July, 2006

As the House GOP runs through its last-minute "values agenda"---a series of votes timed for use in midterm campaigns on issues lifted from the Right such as same-sex marriage, flag burning, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms---at least one prominent Religious Right leader is blanching at the blatant pandering of his congressional allies.

Ken Connor is the former president of the Family Research Council and now leads his own Center for a Just Society. He writes:

We are glad these subjects are finally being debated. Nevertheless, few of these issues have been on the radar screen for the last year-and-a-half. Now, however, just before the election they become "priorities." Coincidence or calculation? A cynic might argue that most Republican senators really don't care about these subjects and that they are just doing what needs to be done to win in November. One who is not a cynic might easily come to the same conclusion.

If you are a faithful evangelical or Catholic, the Republican Party has a box they put you in—"values voter". They know that they need a certain number of voters from this box in order to keep their jobs. And they have a game plan: pay lip service to a few subjects that animate "values voters" right before the election and maybe, just maybe, they can win. They know perfectly well that many "values voters" find it difficult to vote for Democrats, so they do the absolute minimum necessary to win us over and then largely forget us until the next campaign season. Part of this is our own fault. Many of us have allowed ourselves to be defined by one or two issues, forgetting that our Christian faith calls us to redeem all things, not just a few.

Connor is also critical of the tactics of right-wing interest groups:

Christians should be no less fed up with national organizations that try to mobilize us every-other year with overheated rhetoric and bombastic letters. Instead of calmly and rationally discussing the issues we face, we are subjected to dramatic emotional appeals that are aimed at manipulation rather than persuasion.

"Did you know that Senator Hilary Clinton wants to make prayer illegal in America? Did you know that the Democratic Party wants to force all pregnant women to have abortions? It's true! SEND US YOUR MONEY NOW!"

Connor left FRC apparently in part because of a disagreement over the value of pursuing a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage that has little or no chance of passage.

It's difficult to say how representative Connor is of the Religious Right voter base, but he concludes by warning: "We have a simple message for the Republican Party: stop 'using' us in an effort to secure our vote. Give us substance, not symbols—or be prepared for disappointment in November."

D. James Kennedy is a prominent megachurch pastor and televangelist whose influence extends to the political realm--his Center for Reclaiming America for Christ claims to have 500,000 members willing to sign petitions against abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research, and his Center for Christian Statesmanship has honored political leaders of the Right including Alabama's ex-Chief Justice and Ten Commandments-wielder Roy Moore, then-Sen. John Ashcroft, Sen. Sam Brownback, and then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

On his "Coral Ridge Hour" show Sunday, which is widely syndicated on the ABC Family network, Kennedy lashed out at evolution and asked viewers to donate to produce a costly anti-evolution video.

The consequences of Darwinism have been devastating. But the good news is, many in the scientific community are realizing that the emperor has no clothes. Evolution is indeed a charade. But those who dare to voice those views are suffering persecution. ...

This is an outrage and that's why I intend to do something about it. I am determined to produce a hard-hitting, brand new special exposing the controversy over intelligent design and evolution, including examining the devastating effects of Darwin's theory. Rarely do you see anything on the consequences of evolution.

Watch the video clip: Broadband or Dial-Up.

Donors will receive an anti-evolution book published by his church, and Kennedy says, "You will be shocked at the harmful effects that evolution is still having on our nation, our children, and our world."

Despite his considerable resources, it is still doubtful that Kennedy can reverse the effects of evolution. But efforts like his are critical in the Right Wing campaign to redefine science education in our public schools--as in Kansas, Ohio, and elsewhere.

As of last week, Gary Lankford was listed as state director of the Ohio Restoration Project, an obstensibly nonpartisan organization based out of Russell Johnson's Fairfield Christian Church. The ORP has played a critical role in Republican Kenneth Blackwell's campaign for governor, honoring the candidate at meetings of "Patriot Pastors" across the state. "This is to elect values candidates," said Johnson of his group.

But as the Columbus Dispatch reports, that's not the only role Lankford has been playing in Ohio politics. Acting as the Ohio GOP's "social conservative coordinator," Lankford recently distributed an e-mail to spread rumors about Blackwell's Democratic opponent, Ted Strickland, and his wife.

