FRC Ally’s Partisan Credentials Still Secure

Like Gary Bauer, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins criticizes Sojourners chief and fellow evangelical Rev. Jim Wallis for giving the Democrats’ weekly radio program. Writes Perkins,

Interestingly, none of the people Wallis has criticized has delivered, or is ever likely to deliver, the GOP’s weekly radio address, no matter who is President. Instead, they are best characterized by their willingness to speak the truth, to anyone willing to listen, on the essential issues of hearth and home that are the surest route to peace and prosperity. Bishop Harry Jackson of New Hope Christian Church in Maryland, president of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, typifies this kind of leader. He speaks with equal passion about the sanctity of marriage and the need for religious leaders to boldly address both parties, knowing that sometimes this will make them less welcome behind a partisan microphone.

Bishop Jackson, who writes a column for the right-wing Townhall.com, has been a frequent speaker for far-right groups at events like FRC’s own “Justice Sunday II.” Lest he be further accused of bipartisanship or nonpartisanship – a potentially career-ending mistake to Perkins and his coalition – it should be noted that Jackson is still available to endorse Republican candidates, as he did George Bush in 2004 and Ken Blackwell and Michael Steele in 2006: After all, he supports candidates “who believe in both social and fiscal conservatism” and thinks abortion and gay marriage are plenty for church leaders to talk about.