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March 21, 2008
Right Wing Joins Conversation About Race
A few voices on the Right have expressed partial praise for Barack Obama’s speech on race, but by and large, right-wing commentators have stuck to the script, picking over the parts where Obama mentioned the country’s racial wounds, excoriating him for failing to disavow affirmative action or liberal economic policies, and generally promoting the idea that Obama is some kind of Manchurian candidate who secretly hates both America and white people.
But if Obama hoped to start a national conversation about race, he succeeded, in a way. Many right-wing commentators have proved willing to redirect their attacks on Obama to a discussion of their views on African Americans in general. Cal Thomas opined that “black people should be listening to” Bill Cosby, not Rev. Wright. Ann Coulter announced that she had had enough of blacks talking about racism:
But the "post-racial candidate" thinks we need to talk yet more about race. How much more? I had had my fill by around 1974. How long must we all marinate in the angry resentment of black people? …
We treat blacks like children, constantly talking about their temper tantrums right in front of them with airy phrases about black anger. I will not pat blacks on the head and say, "Isn't that cute?" As a post-racial American, I do not believe "the legacy of slavery" gives black people the right to be permanently ill-mannered.
Unfortunately, the online videos of Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s church appear to be the first exposure some on the Right have had to blacks or the African American church. Human Events reporter Ericka Anderson admitted as much: “Those of us outside the black community lack any deep knowledge of black churches. The only black minister we are very familiar with was Martin Luther King, Jr.” Anderson added, “He never damned America.”
George Neumayr, editor of the Catholic World Report, was apparently scandalized by what he described as the “feverish” church-goers in the videos “hopping up and down like hyperactive children” as they follow their “buffoonish[],” “sashaying” pastor.
Perhaps we should leave the final word to Pat Buchanan, who has made a career out of claiming that “white America” is under constant threat from other ethnicities. Before Obama’s speech, Buchanan pined for the “Negroes” of the 1950s:
That Wright is a revered preacher in black America also tells us that, far from coming together, we Americans are further apart than we were in the 1950s, when Negroes could be described as Christian, conservative and patriotic. Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad did not speak for black America then. Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young and Dr. Martin Luther King did. But Jeremiah Wright makes Stokely Carmichael and Rap Brown sound like the Mills Brothers.
After the speech, Buchanan was more blunt, writing that “Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.”
What is wrong with Barack's prognosis and Barack's cure?
Only this. It is the same old con, the same old shakedown that black hustlers have been running since the Kerner Commission blamed the riots in Harlem, Watts, Newark, Detroit and a hundred other cities on, as Nixon put it, "everybody but the rioters themselves."
Was "white racism" really responsible for those black men looting auto dealerships and liquor stories, and burning down their own communities, as Otto Kerner said -- that liberal icon until the feds put him away for bribery.
Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.
Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.
This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard.
Posted by Ezra at 5:43 PM | Permalink
FRC’s Sprigg Wants to Export Gays
Medill News Service, a project run by Northwestern University graduate journalism students, recently ran a story about the Uniting American Families Act, legislation that “would allow same-sex partners to be united legally through the U.S. immigration process. The bill would correct the bias in the [Immigration and Nationality Act] by adding the term ‘permanent partner’ to the law’s definition of family members; therefore, same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents would be eligible for green cards and immigrant visas available to spouses and other family members.”
The piece profiles a couple, Tim Miller and Alistair McCartney, who have been together for fourteen years who may be forced to separate or leave the country altogether when McCartney, an Australian citizen, sees his work Visa expire next year.
Reporter Sirena Rubinoff then interviewed Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council who explained his organization’s opposition to the legislation:
We oppose this bill because it is, although it may be at the margins, part of an assault on the definition of family ... I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society.
Posted by Kyle at 1:35 PM | Permalink
Double Standards
Although it wasn’t surprising to see John McCain spend much of the past few years courting the Religious Right in advance of securing the Republican presidential nomination, he continued to pander even after his primary victory was all but finalized. Beginning with his speech to the right-wing activists at CPAC—which followed shortly after his main rival, Mitt Romney, dropped out—McCain seemed to step up his embrace of the fringe, picking up more and more endorsements, campaigning with apocalyptic televangelist John Hagee and “Patriot Pastor” Rod Parsley, and reaching out to the Council for National Policy.
McCain’s search for religious-right support might have raised a few flags. Hagee, for example, frames his support for Israel in terms of the end times, going as far as warning that any U.S. foreign policy decision that isn’t “pro-Israel” enough will result in God bringing a “blood bath” of terrorist attacks to America. Hagee also identifies the Catholic Church as the “great whore” of Revelation (a characterization he now denies) and said Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on a sinful city.
