. <br> <br> Others said the new Republicans leaders should be given breathing room as they assume power. <br> <br> ``Abortion, school vouchers they&#39;ll come a little down the line,&#39;&#39; said Richard Aaron of Suwanee. ``They&#39;ll get to it. They&#39;re probably working on it right now. We&#39;ve waited quite a while, so we&#39;re ready to wait a while more.&#39;&#39;