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Rick Perry Partners With Anti-Choice Extremist For Prayer Rally

Submitted by Brian Tashman on July 27, 2011 - 12:03pm

Yet another radical endorser has been added to the website of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s The Response prayer rally: Rob Schenck of Faith And Action. During the 1992 presidential campaign, Schenck was arrested along with Randall Terry “after thrusting a container with a 19-week-old fetus at presidential candidate Bill Clinton,” and four years later told President Clinton “God will hold you to account, Mr. President” for his pro-choice views. Schenk helped Terry found Operation Rescue, one of the most extreme and controversial anti-choice groups in America.

Schenk continues to work closely with other anti-choice zealots, including his brother Paul, who leads that National Pro-Life Action Center. In the 1990s, Schenck and his brother spearheaded a harassment campaign against an abortion provider in upstate New York who was later murdered by an anti-choice activist who is alleged to have had ties with the Schenck brothers.

Along with his militant anti-choice activism, Schenck has repeatedly questioned President Obama’s Christian faith and in 2006 described a deadly mining disaster in West Virginia as a punishment from God. Schenck is also a staunch opponent of gay rights. He called the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell an “attack on personal, moral, social and religious sensibilities” and criticized “militant homosexual activists” for holding an LGBT pride parade in Jerusalem, calling it an “abomination.”

Judging from Perry’s other prayer rally organizers, Schenck will fit right in.

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Porter Brings Religious Right Leaders, Dominionists And Prophets Together For Israel

Submitted by Brian Tashman on May 18, 2011 - 3:16pm

Janet Porter of Faith2Action has started a new website, IsraelYoureNotAlone.com, and has managed to gather a whole host of names for a Wall Street Journal ad condemning President Obama’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

Porter, who last week blamed the deadly tornadoes in the South on Obama’s approach to Israel and legal abortion, garnered signatures from Religious Right luminaries like Mike Huckabee, James Dobson, Lou Sheldon, Mat Staver, Tim Wildmon, and Roy Moore, along with dominionists like herself such as Jerry Boykin and Rick Scarborough, and New Apostolic Reformation ‘prophets’ like Rick Joyner, Che Ahn, Mike Bickle, and Chuck Pierce. Other prominent Religious Right signatories include Gordon Klingenschmitt, Don Feder, Rob Shenck and Paul Blair.

Many Christian Right leaders believe that Israel must refuse territorial compromise and a two-state solution in order to accelerate the End Times. The ad warns, “We believe Israel's ancient prophets who warned of dire consequences to any nation who would divide your land.”

Porter sent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 10,000 yellow roses to protest Obama’s “horrendous treatment” of Netanyahu, and Glenn Beck recently announced that he will hold a rally in Jerusalem to fight against the two-state solution.

View the ad here [pdf]:

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Boehner Accepts "Ten Commandments Leadership Award Award" From Anti-Choice Extremist Rob Schenck

Submitted by Brian Tashman on May 2, 2011 - 12:04pm

Speaker John Boehner recevied the “Ten Commandments Leadership Award” for his role in supporting the Defense of Marriage Act and legislation to rollback reproductive rights from fervent anti-choice activist Rob Schenck. Schenck’s group Faith and Action specifically focuses on proselytizing and lobbying prominent government officials, and works closely with other radical abortion-rights opponents. Faith and Action and Schenck’s ultraconservative National Clergy Council promote the inclusion of Ten Commandments and nativity scenes on government property and advocate for anti-choice legislation.

Along with his twin brother Paul, Rob Schenck was a militant opponent of reproductive rights in the 1990’s, and as Kyle notes, they were “often targeting Dr. Barnett Slepian who was assassinated by an anti-abortion activist in 1998 by a man who, according to another pro-life activist, was probably known to both Schenck and his brother.” With Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, Schenck hurled a fetus in a container at then-candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 and harassed Clinton throughout his presidency, confronting him in a church with the message, “God will hold you to account, Mr. President.” Schenck has previously cast doubts on President Barack Obama’s Christian faith, referred to a gay-pride parade an “abomination,” and described the 2006 West Virginia mining disaster as punishment from God.

Watch:

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Personal Meeting Leaves Rob Schenck Very Impressed With Tim Pawlenty

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 28, 2011 - 2:13pm

In the early 1990s, Rob Schenck was a radical anti-abortion activist who worked alongside his twin brother Paul carrying out protests against Dr. Barnett Slepian in upstate New York ... until Slepian was murdered by another anti-abortion activist.

Instrumental in the founding of Operation Rescue with Randall Terry, Schenck was arrested in 1992 for thrusting a container containing a fetus at then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton and stopped by the Secret Service a few years later after aggressively confronting President Clinton as he headed to church.

