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November 30, 2007
'Patriot Pastors' ... for Huckabee?
Rick Scarborough, a pioneer in organizing churches around partisan politics, has seen his national stature rise dramatically in the last few years—the Texas ex-pastor even starred on CNN’s “God’s Warriors” series—but he’s also faced some setbacks. His “Patriot Pastors” strategy was dealt a blow last November when voters in South Dakota rejected an abortion ban and Missourians voted in favor of embryonic stem cell research, despite non-stop church-based organizing by Scarborough in both states up to Election Day. He also discovered the fact, known by most other political advocacy groups, that full-time lobbying or organizing for or against legislation is not tax-deductible—a sad day for him.
And his latest “Patriot Pastors” campaign—the ambitious “70 Weeks to Save America” tour that was to culminate on Election Day 2008—has apparently suffered from a lack of media coverage, spotty participation, and finally abandonment by Scarborough’s partner, Alan Keyes, who is running for president again. “Needless to say, this created a serious reevaluation of our whole program to register voters and to educate Christians through our Seventy Week campaign,” wrote Scarborough, who announced that sparser church events would be “augment[ed]” by voter registration drives and rallies at state capitols, “followed by an all out effort to move Values Voters to vote their values on Election Day '08.”
But sometimes opportunity knocks. Joining Randy Brinson, head of the embattled Christian Coalition of Alabama as well as a voter-registration outfit, Scarborough is bringing his “Patriot Pastors” act to the Iowa caucuses:
Beginning December 6, Vision America will be joining forces with RedeemtheVote.com in an effort to mobilize thousands of Values Voters all over Iowa as we barnstorm the state for ten days. We have been offered the use of a bus that has been especially designed for rallies, complete with a roll out stage, satellites on the roof to connect with the worldwide media, loud speakers and spotlights.
We will be working with the Iowa Family Policy Institute as well as the Iowa Christian Alliance, two very aggressive and effective pro-family organizations. Our goal is to host three rallies a day as we crisscross the state, registering thousands of voters and mobilizing tens of thousands to vote their values during the Iowa caucuses in January.
"Fox News," "US News and World Report," and other national media have expressed interest in covering this groundbreaking event as we travel the length and breadth of this important state.
Scarborough’s “One Day Crusades” this year have so far been focused on next year’s general election. Why the sudden interest in the Republican presidential primary? Well, Scarborough has heartily endorsed his former seminary classmate, Mike Huckabee, as has Brinson. And media are reporting that Huckabee has a shot of winning the Iowa caucus.
While Scarborough’s help may or may not push Huckabee over the edge in Iowa, the activist is still hedging his bets. After all, Rudy Giuliani still leads in national polls, and some have speculated that Huckabee’s surge ultimately benefits Giuliani by siphoning off far-right support for Mitt Romney. Scarborough has publicly waffled over whether he would support Giuliani were he nominated, but while he’s said Giuliani’s stance on abortion is unacceptable, he’s also been giving himself some wiggle room. Radical Islam, he said recently, is “the ultimate life issue."
Posted by Ezra at 5:40 PM | Permalink
Vision America Barnstorming Iowa
Rick Scarborough announces that they'll be will be joining forces with RedeemtheVote.com, the Iowa Family Policy Institute, and the Iowa Christian Alliance "to host three rallies a day as we crisscross the state, registering thousands of voters and mobilizing tens of thousands to vote their values during the Iowa caucuses in January." Unfortunately, they are broke: "We do not have the money on hand to fund this effort which includes airfare, hotels and food, not to mention the need to advertise and publicize each rally. This is a pure faith venture."
Posted by Kyle at 3:13 PM | Permalink
FRC Blasts GOP Loyalty Pledge
The Family Research Council is not happy with the Virginia Republican Party's demand that primary voters pledge to support the GOP nominee in the general election: "The only loyalty oath the party might consider is one in which the candidates themselves pledge support for the values and principles in the party platform. Rejuvenating any political party begins not with a loyalty oath from voters, but with renewing the party's loyalty to its voters."
Posted by Kyle at 2:52 PM | Permalink
Pat Robertson to the Rescue?
Amid all the turmoil plaguing Oral Roberts University, it appears as if things might be turning a corner because, in addition to a Christian businessman’s pledge to bail out the debt-ridden institution with a $70 million donation, it seems as if Pat Robertson is set to take advantage offer his assistance:
A team from Regent University will travel to financially troubled Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., on Monday to explore “options” for ties between the institutions.
