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  <title>Right Wing Watch</title>
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  <updated>2008-10-08T16:14:56-05:00</updated>
  <entry>
    <title>And We Would Have Gotten Away With It Too …</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/and-we-would-have-gotten-away-it-too-%E2%80%A6" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/and-we-would-have-gotten-away-it-too-%E2%80%A6</id>
    <published>2008-10-10T15:51:31-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-10T15:51:31-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Politics" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <category term="Sandy Rios" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Former  Concerned Women for America <a href="http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=5371&amp;department=MEDIA&amp;categoryid=misc">president</a> Sandy Rios diligently explains how the communists and radicals of the 1950s and  1960s have quietly been plotting for the last half century to destroy America from  the inside. &nbsp;</p>
<p>You see, while  the communists committed treason in the 50s and the radicals used sex, drugs,  and rock-n-roll to undermine American values in the 60s, they eventually  realized that their plot would only succeed if they could take over the levers  of power in our society and so they infiltrated the system, weakened it, and eventually  co-opted it. And now are set to unleash their ultimate weapon and the  culmination of their years of devious scheming &ndash; <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/SandyRios/2008/10/10/the_rebellion_has_begun?page=full&amp;comments=true">Barack  Obama</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>As those frustrated radicals came of age, they realized they  would have to game the system, and improve their plans to accomplish their  goals. They got advanced degrees and begin to fill colleges and universities.  They slowly infiltrated the professional organizations of almost every major  field of endeavor&mdash;education, medicine, retired citizens and unions. Gradually,  these professional associations began to use their members&rsquo; money to fund  leftist causes. Leftist leaders spoke for their membership as if they had the  right. And perception became reality for the members. Then they did what all  socialist regimes have done &hellip; they radicalized public school. They virtually  eliminated the American story from history, removed civics, dumbed down math  and science and English with outcome-based education. It became more important  that kids had the right &ldquo;thinking&rdquo; on social and environmental issues than that  they understood the academic disciplines. They took over law school faculties,  co-opted many mainline Christian denominations&mdash;like Methodists and  Presbyterians&mdash;and subtly replaced the teachings of scripture on man&rsquo;s need for  redemption with emphases on social justice and helping the poor. Man could now  obtain his own redemption without any inconvenient mention of sin or moral  behavior.</p>
<p>Once again they infiltrated Hollywood and news media, this time without  consequence. In fact they managed to turn the consequences upon those opposing  leftist views. They produced movies and reported news designed to support their  view of the country&mdash;and it wasn&rsquo;t a good one.</p>
<p>As with the communist agitators in Western Europe and later China, they  learned to agitate, to find trouble and make it worse. Natural disasters,  strikes, environmental concerns, the method was the same. Agitate. Stir up.  Scare people and make things worse than they were so that people would look to  their movement for &ldquo;change.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For nearly four decades, while we were living our lives and  enjoying our freedoms, they were working diligently to destroy them. And now their  plans have found the perfect personification in the handsome and charismatic  Senator Barack Obama.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Former  Concerned Women for America <a href="http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=5371&amp;department=MEDIA&amp;categoryid=misc">president</a> Sandy Rios diligently explains how the communists and radicals of the 1950s and  1960s have quietly been plotting for the last half century to destroy America from  the inside. &nbsp;</p>
<p>You see, while  the communists committed treason in the 50s and the radicals used sex, drugs,  and rock-n-roll to undermine American values in the 60s, they eventually  realized that their plot would only succeed if they could take over the levers  of power in our society and so they infiltrated the system, weakened it, and eventually  co-opted it. And now are set to unleash their ultimate weapon and the  culmination of their years of devious scheming &ndash; <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/SandyRios/2008/10/10/the_rebellion_has_begun?page=full&amp;comments=true">Barack  Obama</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>As those frustrated radicals came of age, they realized they  would have to game the system, and improve their plans to accomplish their  goals. They got advanced degrees and begin to fill colleges and universities.  They slowly infiltrated the professional organizations of almost every major  field of endeavor&mdash;education, medicine, retired citizens and unions. Gradually,  these professional associations began to use their members&rsquo; money to fund  leftist causes. Leftist leaders spoke for their membership as if they had the  right. And perception became reality for the members. Then they did what all  socialist regimes have done &hellip; they radicalized public school. They virtually  eliminated the American story from history, removed civics, dumbed down math  and science and English with outcome-based education. It became more important  that kids had the right &ldquo;thinking&rdquo; on social and environmental issues than that  they understood the academic disciplines. They took over law school faculties,  co-opted many mainline Christian denominations&mdash;like Methodists and  Presbyterians&mdash;and subtly replaced the teachings of scripture on man&rsquo;s need for  redemption with emphases on social justice and helping the poor. Man could now  obtain his own redemption without any inconvenient mention of sin or moral  behavior.</p>
<p>Once again they infiltrated Hollywood and news media, this time without  consequence. In fact they managed to turn the consequences upon those opposing  leftist views. They produced movies and reported news designed to support their  view of the country&mdash;and it wasn&rsquo;t a good one.</p>
<p>As with the communist agitators in Western Europe and later China, they  learned to agitate, to find trouble and make it worse. Natural disasters,  strikes, environmental concerns, the method was the same. Agitate. Stir up.  Scare people and make things worse than they were so that people would look to  their movement for &ldquo;change.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For nearly four decades, while we were living our lives and  enjoying our freedoms, they were working diligently to destroy them. And now their  plans have found the perfect personification in the handsome and charismatic  Senator Barack Obama.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>The Logical Next Step</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/logical-next-step" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/logical-next-step</id>
    <published>2008-10-10T14:33:16-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-10T14:33:39-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Christian Defense Coalition" />
    <category term="Faith and Action" />
    <category term="Patrick Mahoney" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <category term="Rob Schenck" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>For the  last few weeks, I've been <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/they-really-mean-it">mocking the  Right's claim</a> that somehow our current economic crisis is actually due to  abortion, homosexuals, and an overall breakdown in the family whenever it comes  up.</p>
<p>And, for  some reason, it keeps coming up and getting odder every time &hellip; to the point  where we now have Religious Right activists <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/684388214.html">calling for a  nationwide prayer vigil</a> as our only hope of reversing the economic slide:</p>
<blockquote><p>Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense  Coalition, states, &quot;America  is facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.&nbsp; In times of great crisis and challenge  Americans have always turned to God for comfort, support and guidance.&nbsp; We call upon President Bush, to follow the  example of Abraham Lincoln, and issue a proclamation for a National Day of  Prayer just as Lincoln  did in April of 1863 during the Civil War.</p>
<p>&quot;It is important that Americans humble themselves and  turn to God to address this grave crisis which political leaders seem to have  no power to solve.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&quot;As President  Lincoln stated, '...it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to owe their  dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and  transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance  will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in  the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are  blessed whose God is the Lord:'&quot;</p>
<p>Rev. Rob Schenck, President of Faith and Action, adds,  &quot;Americans are living in fear and confusion in the wake of this tragic  economic crisis.&nbsp; Many are seeing their  investments and retirement funds vanish before their eyes.&nbsp; In response to this massive uncertainty, we  call upon President Bush to proclaim a National Day of Prayer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Regardless  of whether or not President Bush actually follows through on their demands, I  predict that, at some point down the road when the chaos subsides and the economy  begins to recover, the Christian Defense Coalition will subsequently release a  statement taking credit for it - <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/christian-defense-coalition-takes-credit-declining-murder-rate-dc">just  as they did back in 2007</a> when they attempted to take sole credit a decline  in the murder rate in Washington DC.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>For the  last few weeks, I've been <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/they-really-mean-it">mocking the  Right's claim</a> that somehow our current economic crisis is actually due to  abortion, homosexuals, and an overall breakdown in the family whenever it comes  up.</p>
<p>And, for  some reason, it keeps coming up and getting odder every time &hellip; to the point  where we now have Religious Right activists <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/684388214.html">calling for a  nationwide prayer vigil</a> as our only hope of reversing the economic slide:</p>
<blockquote><p>Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense  Coalition, states, &quot;America  is facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.&nbsp; In times of great crisis and challenge  Americans have always turned to God for comfort, support and guidance.&nbsp; We call upon President Bush, to follow the  example of Abraham Lincoln, and issue a proclamation for a National Day of  Prayer just as Lincoln  did in April of 1863 during the Civil War.</p>
<p>&quot;It is important that Americans humble themselves and  turn to God to address this grave crisis which political leaders seem to have  no power to solve.</p>
<p>&nbsp;&quot;As President  Lincoln stated, '...it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to owe their  dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and  transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance  will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in  the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are  blessed whose God is the Lord:'&quot;</p>
<p>Rev. Rob Schenck, President of Faith and Action, adds,  &quot;Americans are living in fear and confusion in the wake of this tragic  economic crisis.&nbsp; Many are seeing their  investments and retirement funds vanish before their eyes.&nbsp; In response to this massive uncertainty, we  call upon President Bush to proclaim a National Day of Prayer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Regardless  of whether or not President Bush actually follows through on their demands, I  predict that, at some point down the road when the chaos subsides and the economy  begins to recover, the Christian Defense Coalition will subsequently release a  statement taking credit for it - <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/christian-defense-coalition-takes-credit-declining-murder-rate-dc">just  as they did back in 2007</a> when they attempted to take sole credit a decline  in the murder rate in Washington DC.</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Bauer: McCain’s The Victim of the “Race Card”</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bauer-mccain%E2%80%99s-victim-%E2%80%9Crace-card%E2%80%9D" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bauer-mccain%E2%80%99s-victim-%E2%80%9Crace-card%E2%80%9D</id>