Since then, Schenck has toned down his radical anti-choice activities and become an influential minister to members of Congress and created a network of overlapping right-wing organizations through which he carries out his work, 

In recent years, he has become best known for regularly annointing doorways and hearing rooms with oil before big events like Supreme Court hearings and presidential inaugurations and questioning the Christian faith of President Obama ... and, I guess, meeting with Tim Pawlenty:

I had the privilege of spending an evening with Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty during one of his visits to Washington. I found him genuine, a mature Christian and a very pleasant personality.

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Finally, Rock-Solid Proof That Liberals Hate The Declaration of Independence!

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on September 21, 2010 - 9:44am

Yesterday, Sarah Posner tweeted that this post from CBN's David Brody would become the "next idiotic anti-Obama meme":

In a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute last week, President Obama ad-libbed a key line from the Declaration of Independence but in the process left out the word “creator”.

...

If you look at President Obama’s prepared remarks before the speech was delivered, the Declaration of Independence line was not in there so clearly President Obama ad-libbed the line...and gets it wrong.

Conservative websites have been quick to pounce on this to possibly suggest that President Obama left the word “Creator” out on purpose.

And right she was, as Focus on the Family called it part of a "troubling trend," while Rob Schenck sees it as further evidence that Obama is a "skeptical humanist universalist," and Day Gardner sees it as proof that Obama is a secret Muslim because "no real Christian would do that."

And, of course, Bryan Fischer declares it to be due to the incontrovertible fact that liberals hate the Declaration of Independence:

So the President of the United States quotes the Declaration of Independence but omits the references to the Creator with a capital C.

And this highlights something that I observed before; I observed it with Elena Kagan and that is a striking thing, but liberals in the United States of America hate the Declaration of Independence.

Liberals, and statists, and socialists, and Marxists, and communists, and the political class by and large hates the Declaration of Independence.

Why?

They hate the Declaration of Independence because it unapologetically affirms the existence of a Creator.

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Fringe RW Group Demands Control Over Obama's Language ... and His Impeachment

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on July 23, 2010 - 2:38pm

Last year, a new Religious Right organization was formed to fight the "satanic wickedness" that was engulfing America. Calling itself the Faith and Freedom Institute, the group held a sparsely-attended press conference/prayer rally and then ... who knows ... we stopped paying attention to them.

But now they are back, picking up on the Religious Right's latest bogus crusade against President Obama for supposedly using the phrase "freedom of worship" instead of "freedom of religion." 

And just because it's entirely false, the Faith and Freedom Institute isn't about to let that stop them from sending a letter to Obama demanding that he publicly "retract" all previous uses of the phrase and cease all future one:

It is with great concern that we have watched your rhetorical shift in terminology, choosing to use the phrase “freedom of worship” rather than “freedom of religion.” We’ve noted your use of that phrase (“freedom of worship”) at the Ft. Hood memorial service in November of 2009, as well as your utilization of the same during speeches in Japan and China.

While some may deem the words “worship” and “religion” to be synonymous, and thus interchangeable, they are most definitely not! The First Amendment of the United States Constitution uses the word “religion” and states unequivocally that Congress cannot prohibit the “free exercise” of said “religion.” Your use of the word “worship” implies that we have freedom ONLY within the confines of structures set aside for religious expression (i.e. churches, synagogues, etc.). This is not only a gross departure from the original intent of the First Amendment, but is also the first step toward eliminating faith expression in the public marketplace (i.e. display of religious symbols on public land, printing of religious materials for the purpose of evangelizing, public discussion of faith, etc.).

Mr. President, we call on you to retract all past use of this incorrect and misleading phrase, “freedom of worship,” and cease all future use of the same. We also call on you to acknowledge America’s Christian heritage as is clearly evidenced in our Founding Documents and the overwhelming abundance of statements from our Founding Fathers.

But on the off chance that doesn't work, it looks like the group has a back-up plan - impeachment: 

According to Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution, the President of the United States “shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” It is the opinion of the members of The Faith and Freedom Institute that the current President of the United States of America, Barack H. Obama, has compiled a number of personal offenses that qualify him for impeachment from the office of the presidency. Among those offenses are the following:

A. The act of not providing a clear copy of his official and complete birth certificate indicating that he is a natural born citizen of the United States of America as is called for in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution where it reads, “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States…shall be eligible to the office of the President.”

B. The act governing contrary to the spirit of the Constitution by the establishing of numerous “czars” who have no accountability to Congress, but who answer to the President alone.

C. The act of subverting United States sovereignty by bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia.

D. The intrusive act of confiscating private industry, (i.e., the take over of General Motors Corporation, Chrysler, and Bank of America – even dictating employees salaries), thereby making them accountable to the President alone.

E. The incessant desire to develop a civilian militia or military style organization that would be “as well funded and organized as the United States military,” to operate exclusively at the discretion of the President.

