Former Missouri Senator John Danforth, a moderate Republican who for a time served as the current President's ambassador to the United Nations, today spoke out against the direction of his party. Daniel Connolly has the story for the AP.

The influence of evangelical Christians in the Republican Party hurts the organization and divides the country, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth said during a visit to the Bill Clinton School of Public Service on Wednesday.

Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri and an Episcopal priest, met with students during a seminar and held a luncheon talk at the graduate school.

"I think that the Republican Party fairly recently has been taken over by the Christian conservatives, by the Christian right," he said in an interview after his talks. "I don't think that this is a permanent condition but I think this has happened, and that it's divisive for the country."

He also said the evangelical Christian influence would be bad for the party in the long run.

Although Danforth is certainly in the center of American politics on a number of topics, "moral issues" like abortion aren't some of them.

Danforth, considered a conservative on social issues, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 and served three terms. In his final term he played a key role in defending Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas against claims of sexual harassment during bitter confirmation hearings. Thomas eventually was confirmed.

For all of the talk of the Democrats' need to reach out to religious voters, where's the talk of the Republican Party's need to not to welcome non-Evangelicals? Danforth raises some great questions with this speech, and it would be very beneficial to this country if the dialogue he is trying to open actually comes to fruition.