    <published>2008-10-10T13:01:59-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-10T13:01:59-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Gary Bauer" />
    <category term="Politics" />
    <category term="Race/Civil Rights" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Gary Bauer  is <a href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28952">complaining</a> about  the use of the &ldquo;race card&rdquo; and declares that John McCain is the real victim  here. &nbsp;Bauer says that &ldquo;the race card is  used to cower conservatives into silence&rdquo; and that the left &ldquo;portrays any  criticism of Obama as somehow racist.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>But the  most interesting thing is this admission:</p>
<blockquote><p>There are many ways to play the race card.&nbsp; One way is to exploit ancient prejudices and  stereotypes of one race as inherently inferior to another.&nbsp; John McCain knows that one well.</p>
<p>He was the improbable victim of racism eight years ago when  it was suggested to some South    Carolina voters that he had fathered a black child  out of wedlock. In fact, McCain&rsquo;s adopted daughter, Bridget, is from Bangladesh.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s the type of racism employed by the David  Dukes of the world, and it diminishes us all.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>McCain was  indeed smeared by these sorts of efforts back in 2000 &hellip; by <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080128/banks">George Bush, Karl Rove</a>,  and Tucker Eskew, whom the McCain campaign <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-duss/maverick-mccain-adopts-bu_b_125460.html?view=print">recently  brought on board</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>But when I read the news that the McCain campaign had hired  Tucker Eskew -- the Republican political hack who orchestrated a smear campaign  against McCain's wife and daughter during the 2000 South   Carolina primary -- it finally dawned on me: John McCain has  adopted Gov. George W. Bush's South    Carolina primary strategy.</p>
<p>Back in 2000, after McCain's surprising victory in the New Hampshire primary,  George W. Bush and Karl Rove did two things: They adopted John McCain's reform  message, claiming the Bush, not McCain, was a &quot;reformer with  results.&quot; And they went negative, attacking John McCain's record and  character through numerous surrogates. Many, in the McCain campaign, including  McCain himself, blamed Eskew, Bush, and Rove for spreading stories about Cindy  McCain's drug use, about their adopted daughter Bridget's birth, and about  whether McCain's Vietnam captivity had left him unbalanced.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bauer seems  to have a real memory problem regarding what happened during the 2000 election,  which is odd considering that he was running for President at the time.  He had ended his own campaign and endorsed McCain just days before the South Carolina primary, so  surely he knows that McCain&rsquo;s famous &ldquo;agents  of intolerance&rdquo; speech was partially a response to the vicious attacks he had received  in South Carolina &hellip; at least he should, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/04/the_amazing_rev.html">since he  helped him draft it</a>. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Presumably,  Bauer didn&rsquo;t intend to compare Bush, Rove, and McCain&rsquo;s own staffers to David  Duke &hellip; but that is just what he did, nonetheless.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Gary Bauer  is <a href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28952">complaining</a> about  the use of the &ldquo;race card&rdquo; and declares that John McCain is the real victim  here. &nbsp;Bauer says that &ldquo;the race card is  used to cower conservatives into silence&rdquo; and that the left &ldquo;portrays any  criticism of Obama as somehow racist.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>But the  most interesting thing is this admission:</p>
<blockquote><p>There are many ways to play the race card.&nbsp; One way is to exploit ancient prejudices and  stereotypes of one race as inherently inferior to another.&nbsp; John McCain knows that one well.</p>
<p>He was the improbable victim of racism eight years ago when  it was suggested to some South    Carolina voters that he had fathered a black child  out of wedlock. In fact, McCain&rsquo;s adopted daughter, Bridget, is from Bangladesh.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s the type of racism employed by the David  Dukes of the world, and it diminishes us all.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>McCain was  indeed smeared by these sorts of efforts back in 2000 &hellip; by <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080128/banks">George Bush, Karl Rove</a>,  and Tucker Eskew, whom the McCain campaign <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-duss/maverick-mccain-adopts-bu_b_125460.html?view=print">recently  brought on board</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>But when I read the news that the McCain campaign had hired  Tucker Eskew -- the Republican political hack who orchestrated a smear campaign  against McCain's wife and daughter during the 2000 South   Carolina primary -- it finally dawned on me: John McCain has  adopted Gov. George W. Bush's South    Carolina primary strategy.</p>
<p>Back in 2000, after McCain's surprising victory in the New Hampshire primary,  George W. Bush and Karl Rove did two things: They adopted John McCain's reform  message, claiming the Bush, not McCain, was a &quot;reformer with  results.&quot; And they went negative, attacking John McCain's record and  character through numerous surrogates. Many, in the McCain campaign, including  McCain himself, blamed Eskew, Bush, and Rove for spreading stories about Cindy  McCain's drug use, about their adopted daughter Bridget's birth, and about  whether McCain's Vietnam captivity had left him unbalanced.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bauer seems  to have a real memory problem regarding what happened during the 2000 election,  which is odd considering that he was running for President at the time.  He had ended his own campaign and endorsed McCain just days before the South Carolina primary, so  surely he knows that McCain&rsquo;s famous &ldquo;agents  of intolerance&rdquo; speech was partially a response to the vicious attacks he had received  in South Carolina &hellip; at least he should, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/04/the_amazing_rev.html">since he  helped him draft it</a>. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Presumably,  Bauer didn&rsquo;t intend to compare Bush, Rove, and McCain&rsquo;s own staffers to David  Duke &hellip; but that is just what he did, nonetheless.</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>He Said It, Not Me</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/he-said-it-not-me" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/he-said-it-not-me</id>
    <published>2008-10-10T10:53:12-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-10T11:02:27-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Jerome Corsi" />
    <category term="Right Wing" />
    <category term="WorldNetDaily" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>It seems that the big scoop Jerome   Corsi uncovered before he was deported from Kenya is that Barack Obama &ldquo;backed ruthless,   foreign thug&rdquo; in Kenya. &nbsp;<a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;pageId=77508" title="blocked::http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;pageId=77508">WorldNetDaily   explains</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Sen. Barack Obama designated a   personal aide as his direct contact for the 2007 Kenyan presidential campaign of   Raila Odinga, who later was appointed prime minister after his election loss was   followed by widespread, deadly violence that destroyed or damaged 800 Christian   churches, according to e-mails obtained by WND senior staff writer Jerry Corsi   during a trip to Kenya.</p></blockquote>
<p>WND even provides concrete visual   proof:</p>
<blockquote><p>The e-mails, apparently sent by   Obama himself, referenced the senator's aide, Mark Lippert. The e-mails were   provided to WND by an insider in Kenya who fled Odinga's Orange Democratic political party and requested anonymity   because of the danger of retaliation.</p>
<p>The e-mails, identified as coming   from Obama's Senate office, are addressed to &quot;railaaodinga&quot; at a yahoo.com   address.</p>
<p>A WND e-mail to the same Obama   address generated an automated response and a list of contacts for Obama's   offices. A WND e-mail sent to the Odinga e-mail address didn't generate a   response.</p>
<p>One e-mail purportedly from Obama,   dated Dec. 22, 2006, read, &quot;I will kindly wish that all our correspondence [be]   handled by Mr Mark Lippert. I have already instructed him. This will be for my   own security both for now and in future.&quot;</p>
<p>It is reproduced here with the   e-mail address of the person who forwarded it to WND   redacted:</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/WND.jpg" alt="" /></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Well,   color me convinced.&nbsp; Since it is glaringly obvious that nobody could ever fake   something as intricate as an email, I contacted Corsi&rsquo;s media rep, Tim Bueler,   as instructed to do at the bottom of the WND article, to pass on my   congratulations regarding this amazing scoop. &nbsp;I was shocked by Bueler&rsquo;s totally   authentic and in no way completely made up and forged by me response:</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/TotallyNotForged_0.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>It seems that the big scoop Jerome   Corsi uncovered before he was deported from Kenya is that Barack Obama &ldquo;backed ruthless,   foreign thug&rdquo; in Kenya. &nbsp;<a href="http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;pageId=77508" title="blocked::http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&amp;pageId=77508">WorldNetDaily   explains</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Sen. Barack Obama designated a   personal aide as his direct contact for the 2007 Kenyan presidential campaign of   Raila Odinga, who later was appointed prime minister after his election loss was   followed by widespread, deadly violence that destroyed or damaged 800 Christian   churches, according to e-mails obtained by WND senior staff writer Jerry Corsi   during a trip to Kenya.</p></blockquote>
<p>WND even provides concrete visual   proof:</p>
<blockquote><p>The e-mails, apparently sent by   Obama himself, referenced the senator's aide, Mark Lippert. The e-mails were   provided to WND by an insider in Kenya who fled Odinga's Orange Democratic political party and requested anonymity   because of the danger of retaliation.</p>
<p>The e-mails, identified as coming   from Obama's Senate office, are addressed to &quot;railaaodinga&quot; at a yahoo.com   address.</p>
<p>A WND e-mail to the same Obama   address generated an automated response and a list of contacts for Obama's   offices. A WND e-mail sent to the Odinga e-mail address didn't generate a   response.</p>
<p>One e-mail purportedly from Obama,   dated Dec. 22, 2006, read, &quot;I will kindly wish that all our correspondence [be]   handled by Mr Mark Lippert. I have already instructed him. This will be for my   own security both for now and in future.&quot;</p>
<p>It is reproduced here with the   e-mail address of the person who forwarded it to WND   redacted:</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/WND.jpg" alt="" /></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Well,   color me convinced.&nbsp; Since it is glaringly obvious that nobody could ever fake   something as intricate as an email, I contacted Corsi&rsquo;s media rep, Tim Bueler,   as instructed to do at the bottom of the WND article, to pass on my   congratulations regarding this amazing scoop. &nbsp;I was shocked by Bueler&rsquo;s totally   authentic and in no way completely made up and forged by me response:</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/TotallyNotForged_0.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>How To Feign Outrage, Fourteen Years After the Fact</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/how-feign-outrage-fourteen-years-after-fact" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/how-feign-outrage-fourteen-years-after-fact</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T16:45:49-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-10T14:40:20-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Election 2008" />
    <category term="Family Research Council" />
    <category term="Jim Gilmore" />