F. The overt attempt to force national health care on businesses and individuals, who oppose such, through creating a public health care option that would place individual insurance companies in competition with the United States Government.

G. The act of disregarding the law of the United States of America by not publicly recognizing the National Day of Prayer which was signed into law in 1952 by President Harry S. Truman.

H. The act of appointing to high level positions persons of questionable integrity who display treasonous animosity toward the United States (i.e., Van Jones, former “Environmental Czar”; Kevin Jennings, “Safe School Czar”; FCC head Mark Lloyd, etc.) and whose actions violate the letter and spirit of our national philosophy.

I. The act of violating the oath of the presidency by neglecting to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

TFFI actually issued this impeachment demand in October of last year. So I guess that'll teach us to ignore them, especially now that we see that Faith and Action's Rob Schenck will be speaking at TFFI's upcoming conference in September.

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FRC Calls for Impeachment Over National Day of Prayer Ruling

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on April 19, 2010 - 9:25am

Last Friday, a judge struck down Arkansas' law banning adoption by unmarried couples but, interestingly, the decision has not yielded an outpouring of outrage from the Religious Right - at least, not yet.

And the reason for that seems to be due to the fact that they are still too busy being outraged about the other ruling from last week finding the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional.

Dave Welch of the US Pastor Council says the ruling "is grounded in a fundamental hostility against public expression of the Christian faith" and the result of the fact that the nation continues to "reject the existence and/or sovereignty of God," while Focus on the Family's Stuart Shepard made the issue the focus on his latest "Stoplight" video (note Mike Huckabee's appearance in the very beginning):

And while Fox News' Megyn Kelly can't seem to understand how a day designed to "acknowledge the role that God has played in the formation of this country and its laws" could ever be seen as promoting religion, The Christian Defense Coalition's Rev. Patrick Mahoney and Faith 2 Action's Rev. Rob Schenck are planning a press conference to demand that the Obama administration appeal the ruling:

President Obama has a unique chance to build a bridge to the faith community by acting quickly on this matter and reaffirming his commitment to public expressions of faith and the National Day of Prayer. It is not enough for Mr. Obama to make wonderful speeches about protecting religious freedom around the world.

"Now is the time to act on protecting religious freedom in America.

"Sadly, the President's record concerning the Christian community and religious liberty is not a good one.

Meanwhile, Rep. Randy Forbes is telling Focus on the Family that the decision should be a "wake-up call" to all Americans about the importance of keeping "activist judges" off the bench:

The federal judge’s decision to call the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional represents a movement we are seeing across the country of a small minority who want to exclude faith, religion and morality from the marketplace of ideas. In so doing, they may be depriving us of the very principles we need to secure our freedom.

...

While we cannot speculate how the Supreme Court would rule on this case, one thing this particular decision should make clear is how dangerous it is to appoint activist judges. This federal judge has essentially said that the Declaration of Independence – a document that very clearly states that our rights were given by a Creator – is unconstitutional. Is there any question this judge would have declared the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional if it were written today, since it proclaims all our rights come from the Creator? It is regrettable that we would have a federal judge essentially rule against the very premise of the nation's foundational document of freedom. The decision should be a wake-up call to Americans across the country.

But not to be outone is the Family Research Council, which is demanding the impeachment of the judge and that the nation fall on its knees to pray for our nation during these "darkest days":

Make no mistake. This judicial mutiny lies directly at the feet of the Left, including President Obama, who has created an atmosphere in which the Constitution is silly putty in the hands of liberal activists. Slowly but surely, he is making American soil more fertile for the radical redefinition of society. This cannot be tolerated. We must ensure that the President's bench nominees have a reverence for the Constitution that this judge lacks. In the meantime, we call on Congress to start the impeachment proceedings for Barbara Crabb, as she violated of her sacred oath of "administering justice... under the Constitution and laws of the United States." What she has done to repress, we will use to revive. What she meant to undermine prayer, we will use as the reason why it's necessary. When the great men and women of our past bent their knees to God on behalf of the "sacred fire of liberty," it was often during the nation's darkest days. My friends, it is time we join them.

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Religious Right Vows to Fight Effort to "Sexualize the Military"

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 28, 2010 - 10:03am

In his State of the Union Address last night, President Obama pledged to "work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are" and Religious Right groups wasted no time in pledging to fight his "sexualize the military":

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement in response to President Obama's first State of the Union Address:

"At a time of enormous economic challenge, two on-going wars in which Americans are fighting and increased terrorist threats to Americans at home, President Obama seems untethered from that reality as he called on Congress to force the military to allow open homosexuality. As a veteran of the Marine Corps, the timing of the President's call in the midst of two wars shows that he is willing to jeopardize our nation's security to advance the agenda of the radical homosexual lobby.