“We are pleased to report that Dr. Pat Robertson, president and chancellor of Regent University and long-time friend of Oral Roberts University, has contacted members of the board of regents and has expressed interest in exploring options for the future of ORU with Regent University,” George Pearsons, chairman of the ORU Board of Regents, said in a statement posted on the university’s Web site.
“Dr. Robertson is sending a team on Monday to Tulsa to meet with ORU Regents and administrative representatives,” he said
It should be noted that Robertson’s Regent University Law School got its start back in the mid-80s when ORU, like today, was facing financial difficulties:
The Regent law school was founded in 1986, when Oral Roberts University shut down its ailing law school and sent its library to Robertson's Bible-based college in Virginia.
Regent didn’t just get ORU’s “entire law library, [but] some students and faculty” as well.
Who knows what part of ORU Robertson has his eye on this time.
Speaking of Robertson and Regent, Adam Key, the Regent Law School student suspended and ordered to undergo a mental evaluation for posting an unflattering photo of Robertson on his web page, has apparently decided to sue:
A Regent University law student who was suspended for posting an unflattering photo of school founder Pat Robertson on the Internet sued the university and Robertson on Thursday.
Adam M. Key, 23, claims in the federal suit that Regent officials violated his free speech and due process rights for expressing his "Christian religious and political opinions" when it suspended him in October.
…
"I went there because I wanted an environment conducive to learning that had a respect for religious liberty, but the only liberty they are interested in defending is theirs and people like them," Key said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.
Because the private university receives federal funds, it is required under the U.S. Higher Education Act to respect students' freedom of religion and expression.
The lawsuit also alleges Key was "fraudulently induced" to attend Regent. "Adam relied on Regent's many claims of religious liberty and speech" and the law school's American Bar Association accreditation, the lawsuit states.
Posted by Kyle at 1:19 PM | Permalink
November 29, 2007
Breaking News: Keyes Wasn't Invited to This Debate, Either
When Alan Keyes announced his latest quixotic campaign, someone might have thought he hit the ground running: He was featured just three days later at the Values Voter Debate alongside real, live presidential candidates. Granted, he may have benefited from the fact that the four Republican front runners all skipped that event, and in the end, he didn’t make too much of an impression, but none the less, it’s nice to be wanted. And he also scored a spot at Tavis Smiley’s black-oriented forum on PBS (although again, the four leading candidates skipped that debate).
But alas, “the Big Mo” would elude Keyes. He was left out of the GOP debate in Michigan; blaming NBC, Keyes called it a “sham.” (On the other hand, it did have those four candidates…) He was also left out of the next debate in Orlando. Worst of all, he wasn’t even invited to speak at the Family Research Council Values Voter Summit.
So at this point, it’s not too surprising that Keyes would be left out of last night’s CNN/YouTube Republican debate. Nevertheless, Keyes campaign chief Stephen Stone (who moonlights as a pro-Keyes editor of Keyes’s RenewAmerica website) is outraged. Stone, in a angry—and long-winded—e-mail exchange with CNN, threatens legal action and insinuates foul play:
How do CNN and YouTube intend to dispel the obvious appearance that their exclusion of Ambassador Keyes from the debate does in fact amount to an attempt to damage the Keyes campaign? In other words, explain why the behavior of CNN and YouTube is not intentionally self-fulfilling — since it presumes in advance that the Keyes campaign lacks viability, and then proceeds to ensure such lack of viability by excluding Dr. Keyes from the nation's consciousness — even though he is the most eloquent and persuasive Republican candidate in the race, a candidate who in 2000 was widely credited with winning the Republican presidential debates and came in third in the primaries, and whose candidacy, therefore, cannot objectively be considered less than viable.
While it may be hard for CNN to present an objective criterion to dispute that Keyes is “the most eloquent and persuasive Republican candidate in the race,” the network did claim to base its decision on minimum national poll results and a $1 million fundraising floor. Stone isn’t having any of it: How can the polls be “reliable” when they don’t include Keyes? (Well, except that one that does.) And how could CNN have possibly gauged how much Keyes has raised?