    <category term="Politics" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <category term="Virginia" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>For the last several days, the Right has been up in arms over this audio clip of Virginia Senate candidate Mark Warner warning that the state was on the verge of being taken over by the Religious Right</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Next weekend, you're going to see a coalition that has just about completely taken over the Republican Party in this state.</p>
<p>&quot;And if they have their way, will take over state government, made up of the Christian Coalition, made up of right-to-lifers; but it's not just the right-to-lifers, it's made up of the NRA; but it's not just that, it's made up of the home schoolers; but not just that, it's made up of a whole coalition of people that have all sorts of different views that I think most of us in this room would find threatening to them and what it means to be an American.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not surprisingly, it is being shopped around by Warner's opponent, <a href="http://www.jimgilmoreforsenate.com/?q=node/549">Jim Gilmore</a>,&nbsp; who is currently <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/08/warner-on-cruise-control-in-bid-for-senate/">getting crushed</a> in the polls.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So offensive were Warner's remarks, apparently, that the Family Research Council felt compelled to <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/frc-action-slams-comments-made-by-mark-warner,574401.shtml">issue a statement:</a></p>
<blockquote><p>Today, FRC Action decried comments made by Democrat Party Senate candidate Mark Warner. Warner, who served formerly as Governor of Virginia, was recently recorded speaking at a Democratic Party event.  In his speech, Warner accused pro-lifers, homeschoolers, and members of the National Rifle Association, as threatening to &quot;what it means to be an American.&quot;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>&quot;You have to wonder what Mark Warner finds so offensive about these groups,&quot; said FRC Action Executive Director David Nammo, &quot;Is it the open practice of one's faith or the insistence on the right to bear arms that threatens Warner's America? The protection of innocent human life or the desire of parents to educate their own child? Perhaps Mark Warner should explain to the citizens of Virginia what parts of the Constitution he does agree with since it is clear he holds much of it suspect.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Oddly, nobody at the Family Research Council seems to know how to do any basic &quot;research&quot; - or understands the meaning of the words &quot;recently recorded&quot; - because, if they did, they'd realize that they probably should have issued this statement back in 1994 when Warner actually said it in relation to right-wing efforts to elect Iran-Contra criminal Oliver North ... or at least back in 2001 when the the RNC and Gilmore first tried to use the quote against him:</p>
<blockquote><p>RADIO ATTACK AD DRAWS ANGRY DENIAL BY WARNER ; NATIONAL GOP SPOKESMAN DEFENDS COMMERCIAL<br />31 October 2001<br />The Richmond Times-Dispatch</p>
<p>Republicans launched a sharp-edged radio advertising attack on Mark R. Warner yesterday, saying the Democratic gubernatorial candidate views abortion foes, home-school advocates and &quot;people of faith&quot; as a threat to the nation.</p>
<p>Warner angrily denied the claim and demanded the GOP pull the commercial.</p>
<p>The 60-second ad is produced and paid for by the Republican National Committee, led by Gov. Jim Gilmore. It features a conversation between a man and a woman during which the woman suggests that Warner considers social and religious conservatives as &quot;wanting to radically change American life, and said our views were threatening.&quot;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>The commercial is based on remarks attributed to Warner seven years ago, shortly before Virginia Republicans met in Richmond to nominate Iran-contra figure Oliver L. North for the U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>North went on to lose to incumbent Democrat Charles S. Robb. At the time, Warner was chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Referring to the expected nomination of North, a favorite of the Republican Party's conservative activists, Warner, according to a state GOP-supplied transcript, reportedly told the National Jewish Democrat Council on May 25, 1994:</p>
<p>&quot;Next weekend, you're going to see a coalition that has just about completely taken over the Republican Party in this state.</p>
<p>&quot;And if they have their way, will take over state government, made up of the Christian Coalition, made up of right-to-lifers; but it's not just the right-to-lifers, it's made up of the NRA; but it's not just that, it's made up of the home schoolers; but not just that, it's made up of a whole coalition of people that have all sorts of different views that I think most of us in this room would find threatening to them and what it means to be an American.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>For the last several days, the Right has been up in arms over this audio clip of Virginia Senate candidate Mark Warner warning that the state was on the verge of being taken over by the Religious Right</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Next weekend, you're going to see a coalition that has just about completely taken over the Republican Party in this state.</p>
<p>&quot;And if they have their way, will take over state government, made up of the Christian Coalition, made up of right-to-lifers; but it's not just the right-to-lifers, it's made up of the NRA; but it's not just that, it's made up of the home schoolers; but not just that, it's made up of a whole coalition of people that have all sorts of different views that I think most of us in this room would find threatening to them and what it means to be an American.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not surprisingly, it is being shopped around by Warner's opponent, <a href="http://www.jimgilmoreforsenate.com/?q=node/549">Jim Gilmore</a>,&nbsp; who is currently <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/08/warner-on-cruise-control-in-bid-for-senate/">getting crushed</a> in the polls.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So offensive were Warner's remarks, apparently, that the Family Research Council felt compelled to <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/frc-action-slams-comments-made-by-mark-warner,574401.shtml">issue a statement:</a></p>
<blockquote><p>Today, FRC Action decried comments made by Democrat Party Senate candidate Mark Warner. Warner, who served formerly as Governor of Virginia, was recently recorded speaking at a Democratic Party event.  In his speech, Warner accused pro-lifers, homeschoolers, and members of the National Rifle Association, as threatening to &quot;what it means to be an American.&quot;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>&quot;You have to wonder what Mark Warner finds so offensive about these groups,&quot; said FRC Action Executive Director David Nammo, &quot;Is it the open practice of one's faith or the insistence on the right to bear arms that threatens Warner's America? The protection of innocent human life or the desire of parents to educate their own child? Perhaps Mark Warner should explain to the citizens of Virginia what parts of the Constitution he does agree with since it is clear he holds much of it suspect.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Oddly, nobody at the Family Research Council seems to know how to do any basic &quot;research&quot; - or understands the meaning of the words &quot;recently recorded&quot; - because, if they did, they'd realize that they probably should have issued this statement back in 1994 when Warner actually said it in relation to right-wing efforts to elect Iran-Contra criminal Oliver North ... or at least back in 2001 when the the RNC and Gilmore first tried to use the quote against him:</p>
<blockquote><p>RADIO ATTACK AD DRAWS ANGRY DENIAL BY WARNER ; NATIONAL GOP SPOKESMAN DEFENDS COMMERCIAL<br />31 October 2001<br />The Richmond Times-Dispatch</p>
<p>Republicans launched a sharp-edged radio advertising attack on Mark R. Warner yesterday, saying the Democratic gubernatorial candidate views abortion foes, home-school advocates and &quot;people of faith&quot; as a threat to the nation.</p>
<p>Warner angrily denied the claim and demanded the GOP pull the commercial.</p>
<p>The 60-second ad is produced and paid for by the Republican National Committee, led by Gov. Jim Gilmore. It features a conversation between a man and a woman during which the woman suggests that Warner considers social and religious conservatives as &quot;wanting to radically change American life, and said our views were threatening.&quot;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>The commercial is based on remarks attributed to Warner seven years ago, shortly before Virginia Republicans met in Richmond to nominate Iran-contra figure Oliver L. North for the U.S. Senate.</p>
<p>North went on to lose to incumbent Democrat Charles S. Robb. At the time, Warner was chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Referring to the expected nomination of North, a favorite of the Republican Party's conservative activists, Warner, according to a state GOP-supplied transcript, reportedly told the National Jewish Democrat Council on May 25, 1994:</p>
<p>&quot;Next weekend, you're going to see a coalition that has just about completely taken over the Republican Party in this state.</p>
<p>&quot;And if they have their way, will take over state government, made up of the Christian Coalition, made up of right-to-lifers; but it's not just the right-to-lifers, it's made up of the NRA; but it's not just that, it's made up of the home schoolers; but not just that, it's made up of a whole coalition of people that have all sorts of different views that I think most of us in this room would find threatening to them and what it means to be an American.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>AFA Gets a Head Start on the Holiday-Saving Season</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/afa-gets-head-start-holiday-saving-season" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/afa-gets-head-start-holiday-saving-season</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T16:03:54-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-09T16:04:20-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="American Family Association" />
    <category term="Culture War" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>It is just me or is the bogus &quot;War on Christmas&quot;&nbsp;starting earlier every year?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here it is, not even Halloween yet, and the American Family Association <a href="http://www.afa.net/StrongMailTemplates/christmas_10082008.html">is already</a> trotting out its &quot;help us save Christmas&quot; merchandise:</p>
<blockquote><p>It's hard to believe that there are companies and individuals who want to ban &quot;Merry Christmas&quot; and replace it with &quot;Holiday Greetings&quot; because, they say, they don't want to offend anyone.</p>
<p>Christians can take a stand and proclaim to our communities that Christmas is not just a winter holiday focused on materialism, but a &quot;holy day&quot; when we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  We can do it in a gentle and effective way by wearing the &ldquo;It&rsquo;s OK to say Merry Christmas&rdquo; button.</p>
<p><img align="left" src=" http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/AFA.gif" alt="" />You can help preserve our tradition of greeting others with a &ldquo;Merry Christmas&rdquo; by taking a vital leadership role in AFA&rsquo;s &quot;Project Merry Christmas.&quot;</p>
<p>Here's how. AFA is making available an attractive button and Glossy Sticker that carry on our tradition of saying   &ldquo;It's OK to say Merry Christmas.&quot;</p>
<p>Purchase enough buttons for each member of your church and enough Glossy Stickers for each family to have one to go on their automobile. Urge your fellow members to wear their buttons and display the Glossy Stickers during the entire Christmas season.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>It is just me or is the bogus &quot;War on Christmas&quot;&nbsp;starting earlier every year?&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here it is, not even Halloween yet, and the American Family Association <a href="http://www.afa.net/StrongMailTemplates/christmas_10082008.html">is already</a> trotting out its &quot;help us save Christmas&quot; merchandise:</p>
<blockquote><p>It's hard to believe that there are companies and individuals who want to ban &quot;Merry Christmas&quot; and replace it with &quot;Holiday Greetings&quot; because, they say, they don't want to offend anyone.</p>
<p>Christians can take a stand and proclaim to our communities that Christmas is not just a winter holiday focused on materialism, but a &quot;holy day&quot; when we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  We can do it in a gentle and effective way by wearing the &ldquo;It&rsquo;s OK to say Merry Christmas&rdquo; button.</p>