When confronted with some of Hagee’s extreme views, McCain simply responded “all I can tell you is that I am very proud to have Pastor John Hagee’s support.'’ After a lot of pressure from the Catholic League, McCain finally issued a bland statement: “I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee’s, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics.”
Indeed, McCain would have had difficulty criticizing Hagee any further—much less call the pastor out on his “profoundly distorted view of this country,” to quote Barack Obama’s critique of Rev. Jeremiah Wright—because McCain had sought out Hagee precisely for his extreme stance and the religious-right constituency he can reach.
Just as McCain sought out Hagee for his political clout, it was politics that brought McCain and Ohio televangelist Rod Parsley together on the campaign. When McCain brought Parsley on stage and called him a “spiritual guide,” that didn’t mean the senator had sent the Word of Faith preacher a financial “seed” in hopes that God would bolster his campaign contributions. Instead, McCain was embracing Parsley’s far-right political views and the political machine of “Patriot Pastors” he leads.
David Limbaugh, one of the many right-wing commentators who dismissed Obama’s speech on his pastor, claimed there was a “double standard” when it came to conservatives: “When the remotest connection can be inferred between a conservative and a bigoted supporter, there is always hell to pay.”
But in fact the opposite double standard seems to be in play: While Obama continues to be attacked for his personal relationship with a pastor whose controversial political ideology he’s rejected, McCain’s ongoing ideological relationship with the far Right—consisting, in essence, of him telling them he embraces their political views—remains unconnected to McCain’s political reputation.
Posted by Ezra at 12:45 PM | Permalink
March 20, 2008
Gays Want to Poison Our Blood Supply!
Recently, the Human Rights Campaign released a statement on a hearing in which the "American Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks and America’s Blood Centers [testified] that the ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men since 1977 should be lifted,” in which HRC President Joe Solmonese commented:
Twentieth century prejudice shouldn’t keep us from 21st century health standards. Our nation’s leading blood services organizations agree that there is no rational justification for treating gay and bisexual men different than straight men. Given modern testing and the fact that anyone can be vulnerable to infection, there is no medical or scientific rationale for this discriminatory policy.
Predictably, Concerned Women for America’s resident anti-gay “expert” Matt Barber weighed in and, instead of criticizing the groups that actually delivered this testimony, chose to attack Solmonese for intentionally endangering the nation’s blood supply:
"Joe Solmonese's demand is incredibly reckless and selfish," said Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues with Concerned Women for America (CWA). "Unfortunately, it's a common demand among his fellow extremists.
"In South Africa, militant homosexual activists have been deliberately and surreptitiously violating that nation's blood ban, planning to flood blood services with 70,000 units. Who knows how much blood has been contaminated or how many innocent people have been infected," said Barber, "This isn't a protest; it's an act of violence.
…
"Joe Solmonese has severely damaged his credibility here, and he should immediately withdraw his demand. It's unconscionable that he would place a deceptive and dangerous political agenda above the health and well-being of American men, women and children.
Barber has been a busy man lately, working to turn anti-gay Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern into a right-wing cause célèbre after she was recorded saying that the gay agenda is the “biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam,” so it is no surprise that Barber would cite HRC’s position as proof that Kern was indeed correct in her assessment:
In recent days, Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern has been viciously attacked and maligned, even receiving death threats, for saying that homosexual activism poses a grave threat. This represents but one example of many which illustrate her point. She can rest her case.
Posted by Kyle at 4:28 PM | Permalink
March 19, 2008
Hip Lingo
After Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern’s anti-gay speech—in which she warned that the “homosexual agenda” is “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam”—was made public and Kern became the center of attention, some right-wing activists rushed to her defense, including Matt Barber of Concerned Women for America and Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth, the sources she cited for proof that gays are out of destroy America. CWA’s Barber complained that Kern had been subjected to “tremendous assault” by “homosexual anti-Christian hate groups.”
![[Jamming]](http://media.pfaw.org/Right/images/jam-jewcy.jpg)
But the Oklahoma chapter of CWA has its own take:
An Oklahoma State Representative is being "jammed" by homosexual activists and a sympathetic media for taking a stand on homosexuality, and she is not backing down. The term "jamming" refers to the public smearing of Christians, traditionalists or anyone else who opposes the "gay" agenda.
According to CWA Oklahoma director Linda Caswell, “Rep. Kern represents the vast majority of Oklahomans.”