What evidence do you have of the actual amount of "individual contributions" raised to date by the Keyes campaign, upon which CNN and YouTube based their decision to exclude Dr. Keyes? Please describe the factual basis for identifying this amount, since we have never publicly released this confidential information, and explain how CNN and YouTube acquired it.
Now, this is especially comical, and not just because Keyes groups have a reputation for shady finances. One would hope that the CEO of a “major” presidential campaign would know that all federal candidates are required to disclose their contributions on a regular basis, and that information is hardly “confidential.” It’s easy to find on the Internet: By the last filing period, Keyes has raised $22,768 (that’s thousands, not millions) from 15 individual donors. (That’s fifteen.) By contrast, Fred Thompson—who officially entered the race around the same time—had raised $12 million from around 8,000 donors.
Posted by Ezra at 5:38 PM | Permalink
November 28, 2007
Is God Using NAFTA Superhighway to Stop Homosexuality?
WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah writes of immigration and the Bush Administration’s alleged secret plans to create a “North American Union”:
It is, ultimately, about moving away from differences between nations that God Himself created for His own divine purposes. It is about following the path of Nimrod and all the others who have attempted to build super-states in defiance of God.
Farah believes God, like him, opposes immigration and NAFTA—not to mention a nefarious superhighway supposedly at the root of the administration conspiracy—but a report from Pat Robertson’s CBN finds a gay-fighting God using that same road as a prophetic highway of holiness.
The concept of a behind-the-scenes “North American Union”—persistently advanced by Farah’s WorldNetDaily, the John Birch Society, CNN’s Lou Dobbs, presidential candidates Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo, and others—is closely tied to the anti-immigrant sentiment that has struck right-wing politics over the last few years. But it has taken on a life of its own, thanks to vivid imagery like “the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S.” that was alleged in detail by Jerome Corsi last year. Corsi even provided a now-iconic picture, taken from a transportation-industry lobbying group:
In the picture, it appears as if almost all of middle America has been blanketed by some kind of yellow dust originating from south of the border and traveling up Interstate 35 like a swarm of killer bees. The “NAFTA Superhighway” and the “North American Union” may be “the quintessential conspiracy theory for our time,” as the Boston Globe recently discussed.
But what if Corsi and friends are wrong? What if the yellow cloud surrounding I-35 isn’t an “invasion” from Mexico but an “invasion” of God? That, apparently, is the theory of the youth-oriented church activists profiled on yesterday’s “700 Club,” who are running “purity sieges” at clinics and porn shops, where they claim to be “moving angels and demons” by, for example, “setting free” an inebriated young man from “the desires to be with men” through the laying of hands at a gay bar.
While the CBN report doesn't mention NAFTA or a North American Union, the suspicious highway is central to the story:
A number of Christians have come to believe, because of recent prophecies, dreams, and visions, that I-35 is the highway spoken in Isaiah 35, verse 8: “And a highway will be there, it will be called the way of holiness.”
… [Heartland Ministries’ Hill] believes God has an awesome plan that starts along I-35. “Let’s draw a line in the center of America, set people on fire, get young people saved, get moms and dads saved, get churches on fire, get holy, and watch how it affects the rest of America.”
“What do we expect to see?” [said Cindy Jacob.] “We expect laws to be changed in cities. We expect righteous leaders. We expect a movement, a reformation that will literally sweep the face of the earth.”
Posted by Ezra at 3:43 PM | Permalink
The Right Rallies 'Round Huckabee
The right-wing endorsements just keep pouring in for Mike Huckabee.
In addition to B-list celebrities like Chuck Norris and Ric Flair, Huckabee has also been racking up endorsements from B-list Religious Right leaders such as Rick Scarborough, Don Wildmon, and Tim and Beverly LaHaye. And now Huckabee has secured the support of Jerry Falwell, Jr.:
Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee announced the personal endorsement of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. Falwell is the son of the late Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University and Falwell Ministries."I knew Jerry's dad for more than 30 years and have admired the long tradition of Liberty University and the legacy for creating 'Champions for Christ'," Huckabee said. "Dr. Falwell's vision of helping students to start with nothing to believe they can change the world is exactly what our campaign is all about."
Huckabee also unveiled his Faith and Family Values Coalition which, as one would expect, is chock full of Religious Right figures of varying fame and influence:
Dr. Jerry Jenkins, best-selling author, including the Left Behind series; Colorado
Star Parker, Founder and president of CURE;* Washington D.C.