"The military is a warrior culture for a reason: Our service members wear the uniform to fight and win wars, not serve as liberal social policy guinea pigs. The sexual environment the President is seeking to impose upon the young men and women who serve this country is the antithesis of the successful warfighting culture and as such should be rejected.

While Rob Schenck doesn't seem to realize that gays are already serving in the military

Come ‘on, let’s be grown ups. There’s a reason the military doesn’t have men and women showering together. Please don’t dismiss this one as a childish vestige of a now distant Victorian past. The fact is you don’t want people around you in a shower that are erotically stimulated by your naked body. Now, I may be betraying my naïve ignorance here about how gay people get excited, but none of my gay acquaintances have ever said it works terribly different for them then it does for straights. The site of an attractive nude body probably does for gays what it does for straights. (Unless, of course, you are gifted with a disinterest in sex, period. That’s another matter.) For most of us, testosterone, estrogen and libido are forward moving forces that need at least a modicum of external controls, including segregated showering and dressing spaces.

I’ve purposely left until last the most incendiary element of this State of the Union attack on personal, moral, social and religious sensibilities—its affect on our relations with the Muslim world. When I participated in my first face-to-face formal dialogue between Christian and Muslim leaders in an Islamic country, I was asked at the start, “Do you accept homosexuality?” Homosexuality is a deal-breaker for the vast majority of Muslims. I know, we don’t want to kowtow to oppressive religions, no matter how many adherents they have, but, again, if we’re looking to solve problems, this is not the way to do it.

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Welcome To Washington, Senator Brown

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 21, 2010 - 1:51pm

Nothing says "welcome to Washington, Senator Brown" like arriving in town only to be met by Religious Right activists such as Rev. Rob Schenck who will inform you are not a very good Christian:

In the hours since Mr. Brown won the Super Bowl of special elections, a lot about him has come to light. In yesterday’s post I told you about the Senator-elect’s family church. Well, it looks like it may indeed be more of his family’s church than his own. A source that once worked for Mr. Brown in the state legislature described him as a “non-church-going Protestant.” Apparently, Mr. Brown has the reputation of doing something other than worship on Sunday mornings.

Even if Mr. Brown taught Sunday school every week, it wouldn’t necessarily mean he’s a “good Christian,” nor that he understands Christian doctrine or moral instruction–and it appears he’s quite deficient on at least the latter. He explicitly recognizes Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision de-criminalizing the killing of pre-born children, as “the law of the land.” (Before coming down too heavily on him for that, though, remember “pro-life” Chief Justice John Roberts said the same thing during his confirmation hearing.) What betrays even more his lack of good Christian moral formation is Mr. Brown’s support of so-called “civil unions,” which has as a consequence, whether intended or unintended, of granting social sanction to immoral behavior.

A few of my readers have concluded that because of these serious deficiencies, Mr. Brown is either a fake or a uselessly flawed individual that shouldn’t occupy this seat any longer than necessary. Well, I’m not quite so condemnatory or dismissive. What Mr. Brown appears to me to be is a Massachusetts politician. He may or may not be a Christian, but that doesn’t change his profession.

Elsewhere, Schenck reports on his meeting with Brown and his own vow to help him develop a conscience:

"He comes off as humble, genuinely interested in what he is doing and the people he will serve. My concern is for his interior moral formation. I told him he can count on our prayers and our pastoral advice. My first impression is that there's nothing guaranteed with Scott Brown, but it seems he has a conscience, and I intend to work on developing that conscience."

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The Anti-Choice Movement As Seen From The Inside

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on November 23, 2009 - 2:37pm

I never would have imagined that the ultra-radicalism and violence of the anti-choice movement in the 1980s and 1990's was something of which right-wing anti-choice groups would be particularly proud, but apparently it is, as next month the American Center for Law and Justice is going to be releasing a documentary all about it entitled "Choosing Life: The History of the Pro-Life Movement" featuring recollections from the ACLJ's Jay Sekulow, Rev. Rob Schenck of Faith and Action, and Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, and clips of them all back in their days in Operation Rescue with Randall Terry, including the episode where Schenck and others were arrested for thrusting a fetus at Bill Clinton.

It is one of the most powerful and influential movements in America. Intensified by the Supreme Courts landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion, the battle to protect the life of the unborn has spanned decades, yet still remains one of the most critical and provocative issues of our day.

Now, experience the history of the pro-life movement like youve never seen before. Years of struggle the victories and setbacks as chronicled by pro-life leaders who waged the legal, legislative, and public relations battles to protect the sanctity of human life. This compelling story of the pro-life movement includes never before seen video of protests and demonstrations from the archives of the American Center for Law and Justice.

Featuring interviews with pro-life leaders including ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, and Rev. Rob Schenck of Faith and Action.

Choosing Life provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at history in the making a movement that transformed the nation. After watching Choosing Life we know you'll agree that protecting the life of the unborn is more important now than ever before.

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