<p><img align="left" src=" http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/AFA.gif" alt="" />You can help preserve our tradition of greeting others with a &ldquo;Merry Christmas&rdquo; by taking a vital leadership role in AFA&rsquo;s &quot;Project Merry Christmas.&quot;</p>
<p>Here's how. AFA is making available an attractive button and Glossy Sticker that carry on our tradition of saying   &ldquo;It's OK to say Merry Christmas.&quot;</p>
<p>Purchase enough buttons for each member of your church and enough Glossy Stickers for each family to have one to go on their automobile. Urge your fellow members to wear their buttons and display the Glossy Stickers during the entire Christmas season.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Using &quot;Race as a Wedge Issue&quot; By Using Race as a Wedge Issue</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/using-race-wedge-issue-using-race-wedge-issue" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/using-race-wedge-issue-using-race-wedge-issue</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T14:49:40-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-09T14:49:40-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Bro" />
    <category term="Jesse Lee Peterson" />
    <category term="Race/Civil Rights" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>You just know that when Jesse Lee Peterson of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND)&nbsp;<a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/119308198.html">releases a statement</a>, it is going to be something ridiculous ... and once again he doesn't disappoint:</p>
<blockquote><p>According to BOND ACTION, Inc, Founder and President, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, the Obama campaign and its surrogates have knowingly used race as a wedge issue to scare black voters and mischaracterize Republican positions on the issues. Rev. Peterson said today, &quot;If the McCain campaign doesn't start aggressively combating these false allegations it will cost them the election&quot; ... Rev. Peterson said, &quot;Democrats are using the same racially charged scare tactics used by white segregationists in the past to antagonize the races. This is shameless and dangerous, and we have a moral duty to point it out.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Peterson, a right-wing African American activist, has built an entire career out of calling African American Democrats racists while defending white people who are actually ... you know ... racist, like <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200611/ai_n16854511">Michael Richards</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>By not allowing whites to express themselves, it only drives the problem underground and forces people to keep these emotions bottled up -- in essence, the politically correct culture is helping to create people like Michael Richards!&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And <a href="http://www.bondinfo.org/media/press/2008/pr-03-06-08.php">Duane Chapman</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND, the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, issued the following statement today congratulating Duane &ldquo;Dog&rdquo; Chapman and his fans on the news that plans are in the works to resume production of the hit show &ldquo;Dog The Bounty Hunter.&rdquo; A&amp;E suspended the show on October 31 after a tape of Duane using a racial slur to describe his son&rsquo;s girlfriend was sold to the Enquirer. Since the incident, Duane Chapman has worked closely with conservative black organizations such as BOND and CORE to reach out to the black community.</p>
<p>The following is Rev. Peterson&rsquo;s statement about this developing story: &ldquo;Congratulations to Duane Chapman and his family. Duane is not a racist. We&rsquo;re happy to learn that A&amp;E is planning to resume production of &lsquo;Dog The Bounty Hunter,&rsquo; which should have never been suspended.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Back in 2005, Max Blumenthal wrote a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050411/blumenthal">good profile</a> of Peterson that explains the role he plays in the right-wing movement:</p>
<blockquote><p>In late February, inside a sterile conference hall at Washington's premier conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, a crowd of no more than seventy took off their snow-flecked coats and settled in for an afternoon with a group of speakers billed as &quot;The New Black Vanguard.&quot; Perched on a platform above the audience, the speakers promptly launched a barrage of attacks on the civil rights establishment and &quot;the entertainment-industrial complex.&quot; At first the audience seemed disengaged, even a bit overwhelmed by the cacophony of blustery rhetoric. Then the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson piped up. &quot;W.E.B. Du Bois was a communist, socialist pig,&quot; Peterson crowed. A few of his fellow panelists blanched at his overheated language. But once the shock subsided, laughter rippled through the previously mute crowd, followed by vigorous applause.</p>
<p>It was vintage Peterson. Throughout his fifteen-year career as a right-wing evangelical minister, Peterson has never shied from bombastic assaults on targets ranging from civil rights leaders to liberal Democrats to undocumented immigrants. But while Peterson's strident style may be unique, with his extremist politics he is merely playing the role of front man for a murky, well-funded network of white nationalist activists and right-wing Beltway operatives. By deploying Peterson to gatherings like the Heritage event and into the media, this coterie of conservatives have been able to apply a bold veneer of blackness over the brand of bigotry they find increasingly inconvenient to espouse on their own. Peterson has no professional or political accomplishments to speak of, beyond directing a small inner-city aid ministry and hosting a radio show syndicated on a handful of AM stations across the country. To his sponsors, though, that's irrelevant; it is his immunity from charges of racism that matters.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>You just know that when Jesse Lee Peterson of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND)&nbsp;<a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/119308198.html">releases a statement</a>, it is going to be something ridiculous ... and once again he doesn't disappoint:</p>
<blockquote><p>According to BOND ACTION, Inc, Founder and President, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, the Obama campaign and its surrogates have knowingly used race as a wedge issue to scare black voters and mischaracterize Republican positions on the issues. Rev. Peterson said today, &quot;If the McCain campaign doesn't start aggressively combating these false allegations it will cost them the election&quot; ... Rev. Peterson said, &quot;Democrats are using the same racially charged scare tactics used by white segregationists in the past to antagonize the races. This is shameless and dangerous, and we have a moral duty to point it out.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Peterson, a right-wing African American activist, has built an entire career out of calling African American Democrats racists while defending white people who are actually ... you know ... racist, like <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200611/ai_n16854511">Michael Richards</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>By not allowing whites to express themselves, it only drives the problem underground and forces people to keep these emotions bottled up -- in essence, the politically correct culture is helping to create people like Michael Richards!&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And <a href="http://www.bondinfo.org/media/press/2008/pr-03-06-08.php">Duane Chapman</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND, the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, issued the following statement today congratulating Duane &ldquo;Dog&rdquo; Chapman and his fans on the news that plans are in the works to resume production of the hit show &ldquo;Dog The Bounty Hunter.&rdquo; A&amp;E suspended the show on October 31 after a tape of Duane using a racial slur to describe his son&rsquo;s girlfriend was sold to the Enquirer. Since the incident, Duane Chapman has worked closely with conservative black organizations such as BOND and CORE to reach out to the black community.</p>
<p>The following is Rev. Peterson&rsquo;s statement about this developing story: &ldquo;Congratulations to Duane Chapman and his family. Duane is not a racist. We&rsquo;re happy to learn that A&amp;E is planning to resume production of &lsquo;Dog The Bounty Hunter,&rsquo; which should have never been suspended.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Back in 2005, Max Blumenthal wrote a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050411/blumenthal">good profile</a> of Peterson that explains the role he plays in the right-wing movement:</p>
<blockquote><p>In late February, inside a sterile conference hall at Washington's premier conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, a crowd of no more than seventy took off their snow-flecked coats and settled in for an afternoon with a group of speakers billed as &quot;The New Black Vanguard.&quot; Perched on a platform above the audience, the speakers promptly launched a barrage of attacks on the civil rights establishment and &quot;the entertainment-industrial complex.&quot; At first the audience seemed disengaged, even a bit overwhelmed by the cacophony of blustery rhetoric. Then the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson piped up. &quot;W.E.B. Du Bois was a communist, socialist pig,&quot; Peterson crowed. A few of his fellow panelists blanched at his overheated language. But once the shock subsided, laughter rippled through the previously mute crowd, followed by vigorous applause.</p>
<p>It was vintage Peterson. Throughout his fifteen-year career as a right-wing evangelical minister, Peterson has never shied from bombastic assaults on targets ranging from civil rights leaders to liberal Democrats to undocumented immigrants. But while Peterson's strident style may be unique, with his extremist politics he is merely playing the role of front man for a murky, well-funded network of white nationalist activists and right-wing Beltway operatives. By deploying Peterson to gatherings like the Heritage event and into the media, this coterie of conservatives have been able to apply a bold veneer of blackness over the brand of bigotry they find increasingly inconvenient to espouse on their own. Peterson has no professional or political accomplishments to speak of, beyond directing a small inner-city aid ministry and hosting a radio show syndicated on a handful of AM stations across the country. To his sponsors, though, that's irrelevant; it is his immunity from charges of racism that matters.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Because What This Election Needs is David Blaine</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/because-what-election-needs-david-blaine" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/because-what-election-needs-david-blaine</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T14:42:54-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-09T14:43:37-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Raymond Porter" />
    <category term="Reproductive Health" />
    <category term="VA" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Some things just <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/833558204.html">defy efforts to try and explain them</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><img align="right" src="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/Pastor.jpg" alt="" />Pastor [Raymond S. Porter] will be put into a casket for three days and three nights, from October 12th at 2:00 pm through October 15th at 9:00 am.  Then he will come out and give a message to Mr. Obama from God, that the whole world may hear.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>This is about murdering innocent babies.  Our society calls it abortion, but I call it what it is murder.</p>
<p>The reason why I am doing this is out of obedience to God.  Many Americans think our economy is failing because of the Bush Administration, but they are wrong, it is because of sin.</p>
<p>We are a very sinful nation, therefore God is against us.  The only quote I have is from God's word. 2 Chronicles 7:14 say's 'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land'.  We are suppose to be a civilized nation but we are practicing Barbaric behavior called human sacrifice.  It is sad that we live in a county were it is perfectly legal to murder an unborn child for convenience, maybe the mother to be says, 'It's not the right time, I must further my career', or a mother may tell her teenage daughter, 'You must get rid of the baby because you are to young. You must finish school'. It is human sacrifice for one's own convenience.  Senator Barack Obama said if he becomes president that he would intervene in the African countries where genocide is taking place. He will not however, intervene in Roe vs. Wade which is genocide that is taking place here in America everyday disguised as planned parenthood.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Some things just <a href="http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/833558204.html">defy efforts to try and explain them</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><img align="right" src="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/sites/default/files/Pastor.jpg" alt="" />Pastor [Raymond S. Porter] will be put into a casket for three days and three nights, from October 12th at 2:00 pm through October 15th at 9:00 am.  Then he will come out and give a message to Mr. Obama from God, that the whole world may hear.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>This is about murdering innocent babies.  Our society calls it abortion, but I call it what it is murder.</p>