Michael Farris, Chair of Home School Legal Defense Association* and Chancellor of Patrick Henry College;* Virginia
William J. Murray, Chair of Religious Freedom Coalition,* Chair of Government is Not God PAC,* and author; Washington D.C.
Don Wildmon, Founder and Chairman of American Family Association;* Mississippi
Dr. Mark Bailey, President of Dallas Theological Seminary;* Texas
Rick Scarborough, Founder and President of Vision America;* Texas
Jerry Cox, President of Arkansas Family Council;* Arkansas
Janet Folger, President of Faith2Action;* Florida
Jim Pfaff, President and CEO of the Colorado Family Action;* Colorado
Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel*/ Dean of Liberty University Law School;* Virginia
Kelly Shackelford, Chief Counsel, Liberty Legal Institute and President of Free Market Foundation;* Texas
Phil Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values;* Ohio
As for Janet Folger, not only is she a member of the coalition, she is also serving as co-chair. This comes as no surprise, as Folger has been Huckabee's most vocal backer ever since he won the straw poll at the Values Voter Debate, which she organized.
It should also be noted that Folger personally invited the Grand Avenue Church of God choir to perform their rendition of "Why Should God Bless America?" at the debate:
In recent weeks, Folger has been going all out for Huckabee in her WorldNetDaily columns, calling Hillary Clinton "Queen of Slaughter" and claiming that, if elected, Clinton will put Christians in prison.
For that, Huckabee appears to have decided that she deserves to serve as co-chair of his Faith and Family Values Coalition.
Posted by Kyle at 3:07 PM | Permalink
Romney Meets With Schiavo's Brother
Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, announces that he met with Mitt Romeny: "Given that the Presidential candidates are repeatedly asked to comment on the circumstances and outcome of Terri Schiavo's case, Mr. Schindler sent a letter to every candidate requesting a meeting to discuss the implications of Terri's case on the right to life of people living with disabilities. Presently, Governor Romney is the only candidate to accept the invitation for a meeting."
Posted by Kyle at 2:24 PM | Permalink
Heritage/Cato Economist Comes to Defense of 'Ron Paul Dollars'
Fed raid earlier this month just "validates" big-government paranoia, writes Richard Rahn of FreedomWorks, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute, and Discovery Institute.
Posted by Ezra at 10:22 AM | Permalink
Folger’s Fantasy World
Janet Folger appears to be becoming increasingly unhinged in her avid devotion to Mike Huckabee’s campaign, following up her last column where she claimed to be writing from prison following Hillary Clinton’s election with this political fairy tale:
Once upon a time in the dark days of the great slaughter, there was a determined search for a king who would bring the slaughter to an end.
The wicked reigned in both houses of the shadowy Council, and black-robed tyrants ruled the land. The slaughter continued and the good people mourned. They fought and debated, dissented and deplored for three long dreary decades until their voices grew hoarse. They were disappointed and weary and a little bit leery, but their goal they saw clearly: to shield and not yield until all babies were protected from slaughter.
Finally, the day had come when a king or queen they would send to the White Palace to bring the slaughter to an end.
Three contenders stepped forth against the evil Queen of Slaughter: Prince Slay-'Em, the Sheriff of Floppingham and Friar Mike, in that order.
It doesn’t require much imagination to figure out just who Queen of Slaughter (Clinton), Prince Slay-'Em (Giuliani), and Friar Mike (Hukcabee) are supposed to represent. Nor does it take much imagination to figure out the meaning behind Folger’s claim that the “Sheriff of Floppingham was always pro-slaughter.”
She then provides the requisite happy ending in which the noble Mike Huckabee rescues the nation:
Then somebody said, "If our leaders won't lead, hey, why don't we? For the slaughter to end, the message we'll send with our friar friend named Mike."
Others jumped up and said, "He's from our ranks, and I would give thanks to see him take the lead."
And the poll numbers surged at the thought that the slaughter would be purged, as the people joined behind Mike.
"But he isn't perfect! Some ranted and raved!"
Then Sir Chuck of Norris rode forth pushing the earth down before him. Now the way would be paved! "I'll watch the border, just get things in order!"