Posted by Ezra at 6:10 PM | Permalink
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Pretend to Join 'Em
With the passing of right-wing luminaries such as Jerry Falwell and D. James Kennedy in recent months, coupled with the aging of many of the Right’s traditional leaders, the movement itself appears to be in flux and some are getting worried about just what will become of it in the future. Just last week, James Dobson voiced these concerns while addressing the National Religious Broadcasters Convention:
“It causes me to wonder who will be left to carry the banner when this generation of leaders is gone. The question is, will the younger generation heed the call? Who will defend the unborn child in the years to come? Who will plead for the Terri Schiavos of the world? Who’s going to fight for the institution of marriage, which is on the ropes today.”
The emerging conventional wisdom is that the Religious Right is on the verge of being replaced by a “new evangelical” movement that shares the old-guard’s opposition to gays and abortion, but also cares about issues like poverty and the environment. The standard-bearer of this “new breed” is Mike Huckabee who, as he puts it, drinks “a different kind of Jesus juice” than the traditional leaders and routinely says things like this:
I don’t see [the right-wing movement] going into decline. I see it going into a maturing process. I think the issues are going to broaden and force Evangelicals to expand their horizons of concerns to poverty, disease, issues of education and homelessness. These are issues that I think are going to become increasingly important along with the environment as part of an overall focus that you’re going to see from - I would use a broader term - values voters - that would include not only Evangelicals but also Catholics and conservative Jewish voters as well.
Of course, just because a bunch of young upstarts think that caring about the environment is important doesn’t mean that the old-guard has any interest in broadening their agenda. As we noted last year, when the National Association of Evangelicals started to voice concerns about the environment and global warming, right-wing stalwarts like Dobson, Tony Perkins, Don Wildmon, Gary Bauer, Rick Scarborough, and Paul Weyrich dashed off an angry letter essentially demanding that the NAE fire its own Vice President over it.
The NAE didn’t back down, but the Right didn’t give up. Instead, they formed their own organization, the American Environmental Coalition, and now seek "to bring balance to the debate by being an alternative source of reliable information to Americans who seek the best way forward for our country.”
Because if you are looking for “reliable information” on environmental issues, you couldn’t ask for a better group of experts:
# Pat Robertson, The Christian Broadcasting Network
# Paul Weyrich, Free Congress Foundation
# Gary Bauer, American Values
# Jay Sekulow, American Center for Law & Justice
# Rev. Lou Sheldon, Traditional Values Coalition
# Rev. Rob Schenck, Faith & Action
# Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
# Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org
# Amy Ridenour, National Center for Policy Analysis
It appears as if AEC was set-up back in September, with the site being registered to Gary Marx, who, along with being head of the Judicial Confirmation Network, also served on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
While the AEC has, to date, kept a pretty low profile, it appears as if the organization already has one key ally on the Hill - global warming denier Sen. James Inhofe:
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today welcomed a letter signed by leading evangelical and conservative leaders opposing S.2191 - America's Climate Security Act (Lieberman-Warner). The letter, sent to all 100 U.S. Senators, urges the defeat of climate change legislation which they say would lead to “imperceptible” changes in temperature “while doing grave harm to our economy, the poor, and U.S. competitiveness.” The letter dispels the myth made by a few on Capitol Hill that people of faith have somehow embraced the more radical climate change proposals. Over 70 religious leaders, economists, scientists, state legislators and public policy advocates signed the letter.
“Leading evangelical and conservative leaders made a bold statement by joining together and sending a letter to all 100 Senators outright rejecting the economic wrecking Lieberman-Warner bill,” Senator Inhofe said. “I welcome this letter and encourage each of my colleagues to seriously consider the arguments made by these leading evangelical and conservative leaders. In particular, the letter states their concerns over the severe economic impact on American families as a result of millions of job losses, skyrocketing energy costs, as well as increased price of food, especially on the poor.
“Further, this letter clearly dispels the myth advocated by a few on Capitol Hill that leading evangelicals support Lieberman-Warner.”
Signatories to the letter include AEC founders Norquist, Weyrich, Sheldon, and Bauer as well as others like Richard Land, Tony Perkins, Ken Blackwell, Roy Innis, Jerome Corsi, and dozens more.
The Religious Right has made no secret of the fact that it opposes efforts to broaden its agenda because it fears that doing so will ultimately distract the movements from his anti-gay, anti-abortion agenda. But they have apparently concluded that they can’t win that argument and have decided to set-up their own anti-environmental front group instead.
After all, what need is there to be concerned about global warming when it is really just a sign of the Second Coming?
