Over here in the ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - there are occasional rumblings from people who think we should drop the 'E', for the reasons you mention here. I am absolutely opposed to this idea, because I am as stubborn as I can be. I believe that one should never give ground, if one is in the right. And we are in the right. "Evangelical" means that we share the good news about Jesus.

The US media have used the word "evangelical" incorrectly to identify a certain set of political views. The people who hold those views have been happy with that, but the fact remains that the media is using the word incorrectly. I firmly believe that it is the responsibility of Christians to correct that error. The way we should do it is not by shouting on street corners, but by doing what Jesus told us to do: care for the poor, disabled and marginalized, love God and love our neughbors as ourselves.

The word "evangelical" can be redeemed. Redeeming stuff is what God does. He usually works through people.