He lowered his sword and knighted Friar Mike, "I give you Sir Mike-A-Lot who we all Like a lot! He's the only one we can trust to slay the Slaughter Dragon and the wicked Slaughter Queen. Now that he's lean, he's a fighting machine!"
Sir Don-of-the-Wild rode forth on his steed. "I'm ready to lead!" he said. "Sir Mike-A-Lot will protect all the tots from slaughter and make sure each has a mother and a father."
And following along, 3 million strong, came Don-of-the-Wild's faithful army.
"Sir Mike-A-Lot," in one voice they declaraged, "is the one we trust to protect Royal Marriage."
So Sir Mike led the way, with each son and each daughter, to face the evil queen and her dragon of slaughter.
With new passion they fought, as each of them ought, and the dragon they caught and they slayed him.
Then the evil queen of the Hill was exiled back to Blueville where she and her dragon could no longer kill.
Sir Mike raised his sword and sang praise to the Lord that children and marriage were protected once more. And the kingdom was filled with the children's laughter, and the red and blue kingdoms lived happily after.
So now, not only can Huckabee alone save the Right from inevitable imprisonment under a Clinton regime, but he is the last hope to the nation from the “evil queen and her dragon of slaughter.”
If Huckabee wants to start being taken seriously as a first tier candidate, it might help if he could secure the support of people beyond B-list actors, ex-wrestlers, and fringe right-wing leaders. It might also help if he publicly distanced himself and his campaign from Folger’s worsening delusions.
Posted by Kyle at 9:23 AM | Permalink
November 27, 2007
Anti-Abortion Movement Split Spills onto Presidential Race
The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the reappearance of a somewhat rusty tactic in the anti-abortion movement’s tool belt: attempts to pass a “Human Life Amendment” to several state constitutions, which would purportedly grant full “personhood” rights beginning at conception. Such an end-run would circumvent a protracted political debate—which they could lose, as they did when South Dakota voters rejected an abortion ban last year—and likely end up in federal court, where activists hope new right-wing Supreme Court justices will take the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade. But the major national religious-right groups have preferred a more incremental strategy of advancing less-sweeping restrictions and promoting Republican politicians who promise to appoint anti-abortion judges, leaving absolutist activists out in the cold, as the Times notes:
For the most part, the campaigns are run by local activists, with little support or funding from big national antiabortion groups. Similar efforts have failed in the past: Proponents in Michigan could not collect enough signatures to put a personhood measure on the ballot in 2006. The Georgia proposal stalled in the Legislature this year.
Indeed, Clarke Forsythe and Denise Burke of Americans United for Life—a legal group active since the 1970s—published an article in National Review today calling the HLA “a losing move for the pro-life movement.” While AUL is hardly an influential group in this decade, its anti-HLA commentary recalls the anti-abortion movement’s in-fighting in the 1980s and 1990s over militant clinic protests (and the occasional murder of doctors). Although AUL was happy to represent militant activist Joseph Scheidler and his Pro-Life Action League in court, at the same time it pooh-poohed the frenzied “Summer of Mercy” protest in Wichita in 1991. “[I]t is better to show the public that [the abortion provider’s] practices are unlawful than to engage in tactics that attract attention to the unlawfulness of pro-lifers,” cautioned AUL’s president.
Earlier this year, this schism over tactics broke out when militant activists posted ads denouncing religious-right leader James Dobson for his support of the “Partial Birth Abortion Ban.” Two separate factions of Operation Rescue, once one of the major militant groups, attacked each other over the ad, as did National Right to Life and its Colorado affiliate. The dispute put the vision in stark relief: The NRLC said it was “sophisticated enough to know we're not going to win a total victory all at once,” while Colorado Right to Life President Brian Rohrbough accused the incrementalists of selling out to politics:
"What happened in the abortion world is that groups like National Right to Life, they're really a wing of the Republican Party, and they're not geared to push for personhood for an unborn child -- they're geared to getting Republicans elected," he said.
The spat over the Human Life Amendment repeats this disagreement. Here’s Rohrbough, now pushing an HLA in Colorado:
"The concept that we're going to elect judges who will change everything has failed," said Brian Rohrbough, a former president of Colorado Right to Life. "The logical thing is to start with personhood. . . . It's the only legitimate tactic that does not involve a compromise."
