Columnist Kathleen Parker, a longtime GOP supporter, revises and extends her "oogedy-boogedy" remarks from a controversial column last month, in which she wrote:

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh.

Today, she acknowledge addresses what "oogedy-boogedy" means (since that's the catchphrase that caught fire and ruffled a few feathers), and adds:

How about social conservatives make their arguments without bringing God into it? By all means, let faith inform one’s values, but let reason inform one’s public arguments.

That was and remains my point. It isn’t so much God causing the GOP problems; it’s his fan club.

The broad perception among centrists, moderates, conservative Democrats, renegade Republicans, etc., is that the GOP is the party of white Christians to the exclusion of others, some of whom might also be social conservatives.

One can believe this or not. But as the gazillions who have written me to say either that “God Is Here To Stay” or that “Conservatives Won’t Be Silenced” ought best to know: Just because you don’t believe something doesn’t make it untrue.

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As long as the religious right is seen as controlling the Republican party, the GOP will continue to lose some percentage of voters, and that percentage likely will increase over time as younger voters shift away from traditional to more progressive values.

The cause is not helped when someone of the stature of Rick Warren interviews the leading presidential candidates in his church, questioning them about their faith. If that’s not a religious test, I don’t know what is.

Yup.