The e-mail, obtained by The Dispatch, was sent to an undisclosed group of GOP supporters — with instructions to forward it to others — by Gary Lankford, whom the party hired in July as its "social conservative coordinator." He was paid $16,000 as a "voter contact consultant" for the primary-election campaign of GOP gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell before taking the party job.

Among other things, the e-mail says Strickland married his wife, Frances, at 46, has no children and lives apart from her. It also links readers to an Internet blog that directly questions the sexual orientation of both Stricklands and notes accusations he is "soft on those who sexually assault children."

Blackwell and ORP chairman Johnson often insinuate that their political opponents are something akin to enemies of Christianity in America, and recently, Blackwell said that Democrats like Strickland "believe government is God." Standing by the remark, his spokesman added that Strickland's allies believe "God and faith have no place in the public square." Early polls suggest that charges of anti-Christian sentiments may not stick against Strickland, himself a United Methodist minister. Perhaps the rumor campaign started by Lankford--an operative of both the Republican Party and the church-based Ohio Restoration Project--portends a blunter approach in the next three months.

UPDATE: The Ohio Republican Party has fired Lankford, the AP reports.

Robert Novak reports that the White House, Senate Republicans and their right-wing base are in disarray over the issue of judicial nominations.  

As Novak sums it up, “Despite recent nominations and confirmations, it seems too late for a Senate battle to impact the midterm campaign … No debate, no campaign issue.”

Driving home the point of just how important judges – or rather, fights over judges - are to the Right, Sean Rushton of the Committee for Justice took to the pages of the National Review to explicitly tell GOP leaders in the Senate that they has better start picking some fights over judges or face the consequences in November

This November will be the first election year since 2000 that no significant Senate debate over judicial confirmations will spark a voter response. If Senate leaders do not rethink their strategy, fewer voters will be considering judicial confirmations when they vote for Senate candidates on November 3rd. It is a huge mistake. It is an avoidable mistake.

…

There is nothing like a currently simmering controversy — in the nation’s great debating society, the U.S. Senate – to arouse voters anew. The judicial issue has shown its power not only to turn out conservative voters, but to swing moderates to the GOP, whether through appeal to unpopular rulings on private property rights, marriage, and “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, or through simple disgust with Democratic obstruction and name calling. Judicial confirmation battles pay dividends.

Notice that Rushton doesn’t say “judicial confirmations pay dividends” – he says “judicial confirmation battles pay dividends.”

It is amazing really - getting controversial nominees confirmed is actually less of a priority for the Right than is merely starting a fight over the nominees.

What does a right-wing icon do after getting booted from a state supreme court and then getting trounced in a quixotic run for governor?  

Well, if you are Roy Moore, you start writing columns for the only right-wing outlet right-wing enough to welcome you: WorldNetDaily

Judge Roy Moore, the former Alabama chief justice who was ousted from office after battling for the right to display the Ten Commandments in the state courthouse, debuts today as an exclusive columnists for WorldNetDaily.

"We are deeply honored to welcome Judge Moore to WorldNetDaily," said WND Editor Joseph Farah. "He has shown the nation he is a rarity in public service – a man of principle who's not afraid to acknowledge God and defend the Constitution while refusing to buckle under the pressure of politically correct elitists."

And in his first column, Moore does not disappoint

We are losing this understanding in our country and with it we are losing our moral foundation. Our prisons are growing ever more crowded with criminals who do not distinguish between right and wrong; political corruption at the state and federal level has never been more rampant; and our children are taught in our public schools that they are descended from monkeys, that marriage does not matter and that convenience is more important than the life of a child in the womb. Before we are defeated by an enemy outside our borders it is likely that we will rot through moral decay from within – unless we recognize God.

Moore’s ravings will undoubtedly fit in nicely along side the likes of those penned by other WND columnists such as Mychal Massie, Ann Coulter, and Michelle Malkin.  

Despite Ralph Reed’s stinging defeat in his primary last week, it looks as if attempts to write his political obituary have been a bit premature, at least according to the New York Times

Friends say it is too soon to write off Mr. Reed, who is now 45. Deal Hudson, a Catholic conservative who worked closely with Mr. Reed on the last two presidential campaigns and watched the returns with him in an Atlanta hotel suite, said Mr. Reed was already talking about how he might play a role in the 2008 race even on the night of his own defeat.