At the same time, the schism is coming out in the Republican presidential primary. When Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani, citing the candidate’s promise to appoint right-wing Supreme Court justices, Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry came out of the woodwork to stage a protest of Robertson’s CBN. “Is Pat Robertson so terrified of Hillary that he will betray the Right to Life, Marriage, Self-defense, and The Church Herself as long as a fellow Republican snatches power?” asked Terry. “Rudy may wade through the blood of the innocent to reach the throne; he may be a stench in the nostrils of Angels – and the nostrils of devils for that matter – but at least Rudy is a stench that comes from the GOP stable – and he's not Hillary. Is this the conviction we expect from Christian Leaders?” Terry then planned a “civil disobedience” rally in Philadelphia with an absolutist candidate, long-shot Alan Keyes.
And when the National Right to Life endorsed Fred Thompson—days after Thompson rejected a federal Human Life Amendment, which activists have fought tooth and nail to keep in the GOP platform—the group was accused of selling out. “I think in all probability the Thompson people were engaged with the National Right to Life people in financial dealing,” said Paul Weyrich. NRLC said it was a matter of electability. For his part, Mitt Romney is trying to shore up his position on the Human Life Amendment.
All of the Republican candidates are promising to appoint “strict constructionist” or anti-abortion judges, and it remains priority number one for the far Right. “In ’08, it’s all about the judges!” wrote Rick Scarborough, urging his (even more) purist allies to “Grow UP!!!” Certainly the Supreme Court has swerved to the Right in the last two years, and the Court is on the brink of a disaster for civil rights and civil liberties. Still, one can almost understand the skepticism of the more militant activists. “I think we see the end of the tunnel and the demise of Roe v. Wade,” proclaimed Clarke Forsythe, then the legal director of AUL, to TIME shortly after George Bush I was elected president in 1988.
But at the end of the day, whatever disagreements the absolutists and the incrementalists have over political tactics, they still share common ground, both in their goal to ban abortion and their ultimate electoral activism. From the L.A. Times:
Proponents of the [Human Life Amendment] initiatives say their campaign has a political value as well. [Dan] Becker, the Georgia Right to Life president, said it could energize dispirited conservatives during the 2008 presidential election.
"It'll draw a lot of conservatives to the polls," he said, "in an otherwise lackluster presidential year."
Posted by Ezra at 5:09 PM | Permalink
GOP Departures Good for the Right?
Human Events' John Gizzi says the departure of various Republican members of Congress is good news for the Right because these "moderates" will be replaced by more hard-line Republicans, leading him to hope that "the time may be sooner rather than later that an election cycle leaves the term 'liberal Republican House Member' a phrase to describe an extinct species."
Posted by Kyle at 4:10 PM | Permalink
Dobson Won’t Support a Mormon or Launch His Own Campaign
Focus on the Family’s Tom Minnery gave a wide ranging interview to The Denver Post's PoliticsWest where, among other things, he dismissed the notion that the Religious Right was on the verge of a meltdown:
It’s typical of what we see during election cycles. I remember as far back as 1988 when Pat Robertson ran for president and failed. There were wide predictions of a crackup; of the Moral Majority back then, of evangelicals. Then, of course, the Christian Coalition immediately rose up and became very strong. When that organization faded, there were another spate of stories about the crackup of evangelical Christians as an influence in the public square … [O]bviously, there was a big stick swung by social conservatives in the 2004 election. The fact that George Bush won in Ohio, that very key state, because a lot of people turned out for the marriage amendment in that particular state, was deemed to be significant. Now, we’re into another cycle and the normal predictions of the crackup of evangelicalism is occurring. One of the phenomenon that gives rise to that, of course, is the fact that there is no single conservative candidate who has enough marbles for everybody in the conservative movement to want to play with. Everybody’s lacking in something. Partially, this is just the way it is. People will have to figure it out, who to support. So there’s some unsettledness. But I’d hardly call that a crack-up.
Minnery, like FRC’s Tony Perkins, also dismissed Giuliani’s pledge to nominate only “strict constructionist” judges as little more than a “politician’s promise,” and voiced his concerns about Giuliani’s past and personal life:
His being married three times. Even the fact that he has shown up on Saturday Night Live in drag. I just cringe at the thought of the TV commercials that will be forthcoming from independent leftist organizations, 527s, if Giuliani becomes the nominee. I think very few people know that he tromped across the stage in drag. I think that that might be funny in New York. That might be funny for the Saturday Night Live audience. But for middle America, I do not think that will be funny … He has two male gay friends that he moved in with after his second divorce. And that was a messy affair. And just knowing how degrading politics is, I believe that there’ll be some kind of a PAC or 527 that will engineer a lot of negative advertising out of those events, designed specifically to keep conservative Christian people from pulling the lever for him.