<p>The reason why I am doing this is out of obedience to God.  Many Americans think our economy is failing because of the Bush Administration, but they are wrong, it is because of sin.</p>
<p>We are a very sinful nation, therefore God is against us.  The only quote I have is from God's word. 2 Chronicles 7:14 say's 'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land'.  We are suppose to be a civilized nation but we are practicing Barbaric behavior called human sacrifice.  It is sad that we live in a county were it is perfectly legal to murder an unborn child for convenience, maybe the mother to be says, 'It's not the right time, I must further my career', or a mother may tell her teenage daughter, 'You must get rid of the baby because you are to young. You must finish school'. It is human sacrifice for one's own convenience.  Senator Barack Obama said if he becomes president that he would intervene in the African countries where genocide is taking place. He will not however, intervene in Roe vs. Wade which is genocide that is taking place here in America everyday disguised as planned parenthood.</p>
</blockquote>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Won&#039;t Somebody Please Think of the Children!</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/wont-somebody-please-think-children" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/wont-somebody-please-think-children</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T13:37:10-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-09T13:37:10-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Anti-Gay" />
    <category term="California" />
    <category term="Campaign for Children and Families" />
    <category term="Randy Thomasson" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Last month we were noting that some couples in California were protesting the use of &quot;Party A&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;Party B&quot; on marriage licenses, absurdly <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/god-created-marriage-not-party-and-party-b">complaining that it violated their rights</a>.</p>
<p>It looks like the CA Department of Public Health took note of the complaints and is <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/07/BAST13CH2G.DTL">trying to accommodate </a>those offended by the change:</p>
<blockquote><p>Beginning Nov. 17, couples can check boxes next to their names indicating whether they are a bride or a groom. Couples can check bride and bride, groom and groom, or bride and groom, allowing for same-sex and opposite-sex pairings.</p></blockquote>
<p>You'd think the Religious Right would be happy about that, after all Focus on the Family declared it &quot;<a href="http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008361.cfm">Good News</a>&quot; ... but, of course, you'd be wrong.</p>
<p>Good as You <a href="http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/10/dramatic-licens.html">points out</a> that Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families is<a href="http://www.savecalifornia.com/getpluggedin/news_details.php?newsid=9921"> even more upset</a> than he was before:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;This escalates the war for marriage by officially offering the label of 'bride and bride' and 'groom and groom' to homosexuals,&quot; said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families. &quot;For the first time, it means two official 'brides' and two official 'grooms,' not just one bride and just one groom like it used to be. What are children to think? This craziness is another reason Californians should vote yes on Proposition 8.&quot;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>&quot;By announcing before the election that the marriage form will be changed after the election, the Schwarzenegger administration is confusing voters to think that some of the widespread problems caused by homosexual 'marriages' have been solved, when they haven't,&quot; said Thomasson. &quot;The media is widely reporting that bride and groom have been 'restored' to California's marriage license. The Schwarzenegger administration is engaging in sleight of hand to depress voter turnout for Prop. 8.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One would like to think that eventually politicians and state functionaries will learn to stop trying to placate people like Thomasson who see everything as a conspiracy to destroy America, the family, and Christianity as a whole.&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Last month we were noting that some couples in California were protesting the use of &quot;Party A&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;Party B&quot; on marriage licenses, absurdly <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/god-created-marriage-not-party-and-party-b">complaining that it violated their rights</a>.</p>
<p>It looks like the CA Department of Public Health took note of the complaints and is <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/07/BAST13CH2G.DTL">trying to accommodate </a>those offended by the change:</p>
<blockquote><p>Beginning Nov. 17, couples can check boxes next to their names indicating whether they are a bride or a groom. Couples can check bride and bride, groom and groom, or bride and groom, allowing for same-sex and opposite-sex pairings.</p></blockquote>
<p>You'd think the Religious Right would be happy about that, after all Focus on the Family declared it &quot;<a href="http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008361.cfm">Good News</a>&quot; ... but, of course, you'd be wrong.</p>
<p>Good as You <a href="http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/10/dramatic-licens.html">points out</a> that Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families is<a href="http://www.savecalifornia.com/getpluggedin/news_details.php?newsid=9921"> even more upset</a> than he was before:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;This escalates the war for marriage by officially offering the label of 'bride and bride' and 'groom and groom' to homosexuals,&quot; said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families. &quot;For the first time, it means two official 'brides' and two official 'grooms,' not just one bride and just one groom like it used to be. What are children to think? This craziness is another reason Californians should vote yes on Proposition 8.&quot;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>&quot;By announcing before the election that the marriage form will be changed after the election, the Schwarzenegger administration is confusing voters to think that some of the widespread problems caused by homosexual 'marriages' have been solved, when they haven't,&quot; said Thomasson. &quot;The media is widely reporting that bride and groom have been 'restored' to California's marriage license. The Schwarzenegger administration is engaging in sleight of hand to depress voter turnout for Prop. 8.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One would like to think that eventually politicians and state functionaries will learn to stop trying to placate people like Thomasson who see everything as a conspiracy to destroy America, the family, and Christianity as a whole.&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>AFA Declares Victory Over McDonald&#039;s</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/afa-declares-victory-over-mcdonalds" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/afa-declares-victory-over-mcdonalds</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T12:34:17-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-09T13:07:47-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="American Family Association" />
    <category term="Anti-Gay" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>The American Family Association announces an end to its boycott of McDonald's, <a href="http://www.afa.net/endmcdonaldsboycott.htm">proclaiming itself victorious</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>McDonald's has told AFA they will remain neutral in the culture war regarding homosexual marriage. AFA is ending the boycott of McDonald's. As you know, AFA called for the boycott in May after McDonald's joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).</p>
<p>McDonald's said McDonald's Vice President Richard Ellis has resigned his position on the board of NGLCC and that his seat on the board will not be replaced. McDonald's also said that the company has no plans to renew their membership in NGLCC when it expires in December.</p>
<p>In an e-mail to McDonald's franchised owners the company said, &quot;It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald's remains neutral on same sex marriage or any 'homosexual agenda' as defined by the American Family Association.&quot;</p>
<p>We appreciate the decision by McDonald's to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations. You might want to thank your local McDonald's manager.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They can start by thanking the manager of the local McDonald's in <a href="http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/36785prs20080916.html">Louisville, KY</a>.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>The American Family Association announces an end to its boycott of McDonald's, <a href="http://www.afa.net/endmcdonaldsboycott.htm">proclaiming itself victorious</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>McDonald's has told AFA they will remain neutral in the culture war regarding homosexual marriage. AFA is ending the boycott of McDonald's. As you know, AFA called for the boycott in May after McDonald's joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).</p>
<p>McDonald's said McDonald's Vice President Richard Ellis has resigned his position on the board of NGLCC and that his seat on the board will not be replaced. McDonald's also said that the company has no plans to renew their membership in NGLCC when it expires in December.</p>
<p>In an e-mail to McDonald's franchised owners the company said, &quot;It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald's remains neutral on same sex marriage or any 'homosexual agenda' as defined by the American Family Association.&quot;</p>
<p>We appreciate the decision by McDonald's to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations. You might want to thank your local McDonald's manager.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They can start by thanking the manager of the local McDonald's in <a href="http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/36785prs20080916.html">Louisville, KY</a>.</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Right Begs McCain to Talk Social Issues</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-begs-mccain-talk-social-issues" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/right-begs-mccain-talk-social-issues</id>
    <published>2008-10-09T09:57:56-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-09T09:57:56-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Election 2008" />
    <category term="Family Research Council" />
    <category term="John McCain" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Yesterday we <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/your-debate-moderator-tonight-will-be-james-dobson">noted Fred Barnes fantasizing</a> over the idea of having Rick Warren moderate more presidential debates so as to ensure that right-wing social and wedge issues could dominate the agenda.&nbsp; It seems that he is not alone on the Right in wishing that their issues were playing a bigger role during this election cycle, because now the Family Research Council is weighing in, <a href="http://www.frcaction.org/get.cfm?i=WA08J20#WA08J20">practically begging</a> John McCain to start talking about abortion, marriage, and religion so that they have something to get excited about:</p>
<blockquote><p>With the economy on the mind of almost every American it was no surprise that last night's presidential debate, the second of three, was again dominated by economic issues. However, Americans should be given credit for being able to focus on several important issues at once. While the economy is of paramount importance it does not exclude concern about and interest in core issues like life, marriage and family. This is especially true for values voters ... With just one debate left, millions of values voters are still anxiously waiting for an honest exchange on the fundamental issues of life, marriage, and religion.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In essence, FRC&nbsp;is saying that while &quot;values voters&quot;&nbsp;care about our tanking economy and various wars and all that, what they really care about are gays and fetuses and if McCain doesn't start talking about those things, he'll only have himself to blame if he fails to rally them and ultimately loses the election.</p>