“We forget that there is nobody who is able to craft a message for religious conservatives better than Ralph Reed, and the ability to craft a message does not depend on Ralph Reed and how high his bona fides are,” Mr. Hudson said, noting that Mr. Reed could still work on direct mail, radio and television commercials, speeches and the like from behind the scenes.

In a telephone interview on Friday, Mr. Reed said he was proud of his campaign and glad that he had run. “I have been building the Republican Party and the pro-family movement for over 25 years, and I am looking forward to continuing that important work,” he said.

In his concession speech, Mr. Reed said he was not “not focused on being a candidate in the future.”

In the interview, however, he said, “First bids for elected office are always tough, and I am not the first person to lose a first campaign,” noting several examples, including Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Mr. Gingrich, who went on to become speaker of the House.

Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Friday that he was sticking by Mr. Reed. In an e-mail message, he said Mr. Reed had “played a vital role” in building the party’s grass-roots networks in Georgia and around the country. He added, “I look forward to continuing to work with him and value his friendship.”

According to his spokesman, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor, “respects the human dignity of gay and lesbian Ohioans.” That sentiment does not seem compatible with his answer to a Columbus Dispatch questionnaire published Sunday that gays can “be cured.” Blackwell compared gays to thieves and arsonists:

I think homosexuality is a lifestyle, it’s a choice, and that lifestyle can be changed. I think it is a transgression against God’s law, God’s will. The reality is, again, … that I think we make choices all the time. And I think that you make good choices and bad choices in terms of lifestyle. Our expectation is that one’s genetic makeup might make one more inclined to be an arsonist, or might make one more inclined to be a kleptomaniac. Do I think that they can be changed? Yes.

This ugly rhetoric is not entirely surprising. Blackwell was the primary public spokesman for the 2004 ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage in Ohio, working closely with Rod Parsley and Russell Johnson and their “Patriot Pastor” audiences. At one 2004 event with Parsley, he compared gay couples seeking marriage unfavorably to farm animals. “I don't know how many of you have a farming background but I can tell you right now that notion even defies barnyard logic ... the barnyard knows better,” Blackwell said to a church audience.

Randall Terry, the far-right founder of the militant anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, was a key figure in the debate about Terri Schiavo in late 2004 and early 2005, orchestrating a full-scale media campaign, appearing regularly on national television, and meeting with Gov. Jeb Bush to urge him to intervene in various ways in the family dispute over end-of-life care. Terry, who once ran for Congress in New York State, decided next to run for Florida Senate against Jim King, a Republican who was recently president of the state Senate. As the Orlando Sentinel notes,

The two have crossed swords before. In 2005, when Terry lobbied state lawmakers to pass a bill to reinsert Schiavo's feeding tube, King was one of nine Republican senators who helped block the bill. Terry singled out King, called him "Judas" and vowed that if Schiavo died, there would be "hell to pay."

Now Terry is apparently seeking to present himself to primary voters as more moderate. He has posted several homemade videos to his campaign web site, in which he tells the camera that he has “mellowed out” in recent years. “What Jim King wishes is that this election was about Terri Schiavo, and it's not,” Terry recently claimed.

Unfortunately, not all of Terry’s allies on the Right have gotten the message. Paul Schenck, executive director of the National Pro-Life Action Center, issued a press release condemning Gov. Jeb Bush for opposing Terry, saying, “Shame, shame on Jeb Bush for betraying the memory of Terri Schindler Schiavo by endorsing Jim King. As Senate president, King had the power to protect Terri, but for cynical political purposes he did not. Now Jeb Bush wants us to forget that King was largely responsible for Terri's death.”

Ever since losing his job with Sen. Frist a few years ago, Manuel Miranda has refashioned himself as a one-man, right-wing force to be reckoned with on judicial nominations.  Even before stepping down, Miranda was working behind the scenes, orchestrating the GOP’s 2003 “reverse filibuster” protest.  

After a short-lived disgrace caused by his run-in with basic ethics, Miranda returned to the scene with the launching of the National Coalition to End Judicial Filibusters, since renamed the Third Branch Conference.  Since then, Miranda has been behind just about every right-wing grassroots effort to force confirmation of President Bush’s judicial nominees. 