But Minnery doesn’t seem to think this will be enough to keep committed right-wing voters at home on Election Day, saying that “a lot of people on our side would probably swallow hard and vote for the more conservative of the two major party candidates.” As for the possibility that James Dobson might end up endorsing Mitt Romney, Minnery called it “doubtful,” citing “the tremendous difference in theological views.”
But just because Dobson isn’t happy with any of the current GOP candidates doesn’t mean he has any plans to launch his own presidential campaign:
[Dobson] likes to be in charge … He’s a leader of an organization here. He’s been in charge of it and developed it. A president is in charge of one-third of the federal government and has to deal with so many different people. I think it would be a very frustrating job for someone, who’s an organization leader, to deal with. Besides, Dr. Dobson represents evangelical Christians. I don’t think that constituency is enough to elect somebody president, although it’s an important constituency within one of the two major parties.
The other problem is that there would be too many death threats against him; his wife would say, “'Jim, if you get into that, I’ll kill you.'”
Besides that, he’s 71 years old. And, in addition to that, he doesn’t want to do it.
For that, we can all be thankful.
Posted by Kyle at 1:11 PM | Permalink
Wash. Times Knocks Thompson Tax Plan
"Indeed, unless the laws of arithmetic are repealed, the Thompson tax plan almost certainly will lead to massive budget deficits." But CNBC's Lawrence Kudlow, a Thompson water-carrier, is in his corner.
Posted by Ezra at 11:19 AM | Permalink
Huckabee Wins Over More "Christian Leaders"
Mike Huckabee just keeps racking up endorsements from fringe right-wing activists and leaders. In addition to the support of “celebrities” like Chuck Norris and Ric Flair, Huckabee has also won over second-tier Religious Right leaders such as Janet Folger, Rick Scarborough, and Don Wildmon - and now you can add Tim and Beverly LaHaye to that list:
Mike Huckabee, the Republican presidential candidate and former Southern Baptist minister, is getting help from Tim LaHaye, the Christian conservative organizer and co-author of the apocalyptic “Left Behind” novels.
“America and our Judeo-Christian heritage are under attack by a force that is more destructive than any America has faced” since Hitler, Dr. LaHaye and his wife, Beverly, wrote in letters sent to lists of conservative Christians in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. “Defeating the radical jihadists will require renewed resolve and spiritual rearmament by the evangelical pastors in America.”
The letters were distributed in part through an e-mail list maintained by Mrs. LaHaye’s organization, Concerned Women for America, to encourage pastors to attend two-day conferences held in each state (free, including meals and a hotel room). Mr. Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, is the only candidate speaking.
Ms. LaHaye just happens to believe that “Christian values should dominate our government. The test of those values is the Bible. Politicians who do not use the Bible to guide their public and private lives do not belong in office.” Which probably explains why they are backing Huckabee who, with his most recent ad, portrays himself as a “Christian Leader” who says his “Faith doesn’t just influence me; it really defines me”:
Posted by Kyle at 10:18 AM | Permalink
November 26, 2007
2008 Backup 'Wedge Issue': Guns
The prospect of a Giuliani nomination has led some on the Religious Right to threaten to bolt the GOP over his supposed ideological unfaithfulness on the longstanding wedge issues of abortion and gays. Now that the Supreme Court has announced it will decide the constitutionality of D.C.’s gun control laws, some on the Right think they may have a backup. Human Events editor Jed Babbin writes:
The Heller appeal will be argued next spring and unless something very odd happens, it will be decided before the election. … If the Republicans seize this opportunity, they can make a “kitchen table” issue into a “wedge issue” in 2008: one that will decide the minds of voters. …
Clinton never did anything about gun control as a senator. What would she do as president? Does she believe that the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to keep and bear arms, or does she favor confiscative laws such as the District of Columbia law the Supreme Court will rule on in the Heller case?