Posted by Kyle at 4:13 PM | Permalink
Eagleburger Says McCain Won't Pander to Right
McCain adviser Lawrence Eagleburger says the Right is :serious problem"and the Washington Post has the video: "I must tell you we fought it there, fought hard against it. There's no question that in the Republican Party it is a serious problem...Among the hard-right conservatives in the Republican Party John McCain was, shall we say, less than enthusiastically received. In fact, I myself, by complaining about the way they were treating McCain on television, I myself said something on television about Rush … whatever his name … Limbaugh, excuse me. And the next thing, I was being attacked by Limbaugh on his radio program. So believe me, personally I have lived with it. The Senator is living with it and what you see is what you get. You are not going to see him moving to assuage the concerns of these conservatives."
Posted by Kyle at 3:24 PM | Permalink
March 18, 2008
Fighting It Out on the Pages of WND
Just because Mike Huckabee has dropped out of the presidential race doesn’t mean Janet Folger is done campaigning for him, penning an open letter to John McCain urging him to tap Huckabee as his VP:
I'm not telling you whom to pick, but if you want the vice presidential candidate who in addition to winning the "must win" states in the primary, who has the best cost/vote ratio, who has proven he can energize the base of the party, who defended (not attacked) you even before you won the nomination, who is honest, consistent and according to Rasmussen, has the least opposition among American voters, Mike Huckabee is your guy.
Ask him, I'm sure he would be honored to be your vice president, and I'm sure millions more would be honored to vote for you if you do.
While Folger has already made peace with her principles by deciding to throw her support behind McCain, her one-time comrade-in-arms Gordon Klingenschmitt is having none of it, taking to the pages of WorldNetDaily to chastise Folger for selling out:
In a recent WND column, Janet Folger begs social conservatives to vote for John McCain. She believes McCain will rescue "most everyone" from our political "burning building" – when in fact McCain has already locked arms with the Kennedys, Feingolds and liberal Democrats to keep social conservatives "out" of politics while they burn our constitutional republic to the ground.
…
McCain not only refused to participate in Janet Folger's Values Voter Presidential Debate, he has repeatedly distanced himself from religious groups. He won the Republican nomination without faith-based voters. So, if he wins the White House, will he suddenly listen to our pleas? No chance! Only by treating ourselves with respect can we demand respect from others. Have we no dignity?
Klingenschmitt and Folger have a long history together, as she was one of his staunchest defenders when he was fighting to keep his job as a Chaplain in the Navy, with Folger regularly citing Klingenschmitt’s legal fight as evidence of the on-going “criminalization of Christianity."
After being discharged from the Navy, Klingenschmitt linked up with Vision America’s Rick Scarborough and Alan Keyes for their “70 Weeks To Save America Crusade” and then quickly lined up to support Keyes’ own vanity run for President (he’s currently listed at the top of the “Honor Roll” on Keyes’ website for his efforts to secure 104 pledges to support his campaign.)
But it looks as if now Klingenschmitt and Folger are on the outs. In fact, it looks like Klingenschmitt is on the outs with the Republican Party altogether, announcing that Keyes is reportedly leaving the GOP and that he intends to follow suit so that he may “continue to support Dr. Keyes wherever he leads our Exodus”:
Abandon McCain's sinking ship! Man your lifeboats! I cannot violate my conscience in November. I'll make a statement with my vote, instead of wasting it on Clinton, Obama or McCain. Faith-minded people cannot tolerate evil, whatever its degree, since Christ taught us, "Be ye perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect." Show some self-respect and have faith in God. America needs principled leaders who have borne the battle for liberty and are unashamed of the wounds received in doing so. I'll vote for Alan Keyes, writing in his name if necessary. Join us, and someday you'll stand before God with your head held high, blameless and unashamed of your vote.
Posted by Kyle at 4:25 PM | Permalink
Alan Keyes Leaving Republican Party?
So reports The American View: "Many things over the past two decades or so have contributed to Alan’s decision to leave the GOP. One recent example: A secret meeting of some conservative 'leaders' discussing not how to oppose John McCain but what promises McCain might make to allow conservatives to sell-out and support him for President. When Alan saw what this meeting was about, and that it was not about opposing McCain, or to discuss Christian/conservatives possibly leaving the GOP, he chastised some in the meeting for having an understanding of politics not single-minded in its promotion of God. He told them respect for God cannot be restored if our politics is based only on calculation. He left the meeting. Alan believes John McCain stinks. He believes most of the conversation in the meeting he left was how to deoderize McCain."
Posted by Kyle at 9:44 AM | Permalink
March 17, 2008
Global Warming = The Second Coming?