As the original name of his organization suggests, Miranda, along with dozens of other right-wing leaders, pushed Senate Republicans hard to eliminate the use of the filibuster via the “nuclear option.”  Though the effort failed because of the emergence of the “Gang of 14,” Miranda pressed on, writing dozens of columns calling for the confirmation of John Roberts and, according to The Hill, almost single-handedly killing Harriet Miers’ nomination.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at the large out-of-state donations to Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's campaign for governor and finds that--along with major right-wing funders like Richard Scaife and Howard Ahmanson--Blackwell's benefactors are advocates of school vouchers.

National charter-school advocates are digging deep to help underwrite Ken Blackwell's gubernatorial campaign.

No single issue has delivered more out-of-state $10,000 donations than school choice. Blackwell has received more than $100,000 from donors outside Ohio who favor voucher programs and taxpayer-funded private schools, according to a Plain Dealer analysis of $10,000 contributors.

If you are trying to get a sense of whether any sort of comprehensive immigration reform bill will pass this year, just read this article in the Washington Times

The Republican base is being rejuvenated, some conservative activists say, by a flurry of congressional action on "values" issues such as marriage safeguards, flag protection and abortion restrictions, as well as President Bush's veto last week of stem-cell legislation.

…

Jim Backlin, vice president of legislative affairs at the Christian Coalition, said the spate of "values" votes "really, really helps rejuvenate our base -- especially Bush vetoing the stem-cell bill."

In the past few months, Mr. Bush signed legislation against broadcast indecency, both chambers of Congress voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and woman, and the House voted to retain the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

But all that grandstanding on gay marriage, the Pledge of Allegiance, and stem-cell research could be for naught if the GOP helps pass any sort of immigration bill that doesn’t turn the millions of illegal immigrants in this country into felons.  

They warn against counteracting that progress with a comprehensive immigration bill that conservatives consider amnesty.

…

Still, Mr. Backlin warned that Republicans will "lose all that goodwill" from values voters if the Senate version of immigration reform is signed into law.

Mr. McClusky agreed that such a move would devastate the party and said "there is more work to be done" on values issues.

So don't be surprised it that spells the end of comprehensive immigration reform – at least for this year.  

Voter guides describing candidates for elected office and distributed through churches have long been a hallmark of the Religious Right groups like the Christian Coalition -- which at one point lost its tax-exempt status for its involvement in political campaigning. Now, Florida Family Policy Council -- the state affiliate of James Dobson's Focus on the Family, involved in the Terri Schiavo debate and in efforts to ban same-sex marriage -- is preparing voter guides for state judicial candidates, who for the most part are elected or face an election after being appointed. According to an FFPC press release:

The primary goal of the [Florida Judicial Accountability Project] is to publish and distribute the 2006 Judicial Voter Guide, which will report information taken from questionnaire responses of every judge candidate on the ballot in Florida. The Judicial Voter Guide is strictly an educational service and will not rate or score judicial candidates in any way. The scope and nature of this project is unprecedented in Florida’s history. The FFPC anticipates at least one million copies of the 2006 Judicial Voter Guides will be produced and distributed this year in print, online and by electronic mail.

The Family Research Council put together three “Justice Sunday” rallies in 2005-2006 to promote Bush’s judicial nominees, rallies staged in churches and “simulcast” on Christian television, and featuring Religious Right all-stars like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly, and more.

Apparently the group is planning another such rally, this time on marriage. In an FRC “Prayer Team” message, FRC President Tony Perkins writes:

FRC is planning two major events this fall to motivate and equip Christians and pro-family Americans - The Washington Briefing (2006 Values Voter Summit), and a nationwide simulcast originating from Boston, MA, to help voters understand the importance of the marriage issue. Your prayers for us and these events would be much appreciated.

The Values Voter Summit, scheduled for September, will showcase many of the usual right-wing heavyweights, including Dobson, Gary Bauer, Ann Coulter, Paul Weyrich and many more, as well as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. We’ll let you know when we hear more about the simulcast.

While the Massachusetts Family Institute says the separation of Julie and Hillary Goodridge – whose lawsuit, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, led to marriage for same-sex couples in 2004 – is “a personal matter” that should be treated with “dignity,” some on the Right are not so respectful. From The Washington Times:

Conservative observers expressed concern for the family, especially the daughter, noting that research points to instability in many homosexual relationships.

"Of course, we don't take any pleasure in the sadness of any individual or couple, and I don't believe one couple's experience necessarily proves anything," said Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council.