We know the answer. But it’s up to the Republican candidates to flush her out of the tall weeds. This is an important issue to a great majority of Americans across the map, in Blue States, not just Red ones. It could be the wedge issue that decides the 2008 election.
Posted by Ezra at 5:25 PM | Permalink
Battle of the Boycotts
To say that the American Family Association has had something of a tense relationship with retail giant Wal-Mart would be an understatement. In the past, the AFA has targeted the chain for everything from using the phrase “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” to sponsoring Diversity Week at Boise State University.
Last year, when Wal-Mart partnered with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the AFA went ballistic and vowed that “1,000,000 families … will not shop at Wal-Mart or Sam's Club on the Friday or Saturday following Thanksgiving” because of Wal-Mart’s apparent role in furthering the homosexual agenda:
A quick search for books sold by Wal-Mart found the following related to the promotion of homosexual marriage:
* What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage
* Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gay, Good for Straights, and Good for America
* Legalizing Gay Marriage
* Why You Should Give a -amn about Gay Marriage
* Civil Wars: A Battle for Gay Marriage
* Gay Marriage and Democracy: Equality for All
* Defending Same-Sex Marriage
* Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry
* Gay Marriage, Real Life: Ten Stories of Love and Family
A quick search of Wal-Mart's website turned up the following number of items for sale:
Gay - 1148
Lesbian - 468
Transgender - 40
Bisexual - 38
Gay Marriage – 26
The AFA eventually backed off its boycott threat once Wal-Mart pledged that it would “not make corporate contributions to support or oppose highly controversial issues unless they directly relate to our ability to serve our customers."
That seemed to placate the AFA, and now that the Human Rights Campaign is urging people not to shop at Wal-Mart because of the store’s refusal to offer domestic partner benefits to its gay and lesbian employees, AFA has come rushing to Wal-Mart’s defense:
Homosexuals have challenged traditional marriage supporters to do battle. We will now see if traditional marriage supporters accept the challenge.
Make every effort to shop at Wal-Mart this Christmas season. The gays want Wal-Mart sales to go down so they can claim victory.
Forward this to your friends and family and urge them to buy at Wal-Mart. Announce this in your Sunday School class, at church, etc. Ask your pastor to announce in church newsletters and bulletins that the homosexuals are challenging those who support traditional marriage. Tell them about the homosexual's efforts to force Wal-Mart to offer "marriage" benefits and Target's support for "marriage" benefits.
The only thing consistent about the AFA’s shift from boycott to “buycott” seems to be their militant opposition to equality for gays and lesbians.
Posted by Kyle at 4:39 PM | Permalink
Bush Blasted Over Ramos and Compean
Right-wing activists are livid that President Bush did not pardon convicted Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean over Thanksgiving: "A group of Christian and evangelical leaders -- including Paul M. Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition and David A. Keene of the American Conservative Union -- excoriated Bush, saying his inaction ran counter to compassionate conservatism and Christian values. 'It's unfortunate that the president missed the opportunity to demonstrate his compassion,' the group said Friday. 'Such an act would have exemplified the fellowship and spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday and put to rest heartfelt concerns over the inhumane treatment of these two agents.'"
Posted by Kyle at 2:30 PM | Permalink
Anti-Choice Activists Focusing on States
From the Los Angeles Times: "Antiabortion activists in several states are promoting constitutional amendments that would define life as beginning at conception, which could effectively outlaw all abortions and some birth control methods ... Now a grass-roots movement is underway at the state level to undermine Roe vs. Wade."
Posted by Kyle at 2:26 PM | Permalink
The Non-Existent NAU
The Boston Globe examines the reality of a North American Union and the conspiracy-theorists, such as Phyllis Schlafly and Jerome Corsi, who are pushing it: "So how real is the NAU? In the literal sense, not very. Its underpinnings turn out to be a hodgepodge of mostly unconnected facts and suppositions. But the very existence of the theory is starting to have an influence of its own, and the concerns it represents suggest a new kind of anxiety that crosses traditional political boundaries."
Posted by Kyle at 2:18 PM | Permalink
Democrats Using Immigration to Destroy GOP
Christians Reviving America's Values complains the Democrats "want to see the continued flow of Illegal Aliens into America because these Illegal Aliens will most likely become Democrats and will therefore vote against Republicans from now until the end of time."
Posted by Kyle at 2:14 PM | Permalink