ABC News recently ran a story on the declaration issued by the Southern Baptist Convention voicing concerns about climate change. The ABC piece noted that not everyone agreed with the SBC’s views, citing the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins suggesting that the environmental movement was pushing anti-family policies and suggesting that believers should welcome the consequences of climate change as a sign of the End Times:
Perkins: A major component of Global Warming is to reduce population because people are seen as part of the problem. And, of course, population control includes abortion. It also includes same-sex relations because they do not cause offspring.Via Brave New FilmsABC: In a new book, Tony Perkins even argues that if the storms and droughts predicted by climate scientists do come about, Christians should see them as a sign of the Second Coming.
Perkins: Where people are told and taught to look inwardly and making sure that they are spiritually prepared to meet the End Times.
Posted by Kyle at 5:10 PM | Permalink
Kern Talks With Barber, LaBarbera
Anti-gay Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern defends herself in an interview with like-minded allies Matt Barber of Concerned Women for American and Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality ... the two "experts" she initially cited in explaining her views.
Posted by Kyle at 3:42 PM | Permalink
The Next Values Voter Summit
FRC Action announces that the next Values Voter Summit will be held in DC on September 12-14. According to an email: "invited speakers such as Newt Gingrich (confirmed), Chuck Colson, Lou Dobbs, Bill Bennett (confirmed), Lt. Col. Oliver North, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Star Parker (confirmed), Justice Clarence Thomas, Patricia Heaton, Roger Hedgecock (confirmed), House and Senate leaders, and all the 2008 presidential nominees."
Posted by Kyle at 3:24 PM | Permalink
What’s Obama To Do?
As a way of dealing with the controversy surrounding the various remarks made by his pastor Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama is set to deliver a speech tomorrow where he promises to talk “about not just Reverend Wright, but the larger issue of race in this campaign .”
Regardless of what he says in this speech, it’ll probably do little to appease the rank-and-file conservative Christian voters in the Republican Party who never liked him anyway and now seem to really, really dislike him, at least judging by most of the comments mailed into CBN’s David Brody:
I am sure Obama was listening to rev Wrights sermon about "America causing this to happen...and that the chickens came home to roost...etc."Right there Obama has lied on TV, to news reporters and to his supporters-claiming he knew nothing of these awful hate filled sermons.
…
Obama being a member of this church for over 20 years and calling this guy his spiritual mentor and having him at present on an advisory committee is political suicide. He should pull out the race now, make a statement that he is leaving this radical black church and try to salvage whatever political career he has left. If he is the dems nominee they are handing the white house to the Republicans. It has been said time and time again that this guy should have been vetted. He is now, which is only the tip of the iceberg. The media has given him a pass.
…
[N]ow that he has made that statement, I await the video of Wright spewing a bunch of crap while Obama's family is shown applauding in the pews. I wouldn't be surprised if it's coming.
Of course, the fact that Brody himself has posted on the Obama/Wright issue a total of ELEVEN times so far (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) - versus the two times he posted about John McCain and John Hagee and the zero times he posted about McCain and Rod Parsley - might have something to do with that.
Anti-gay right-wing activist Harry Jackson also weighed in, saying that it is entirely reasonable that Obama be held responsible for the words of his pastor:
“Should Mr. Obama be judged because of the acts of his pastor.” My answer is yes! Pastor Wright’s worldview and his understanding of race, culture, and religion of the bible will in some measure affect how Barak Obama views the world. Only time will tell whether Obama’s life and message have been helped or handicapped by the ministry of Jeremiah Wright. If Obama says nothing elese, many people will simply label him as a hypocrite who says one thing in public but acts differently behind closed doors. During the next few months it will be important for Obama to set the record straight concerning his faith.
Does that mean that the congregants at Jackson’s own Hope Christian Church ought to be made to answer for Jackson’s anti-gay rhetoric? Presumably.
For his part, Obama has publicly distanced himself from Wright’s comments, calling them “inflammatory and appalling” … and now that has gotten him in trouble with the Right as well:
The National Clergy Council finds Dr. Wright's recent comments extraordinarily indiscrete, inapt, inaccurate and ill-considered, yet we find Mr. Obama's disloyalty even worse. We adjure Mr. Obama to remain faithful to the man who in so many ways shaped him for the campaign he now undertakes.
Mr. Obama's tossing of Dr. Wright under the bus for political advantage is a painful spectacle and is a classic politics-as-usual move.
The National Clergy Council adjures Mr. Obama to stay faithful to his father-in-the-faith and take whatever criticism comes.
Considering that the head of the National Clergy Council, Rob Schenck, has been on a one-man crusade to convince the world that Obama’s Christian faith is “woefully deficient” and that he might really be a Muslim, it is probably safe to assume that his “stand by your man” advice is not being dispensed with the purest of intentions.
Posted by Kyle at 2:15 PM | Permalink