<p>Oddly, I was fully expecting this to be the spin they trotted out should McCain be defeated next month.  Looks like they are just getting an early start.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Yesterday we <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/your-debate-moderator-tonight-will-be-james-dobson">noted Fred Barnes fantasizing</a> over the idea of having Rick Warren moderate more presidential debates so as to ensure that right-wing social and wedge issues could dominate the agenda.&nbsp; It seems that he is not alone on the Right in wishing that their issues were playing a bigger role during this election cycle, because now the Family Research Council is weighing in, <a href="http://www.frcaction.org/get.cfm?i=WA08J20#WA08J20">practically begging</a> John McCain to start talking about abortion, marriage, and religion so that they have something to get excited about:</p>
<blockquote><p>With the economy on the mind of almost every American it was no surprise that last night's presidential debate, the second of three, was again dominated by economic issues. However, Americans should be given credit for being able to focus on several important issues at once. While the economy is of paramount importance it does not exclude concern about and interest in core issues like life, marriage and family. This is especially true for values voters ... With just one debate left, millions of values voters are still anxiously waiting for an honest exchange on the fundamental issues of life, marriage, and religion.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In essence, FRC&nbsp;is saying that while &quot;values voters&quot;&nbsp;care about our tanking economy and various wars and all that, what they really care about are gays and fetuses and if McCain doesn't start talking about those things, he'll only have himself to blame if he fails to rally them and ultimately loses the election.</p>
<p>Oddly, I was fully expecting this to be the spin they trotted out should McCain be defeated next month.  Looks like they are just getting an early start.</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>We’ve Been Remiss</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/we%E2%80%99ve-been-remiss" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/we%E2%80%99ve-been-remiss</id>
    <published>2008-10-08T16:25:35-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-08T16:26:05-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Barack Obama" />
    <category term="Christian Anti-Defamation Commission" />
    <category term="Religion" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>It seems  that while I&rsquo;ve been busy not paying attention to the Christian Anti-Defamation  Commission, they&rsquo;ve released <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHlelAui5fs">parts 2</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEYeDGOW83I">3</a> of their &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/why-obama-not-christian">Why Obama  Is Not A Christian</a>&rdquo; video series. I was inclined to ignore these new videos  until I saw that the CADC was <a href="http://www.christianadc.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=23073&amp;articleId=3249">relying  on us</a> to help them get the word out:</p>
<blockquote><p>The controversy continues to swirl around our campaign.  RightWingWatch.com, a radical liberal organization, has taken note of CADC and  our campaign. They have even posted our video on their site. Many of their  supporters have weighed in with a barrage of heated e-mails. We are rejoicing  that so many unbelievers are watching the videos. Pray that the life changing  truth of Christ's gospel will touch their hearts.</p></blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately  for them, angry emails generally don&rsquo;t contain donations, which they obviously  need:</p>
<blockquote><p>In order to keep Barack Obama from defaming and redefining  the Christian faith we need to raise $10,000.00 this week. Help us keep this  vital campaign alive so that millions of Christians will not be deceived by  Obama's phony claim that he is a &quot;devout Christian.&quot; Your gift will  make it possible to get us these videos out!</p></blockquote>
<p>I sure hope  that they raise the money they need because, if they go out of business, I&rsquo;ll  have one less D-list fringe group to mock.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>It seems  that while I&rsquo;ve been busy not paying attention to the Christian Anti-Defamation  Commission, they&rsquo;ve released <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHlelAui5fs">parts 2</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEYeDGOW83I">3</a> of their &ldquo;<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/why-obama-not-christian">Why Obama  Is Not A Christian</a>&rdquo; video series. I was inclined to ignore these new videos  until I saw that the CADC was <a href="http://www.christianadc.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=23073&amp;articleId=3249">relying  on us</a> to help them get the word out:</p>
<blockquote><p>The controversy continues to swirl around our campaign.  RightWingWatch.com, a radical liberal organization, has taken note of CADC and  our campaign. They have even posted our video on their site. Many of their  supporters have weighed in with a barrage of heated e-mails. We are rejoicing  that so many unbelievers are watching the videos. Pray that the life changing  truth of Christ's gospel will touch their hearts.</p></blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately  for them, angry emails generally don&rsquo;t contain donations, which they obviously  need:</p>
<blockquote><p>In order to keep Barack Obama from defaming and redefining  the Christian faith we need to raise $10,000.00 this week. Help us keep this  vital campaign alive so that millions of Christians will not be deceived by  Obama's phony claim that he is a &quot;devout Christian.&quot; Your gift will  make it possible to get us these videos out!</p></blockquote>
<p>I sure hope  that they raise the money they need because, if they go out of business, I&rsquo;ll  have one less D-list fringe group to mock.</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Percentages Matter</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/percentages-matter" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/percentages-matter</id>
    <published>2008-10-08T16:22:30-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-08T23:20:15-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Committee for Justice" />
    <category term="Judiciary" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Kristian  Kanya, writing on the Committee for Justice blog, <a href="http://www.committeeforjustice.org/blog/2008/10/bush-judges-matter-to-every-american.html">weighs  in</a> on the inevitably confusing issue of judicial confirmation numbers,  which I am generally reluctant to tackle because they are notoriously hard to  calculate accurately. &nbsp;After all, how  does one account for things like withdrawn nominees or, worse yet, nominees who  were not confirmed in one Congress and then renominated, often more than once,  in subsequent Congresses? Are they counted as just <em>one nominee</em> or are they counted as <em>multiple nominations</em>? &nbsp;What  about someone like William H. Steele, who was <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011005-8.html">nominated</a> by President Bush to the Eleventh Circuit in 2001, not confirmed, and then <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030107-10.html">renominated</a> by Bush to a District Court seat in 2003 and then confirmed?&nbsp; And what about nominees to the International Court  of Trade, are they counted?&nbsp;</p>
<p>You see, it&rsquo;s  complicated.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But what is  not particularly complicated, provided that we can all agree on basic numbers, is drawing comparisons across presidencies, which  is what CFJ tries to do by citing this section from a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100602851.html?sub=new">Washington  Post article:</a></p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Democrats expressed surprise that Bush would revive such  allegations, arguing that the Senate has confirmed more of Bush's nominees in  the past two years than were approved under the previous six years of GOP  control.</p>
<p>The White House says 324 of 376 federal court nominees have  been confirmed during Bush's tenure, with 34 current vacancies. By comparison,  Democrats say, there were 84 judicial openings at the end of Bill Clinton's  presidency.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>CFJ then compares  the varying confirmation figures during recent Congresses and declares that the  Democrats' claim is &ldquo;simply misleading.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;Of course, I could just point out that, in the  four years they have controlled the Senate under President Bush, Democrats have  confirmed more of his judicial nominees than the Republicans did during their  four years of control &ndash; <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/107thCongress.cfm">168</a> <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/110thCongress.cfm">confirmed</a> by the Democrats compared to <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/108thCongress-old.cfm">156</a> <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/109thCongress.cfm">confirmed</a> by  the Republicans. &nbsp;But that is exactly the  problem with this game; it all depends on what dates and calculations you  choose to use.</p>
<p>But there  is one thing on which everyone ought to be able to agree &ndash; it is not so much  the total number of nominees confirmed as it is the overall percentage of confirmed.  &nbsp;If a president, for some reason, only  put forth 100 nominees and yet saw every one of them confirmed, nobody could  complain that he only had 100 judges confirmed compared to some other president  who had, say, 150 confirmed out of a pool of 300. &nbsp;Which brings me to this point from CFJ: &nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>Some aggregate figures deserve attention also. During Reagan  a total of 383 federal judges were confirmed. Under Clinton, that dropped slightly to 377.  However, during the Bush administration, only 326 federal judges have been put  on the bench. Judicial openings or not, the numbers do not lie.</p></blockquote>
<p>Indeed,  numbers do not lie. So, for the sake of simplicity, let&rsquo;s just use the figures found  on Table 4(b) of this Congressional Research Service report &ldquo;<a href="http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL31635.pdf">Judicial  Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1977-2003</a>&rdquo; [PDF]. &nbsp;</p>
<p>According  to CRS, President Reagan put forth a total of 423 District and Circuit Court nominees  and saw 375 of them confirmed, a confirmation rate of 88%. President Clinton,  by contrast, put forth <em>more nominees and  had fewer confirmed</em>: &nbsp;372 of 488, for  a confirmation rate of 76%. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In  comparison, according to the White House&rsquo;s own figures cited in the <em>Washington Post</em> article above, &ldquo;324 of  376 federal court nominees have been confirmed during Bush's tenure.&rdquo;&nbsp; That gives him a confirmation rate of 86%,  well above President Clinton&rsquo;s confirmation rate.&nbsp; In fact, for Bush to lower his confirmation rate to match that of Clinton, he'd have to nominate another 50 or so judges before he leaves office in a few months, which is essentially impossible given that there are only 34 vacancies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The  topic of judicial confirmation rates is complex enough as it is without  organizations like CFJ throwing around figures totally devoid of context and  confusing people even further.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In short, despite all of the Right's complaining, President Bush has had a pretty good record of getting his judges confirmed.&nbsp; Of course, you'd never know that by listening to them.&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Kristian  Kanya, writing on the Committee for Justice blog, <a href="http://www.committeeforjustice.org/blog/2008/10/bush-judges-matter-to-every-american.html">weighs  in</a> on the inevitably confusing issue of judicial confirmation numbers,  which I am generally reluctant to tackle because they are notoriously hard to  calculate accurately. &nbsp;After all, how  does one account for things like withdrawn nominees or, worse yet, nominees who  were not confirmed in one Congress and then renominated, often more than once,  in subsequent Congresses? Are they counted as just <em>one nominee</em> or are they counted as <em>multiple nominations</em>? &nbsp;What  about someone like William H. Steele, who was <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011005-8.html">nominated</a> by President Bush to the Eleventh Circuit in 2001, not confirmed, and then <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030107-10.html">renominated</a> by Bush to a District Court seat in 2003 and then confirmed?&nbsp; And what about nominees to the International Court  of Trade, are they counted?&nbsp;</p>
<p>You see, it&rsquo;s  complicated.&nbsp;</p>
<p>But what is  not particularly complicated, provided that we can all agree on basic numbers, is drawing comparisons across presidencies, which  is what CFJ tries to do by citing this section from a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100602851.html?sub=new">Washington  Post article:</a></p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Democrats expressed surprise that Bush would revive such  allegations, arguing that the Senate has confirmed more of Bush's nominees in  the past two years than were approved under the previous six years of GOP  control.</p>
<p>The White House says 324 of 376 federal court nominees have  been confirmed during Bush's tenure, with 34 current vacancies. By comparison,  Democrats say, there were 84 judicial openings at the end of Bill Clinton's  presidency.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>CFJ then compares  the varying confirmation figures during recent Congresses and declares that the  Democrats' claim is &ldquo;simply misleading.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;Of course, I could just point out that, in the  four years they have controlled the Senate under President Bush, Democrats have  confirmed more of his judicial nominees than the Republicans did during their  four years of control &ndash; <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/107thCongress.cfm">168</a> <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/110thCongress.cfm">confirmed</a> by the Democrats compared to <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/108thCongress-old.cfm">156</a> <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/109thCongress.cfm">confirmed</a> by  the Republicans. &nbsp;But that is exactly the  problem with this game; it all depends on what dates and calculations you  choose to use.</p>
<p>But there  is one thing on which everyone ought to be able to agree &ndash; it is not so much  the total number of nominees confirmed as it is the overall percentage of confirmed.  &nbsp;If a president, for some reason, only  put forth 100 nominees and yet saw every one of them confirmed, nobody could  complain that he only had 100 judges confirmed compared to some other president  who had, say, 150 confirmed out of a pool of 300. &nbsp;Which brings me to this point from CFJ: &nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>Some aggregate figures deserve attention also. During Reagan  a total of 383 federal judges were confirmed. Under Clinton, that dropped slightly to 377.  However, during the Bush administration, only 326 federal judges have been put  on the bench. Judicial openings or not, the numbers do not lie.</p></blockquote>
<p>Indeed,  numbers do not lie. So, for the sake of simplicity, let&rsquo;s just use the figures found  on Table 4(b) of this Congressional Research Service report &ldquo;<a href="http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL31635.pdf">Judicial  Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1977-2003</a>&rdquo; [PDF]. &nbsp;</p>
<p>According  to CRS, President Reagan put forth a total of 423 District and Circuit Court nominees  and saw 375 of them confirmed, a confirmation rate of 88%. President Clinton,  by contrast, put forth <em>more nominees and  had fewer confirmed</em>: &nbsp;372 of 488, for  a confirmation rate of 76%. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In  comparison, according to the White House&rsquo;s own figures cited in the <em>Washington Post</em> article above, &ldquo;324 of  376 federal court nominees have been confirmed during Bush's tenure.&rdquo;&nbsp; That gives him a confirmation rate of 86%,  well above President Clinton&rsquo;s confirmation rate.&nbsp; In fact, for Bush to lower his confirmation rate to match that of Clinton, he'd have to nominate another 50 or so judges before he leaves office in a few months, which is essentially impossible given that there are only 34 vacancies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The  topic of judicial confirmation rates is complex enough as it is without  organizations like CFJ throwing around figures totally devoid of context and  confusing people even further.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In short, despite all of the Right's complaining, President Bush has had a pretty good record of getting his judges confirmed.&nbsp; Of course, you'd never know that by listening to them.&nbsp;</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>Your Debate Moderator Tonight Will Be James Dobson</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/your-debate-moderator-tonight-will-be-james-dobson" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/your-debate-moderator-tonight-will-be-james-dobson</id>
    <published>2008-10-08T10:49:35-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-08T10:49:35-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Election 2008" />
    <category term="Rick Warren" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/10/barnes_paging_rick_warren.asp">Fred  Barnes is dismayed</a> that the first two presidential debates have been so  boring and uninformative and wishes that, instead of taking about the economy,  healthcare, and the war, they would focus more on the social and wedge issues  that the Right loves &nbsp;&hellip; kind of like the faith  forum hosted by Rick Warren back in August:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>Oddly enough, it wasn&rsquo;t a journalist who staged the best  debate between McCain and Obama. It was an ordained minister, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church  in California,  the author of best-selling The Purpose-Driven Life. In separate sessions, he  asked the same questions, first of McCain, then of Obama.</p>
<p>Their answers gave voters a far better idea of what makes  the two candidates tick than all the policy-reality questions asked in the two  official presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.</p>
<p>What did Warren  ask? Questions like, who is the wisest person you know and do you listen to  that person? And what is your greatest moral failure and what is America&rsquo;s.</p>
<p>Here are more Warren  questions: What have you changed your mind on? What was your toughest decision?  What does your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ mean to you on a daily  basis? When does life begin? What&rsquo;s your definition of marriage? Does evil  exist? What is worth sacrificing American lives for? How do you define &ldquo;rich&rdquo;?  What would you do as president for the millions of orphans in the world?</p>
<p>In an hour with each candidate, Warren managed to draw more out of McCain and  Obama than either Brokaw did last night or Jim Lehrer did in the first  presidential debate. There&rsquo;s a lesson in that that the media professionals  would be wise to learn.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apparently  it is the purpose of presidential debates is to skew the issues to focus on those  that <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/warren-wows-right-his-faith-forum">help  McCain rally his base</a>.&nbsp; Heck, why not  just have Warren  moderate them all? Maybe he could <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-warren-palin%E2%80%99s-new-pal">offer  to personally pray</a> with McCain, like he&rsquo;s done with Sarah Palin.&nbsp; Or better yet, why not just have James Dobson  moderate the debates? After all, the only real difference between the two, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/warren-vs-dobson-difference-tone">as  Warren admits</a>, is tone.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/10/barnes_paging_rick_warren.asp">Fred  Barnes is dismayed</a> that the first two presidential debates have been so  boring and uninformative and wishes that, instead of taking about the economy,  healthcare, and the war, they would focus more on the social and wedge issues  that the Right loves &nbsp;&hellip; kind of like the faith  forum hosted by Rick Warren back in August:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>Oddly enough, it wasn&rsquo;t a journalist who staged the best  debate between McCain and Obama. It was an ordained minister, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church  in California,  the author of best-selling The Purpose-Driven Life. In separate sessions, he  asked the same questions, first of McCain, then of Obama.</p>
<p>Their answers gave voters a far better idea of what makes  the two candidates tick than all the policy-reality questions asked in the two  official presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.</p>
<p>What did Warren  ask? Questions like, who is the wisest person you know and do you listen to  that person? And what is your greatest moral failure and what is America&rsquo;s.</p>
<p>Here are more Warren  questions: What have you changed your mind on? What was your toughest decision?  What does your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ mean to you on a daily  basis? When does life begin? What&rsquo;s your definition of marriage? Does evil  exist? What is worth sacrificing American lives for? How do you define &ldquo;rich&rdquo;?  What would you do as president for the millions of orphans in the world?</p>
<p>In an hour with each candidate, Warren managed to draw more out of McCain and  Obama than either Brokaw did last night or Jim Lehrer did in the first  presidential debate. There&rsquo;s a lesson in that that the media professionals  would be wise to learn.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apparently  it is the purpose of presidential debates is to skew the issues to focus on those  that <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/warren-wows-right-his-faith-forum">help  McCain rally his base</a>.&nbsp; Heck, why not  just have Warren  moderate them all? Maybe he could <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-warren-palin%E2%80%99s-new-pal">offer  to personally pray</a> with McCain, like he&rsquo;s done with Sarah Palin.&nbsp; Or better yet, why not just have James Dobson  moderate the debates? After all, the only real difference between the two, <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/warren-vs-dobson-difference-tone">as  Warren admits</a>, is tone.</p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
  <entry>
    <title>God Has Chosen Palin to be VP</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/god-has-chosen-palin-be-vp" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/god-has-chosen-palin-be-vp</id>
    <published>2008-10-08T10:07:22-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-10-08T16:14:56-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Mark Arnold" />
    <category term="Ohio" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <category term="Sarah Palin" />
    <category term="Stephen Strang" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Several  weeks back, we noted that some of Sarah Palin&rsquo;s more ardent right-wing  supporters were <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/sarah-palin-gift-god">comparing her</a> to Queen Esther and declaring that she was &ldquo;destined to be the matriarch of her  people.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Now, Sarah  Posner in her latest <a href="http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_fundamentalist_100808">FundamentaList</a> points to this <a href="http://www.strangreport.com/2008/10/prophecy-for-sarah-palin.html">post  by Stephen Strang</a> in which Strange shares an email from Pastor Mark Arnold  in Lebanon, Ohio who explains how God worked miracles so that he could meet  Palin personally and &ldquo;deliver a message confirming to Sarah and Todd to realize  they are truly chosen vessels of God&rdquo;:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>On Sept. 9, the McCain/Palin bus came through a little town  called Lebanon, Ohio. The Lord allowed me to go to the rally  [to give McCain and Palin] a message that He wanted me to personally deliver.</p>
<p>Sunday Night: A burden hit me that would only shake me to my  knees--I prayed and wept for our nation. Never has my heart been so broken  before God. I literally interceded for these wonderful people who do not deserve  all the hate against them. The God-haters are going to try everything to stop  them, but they will not succeed!</p>
<p>God is not pleased with the &ldquo;bashing&rdquo; in the news of this  &ldquo;anointed&rdquo; person [Sarah Palin]. He has called her for this time! I promised  God that I would pray and hold them up in prayer. I would &ldquo;listen&rdquo; out and be  mindful of where they were. The following day is important in this time line  ... because I didn't even know until God spoke to me.</p>
<p>Monday and into Monday night: The burden of prayer was so  heavy that I was literally shaking and could not stop weeping. I didn't know  that they were coming to Ohio.  I prayed and walked and wept and walked. I prayed and prayed and wept and  prayed.</p>
<p>Tuesday at 2:00 a.m.: God spoke these words to me: &ldquo;Go turn  the radio on!&rdquo; Immediately the reporter's words were, &ldquo;McCain &amp; Palin bus  to be in Lebanon  later this morning for a 10:00 a.m. rally!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Immediately on hearing that news, I heard God again. God  said, &ldquo;You are to go. You will meet them and give them a message for Me!&rdquo;</p>
<p>I prayed as an intercessor and went to a place in prayer  that I don't think I've ever been &hellip; because the Lord had just visited me &hellip; and  I knew I was on a &ldquo;mission.&rdquo; I had now been up since Sunday night &hellip; and now  it's Tuesday and I've got to go on the &ldquo;Word of the Lord.&rdquo; He sure became my  strength as this unfolds.</p>
<p>I didn't stop praying until I drove over to the town and  parked the car. The news would later report they were expecting 5,000 people,  [but] the actual head-count of those who had been scanned was more than 10,000  people.</p>
<p>I simply obeyed &hellip; and God actually told me where to stand,  who to talk to &hellip; and when to be on the move. I had sure learned on the mission  field, when God wants to open a door, He will do it at the appropriate time. He  always has someone to assist &hellip; and even those standing beside you may just be  an angel.</p>
<p>&hellip;</p>
<p>When McCain came to hug her &hellip; he immediately shook my hand  and following his moment with her, I shook his hand as he grabbed my hand, now  for the second time, and I said, &ldquo;God wants you to know that I'm praying for  you, Sir!&rdquo; He thanked me and kept smiling. I repeated that phrase to him five  times. He grabbed my hands and looked right into my eyes and said, &ldquo;I won't  make it without prayer. Sir, thank you for praying for me, and don't let one  day go by that you don't pray for me. I need all the prayers that I can get.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!&rdquo;</p>
<p>As he moved to my right, Sarah Palin came over to my left  side &hellip; standing over the crowd and then looking at the little lady who had lost  the son. It took a moment for her to shake some hands and people were pushing  in all around. Sarah came and got on her hands and knees on that side of the  stage and hugged that little mom, telling her, &ldquo;It was not in vain.&rdquo; She  promised her support.</p>
<p>It was at this moment Sarah Palin reached out for me to help  her up, and as I was assisting her to stand, I was now face-to-face with her,  and God said, &ldquo;Open up your mouth and I will fill it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Here is what came out:</p>
<p>&ldquo;God wants you to know that you are a present-day Esther!&rdquo;</p>
<p>[She immediately began to cry!]</p>
<p>&ldquo;God wants to tell you that you are chosen for such a time  as this!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You are called, and chosen to be a leader.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don't lose heart and don't fear man.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The news and naysayers and criticizers are going to be very  hateful toward you &hellip; and in the days ahead they are going to turn up the heat &hellip;  but do not fear.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You are a present-day Esther.&rdquo; You are an Esther. You are  an Esther!</p>
<p>&ldquo;Keep your eyes on God and know that He has chosen you to  reign!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Stay strong ... be strong ... don't tire. Don't be weary in  well-doing. Be strong.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Her husband, Todd, came over, and I told him what I told  her. He began to cry.</p>
<p>I emphasized the fact that he was to guard her at this time  &hellip; and know that &ldquo;she is God-called and God-anointed.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;This is a God-thing and your wife is a present-day Esther  ... she is for God to use at this time ... she is an Esther ... she is an  Esther ... she is an Esther.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You will be hated &hellip; but stand strong &hellip; God has called both  of you to stand!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are praying and I am praying for you!&rdquo;</p>
<p>At this moment, McCain came right to where I was finishing  talking to Todd, and I told Mr. McCain exactly what I told to Sarah and Todd  Palin.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Mr. McCain &hellip; they are called of God and she is an Esther.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don't lose hope and don't lose heart.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are praying for all of you!&rdquo;</p>
<p>He shook my hand and with a deep look of understanding what  I had just said, he said, &ldquo;Thank you for your prayers and support ... I really  do mean that!&rdquo;</p>
<p>And he turned and shook more hands &hellip; and I watched them as  they went through the crowd.</p>
<p>When I got to my car I sat there for quite a long time &hellip;  knowing the God of the universe had just used me to deliver a message  confirming to Sarah and Todd to realize they are truly chosen vessels of God.</p>
<p>I wept. I have not stopped praying and crying. My heart is  full knowing they had to have all the staging and all the hype and all the  crowd &hellip; but the God of heaven and earth &hellip; wanted to give them a divine  God-appointment!</p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Several  weeks back, we noted that some of Sarah Palin&rsquo;s more ardent right-wing  supporters were <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/sarah-palin-gift-god">comparing her</a> to Queen Esther and declaring that she was &ldquo;destined to be the matriarch of her  people.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Now, Sarah  Posner in her latest <a href="http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_fundamentalist_100808">FundamentaList</a> points to this <a href="http://www.strangreport.com/2008/10/prophecy-for-sarah-palin.html">post  by Stephen Strang</a> in which Strange shares an email from Pastor Mark Arnold  in Lebanon, Ohio who explains how God worked miracles so that he could meet  Palin personally and &ldquo;deliver a message confirming to Sarah and Todd to realize  they are truly chosen vessels of God&rdquo;:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p>On Sept. 9, the McCain/Palin bus came through a little town  called Lebanon, Ohio. The Lord allowed me to go to the rally  [to give McCain and Palin] a message that He wanted me to personally deliver.</p>
<p>Sunday Night: A burden hit me that would only shake me to my  knees--I prayed and wept for our nation. Never has my heart been so broken  before God. I literally interceded for these wonderful people who do not deserve  all the hate against them. The God-haters are going to try everything to stop  them, but they will not succeed!</p>
<p>God is not pleased with the &ldquo;bashing&rdquo; in the news of this  &ldquo;anointed&rdquo; person [Sarah Palin]. He has called her for this time! I promised  God that I would pray and hold them up in prayer. I would &ldquo;listen&rdquo; out and be  mindful of where they were. The following day is important in this time line  ... because I didn't even know until God spoke to me.</p>
<p>Monday and into Monday night: The burden of prayer was so  heavy that I was literally shaking and could not stop weeping. I didn't know  that they were coming to Ohio.  I prayed and walked and wept and walked. I prayed and prayed and wept and  prayed.</p>
<p>Tuesday at 2:00 a.m.: God spoke these words to me: &ldquo;Go turn  the radio on!&rdquo; Immediately the reporter's words were, &ldquo;McCain &amp; Palin bus  to be in Lebanon  later this morning for a 10:00 a.m. rally!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Immediately on hearing that news, I heard God again. God  said, &ldquo;You are to go. You will meet them and give them a message for Me!&rdquo;</p>
<p>I prayed as an intercessor and went to a place in prayer  that I don't think I've ever been &hellip; because the Lord had just visited me &hellip; and  I knew I was on a &ldquo;mission.&rdquo; I had now been up since Sunday night &hellip; and now  it's Tuesday and I've got to go on the &ldquo;Word of the Lord.&rdquo; He sure became my  strength as this unfolds.</p>
<p>I didn't stop praying until I drove over to the town and  parked the car. The news would later report they were expecting 5,000 people,  [but] the actual head-count of those who had been scanned was more than 10,000  people.</p>
<p>I simply obeyed &hellip; and God actually told me where to stand,  who to talk to &hellip; and when to be on the move. I had sure learned on the mission  field, when God wants to open a door, He will do it at the appropriate time. He  always has someone to assist &hellip; and even those standing beside you may just be  an angel.</p>
<p>&hellip;</p>
<p>When McCain came to hug her &hellip; he immediately shook my hand  and following his moment with her, I shook his hand as he grabbed my hand, now  for the second time, and I said, &ldquo;God wants you to know that I'm praying for  you, Sir!&rdquo; He thanked me and kept smiling. I repeated that phrase to him five  times. He grabbed my hands and looked right into my eyes and said, &ldquo;I won't  make it without prayer. Sir, thank you for praying for me, and don't let one  day go by that you don't pray for me. I need all the prayers that I can get.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!&rdquo;</p>
<p>As he moved to my right, Sarah Palin came over to my left  side &hellip; standing over the crowd and then looking at the little lady who had lost  the son. It took a moment for her to shake some hands and people were pushing  in all around. Sarah came and got on her hands and knees on that side of the  stage and hugged that little mom, telling her, &ldquo;It was not in vain.&rdquo; She  promised her support.</p>
<p>It was at this moment Sarah Palin reached out for me to help  her up, and as I was assisting her to stand, I was now face-to-face with her,  and God said, &ldquo;Open up your mouth and I will fill it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Here is what came out:</p>
<p>&ldquo;God wants you to know that you are a present-day Esther!&rdquo;</p>
<p>[She immediately began to cry!]</p>
<p>&ldquo;God wants to tell you that you are chosen for such a time  as this!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You are called, and chosen to be a leader.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don't lose heart and don't fear man.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The news and naysayers and criticizers are going to be very  hateful toward you &hellip; and in the days ahead they are going to turn up the heat &hellip;  but do not fear.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You are a present-day Esther.&rdquo; You are an Esther. You are  an Esther!</p>
<p>&ldquo;Keep your eyes on God and know that He has chosen you to  reign!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Stay strong ... be strong ... don't tire. Don't be weary in  well-doing. Be strong.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Her husband, Todd, came over, and I told him what I told  her. He began to cry.</p>
<p>I emphasized the fact that he was to guard her at this time  &hellip; and know that &ldquo;she is God-called and God-anointed.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;This is a God-thing and your wife is a present-day Esther  ... she is for God to use at this time ... she is an Esther ... she is an  Esther ... she is an Esther.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;You will be hated &hellip; but stand strong &hellip; God has called both  of you to stand!&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are praying and I am praying for you!&rdquo;</p>
<p>At this moment, McCain came right to where I was finishing  talking to Todd, and I told Mr. McCain exactly what I told to Sarah and Todd  Palin.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Mr. McCain &hellip; they are called of God and she is an Esther.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Don't lose hope and don't lose heart.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are praying for all of you!&rdquo;</p>
<p>He shook my hand and with a deep look of understanding what  I had just said, he said, &ldquo;Thank you for your prayers and support ... I really  do mean that!&rdquo;</p>
<p>And he turned and shook more hands &hellip; and I watched them as  they went through the crowd.</p>
<p>When I got to my car I sat there for quite a long time &hellip;  knowing the God of the universe had just used me to deliver a message  confirming to Sarah and Todd to realize they are truly chosen vessels of God.</p>
<p>I wept. I have not stopped praying and crying. My heart is  full knowing they had to have all the staging and all the hype and all the  crowd &hellip; but the God of heaven and earth &hellip; wanted to give them a divine  God-appointment!</p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
    ]]></content>
  </entry>
</feed>