But there is research indicating that homosexual relationships are less likely to be monogamous or lifelong than heterosexual relationships, he said.

"I think it demonstrates again why we are so concerned for children in inherently unstable relationships," said Jan LaRue of Concerned Women for America. Recent court decisions have recognized that homosexual unions "are not the equivalent of heterosexual marriage" and "it's better for children to be in stable, heterosexual marriage with a mom and a dad," she said.

According to state figures, of 8,000 same-sex couples who have married in Massachusetts, 45 have divorced. Compared to the nearly half of opposite-sex marriages that will end in divorce, the Goodridges’ situation “demonstrates” nothing.

For years, we have been warning that the Bush Administration was filling traditionally nonpartisan governmental positions with committed right-wing advocates in order to transform the Right’s political agenda into government policy. 

And that is exactly what is happening, according to the Boston Globe 

The Bush administration is quietly remaking the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, filling the permanent ranks with lawyers who have strong conservative credentials but little experience in civil rights, according to job application materials obtained by the Globe.

The documents show that only 42 percent of the lawyers hired since 2003, after the administration changed the rules to give political appointees more influence in the hiring process, have civil rights experience. In the two years before the change, 77 percent of those who were hired had civil rights backgrounds.

In an acknowledgment of the department's special need to be politically neutral, hiring for career jobs in the Civil Rights Division under all recent administrations, Democratic and Republican, had been handled by civil servants -- not political appointees.

But in the fall of 2002, then-attorney general John Ashcroft changed the procedures. The Civil Rights Division disbanded the hiring committees made up of veteran career lawyers.

For decades, such committees had screened thousands of resumes, interviewed candidates, and made recommendations that were only rarely rejected.

Now, hiring is closely overseen by Bush administration political appointees to Justice, effectively turning hundreds of career jobs into politically appointed positions.

Sen. Jim Talent (R-Missouri) is not the only one facing fallout [link to previous item] from Bush's veto of the stem-cell research bill. Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is running for a vacant Senate seat, has previously compared embryonic stem-cell research to experimentation by Nazi doctors, but, according to The Washington Post, he is now trying to craft a more moderate image in the liberal-leaning state and having some difficulty:

During a radio interview yesterday, WBAL talk show host Ron Smith asked Steele whether he would vote to override a Bush veto if he was in the Senate. The listeners heard only static in response.

"Hello?" Smith said. "Are you there? Maybe not. We'll be back. And try to reestablish contact with Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele."

After the commercial break, Steele was back, but the question was not. Instead, talk turned to Steele's crime prevention initiatives. Later in the conversation, Smith did repeat the question, and Steele replied that he supports the president.

Take a look at the Vision America website and you’ll notice a new story listed under the “Current News” section.  The story, “Patriot Pastors” by Candi Cushman, lists the date as “Friday, July 21, 2006.” 

It begins

Little did David Nelson know that his preconceived ideas about politics and the pulpit were about to change forever. As a youth minister of Smith Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Tatum, Texas, and a “born Democrat,” he rarely mixed with conservative activist pastors. Now they were sitting all around him, and he wasn’t happy.

At first, “I didn’t see men,” he told Citizen. “I saw a class of people.”

Four years ago, an article called “Patriot Pastors” written by Candi Cushman appeared in Focus on the Family’s “Citizen” magazine.  It begins

Little did David Nelson know that his preconceived ideas about politics and the pulpit were about to change forever. As a youth minister of Smith Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Tatum, Texas, and a “born Democrat,” he rarely mixed with conservative activist pastors. Now they were sitting all around him, and he wasn’t happy.

At first, “I didn’t see men,” he told Citizen. “I saw a class of people.”

The article goes on the mention Vision America’s founder Rick Scarborough so that probably explains why it was posted on the Vision America website, though it doesn’t explain why VA tried to make it appear as if this was a recent story.  

Perhaps the fact that Scarborough hasn’t been mentioned in any press in weeks might have something to do with it.

As we reported before, Texas "Patriot Pastors" pioneer and full-time activist Rick Scarborough is looking to spread the model to Missouri, where votes will decide a stem-cell research ballot measure. And, with a six-figure budget, he's bringing right-wing superstar Alan Keyes for a series of rallies across the state. Now Scarborough's Vision America has the details: