Abiding Truth Ministries

Scott Lively dropped in on "Focal Point" today, mostly to discuss developments in Uganda, but also to provide some insights on his plan to run for Governor of Massachusetts, which he apparently thinks he can win by creating a third party coalition by merging anti-gay Religious Right activists with "the grassroots of the progressive movement": 

On his blog, Lively has posted a manifesto explaining how this new coalition would work as Religious Right activists leave the corporate GOP and set about "plundering the 'Progressive' base" by winning over Blacks, Hispanics, libertarians, environmentalists, and labor unions: 

Why will ethnic minorities join us in the first place, before we’ve been able to prove ourselves champions of true social justice? We will make a simple appeal to the thing we most share in common. “Our Bond Is Family!” There’s our pitch and strategy in bumper-sticker simplicity. The typical African American or Hispanic person is generally more Christian and pro-family than the average American (as are the Russian, Eastern European, East Indian, African and Asian immigrants). RINO Republicans could never build a bridge to these minorities because they don’t share these values. But we can and should.

The illegal immigration issue has unfortunately distracted both conservatives and Hispanics from the interests we hold in common, but from my experience I think most Hispanics who are legal citizens would gravitate naturally to the Republican Party and not the Democrats if our agenda were centered on family rather than fiscal matters (especially if we had our own social justice platform). Frankly, I’d happily trade any number of pro-abortion, hate-America White liberal suburbanites for the equivalent number of pro-life, pro-family working class Hispanic citizens. We’d be a much stronger country for it.

...

We should reach out to moderate and conservative-leaning environmentalists as well. Environmentalism is another movement we should rescue from the Marxists and rebuild on a Christian foundation. Our responsibility to be good stewards of the earth is a central tenet of Christianity, and we are certainly much more capable of fulfilling this duty in a balanced manner than the Marxists are. (Not to mention that we would do the world a great service to steer at least some portion of this powerful movement away from power-grabbing globalist goals such as Agenda 21 and “global warming” and toward authentic environmental needs.)

One key point in this arena that deserves immediate, urgent advocacy is opposition to genetically-modified foods. RINOs would never take this position for fear of alienating agri-business and mega-corporations like Monsanto, but we conservatives should.

Environmentalists might at first seem to be an impossible constituency to recruit, but Christians share an important common ground with them: an embrace of the natural and rejection of the unnatural. The most important concepts in environmentalism — bio-diversity, eco-systems, and the inter-dependence of species — rest on the clear “natural law” presupposition (central to Christianity as well) that there is an existing order in nature that should be protected by human beings. We also share a distrust of the corporate giants whose myopic pursuit of ever greater profits represents the greatest threat to the environment.

If we craft an appeal based on our common preference for the “natural” over the “artificial,” and frame this as a logical basis for deciding social policy in every area, we suddenly have a powerful unifying theme for our entire slate that could win every intellectually honest environmentalist to our side: the natural value of life vs the unnatural termination of unborn babies, natural marriage vs. un-natural homosexual unions, God-given liberty vs. man-made Statism, commerce among real persons vs. that with artificial corporate “persons,” natural foods vs. genetic experiments, a return to family farms and rejection of agri-business, a return to natural remedies and rejection of Big Pharma, etc..

While we’re plundering the “Progressive” base, lets not forget the labor unions. There’s nothing inherently evil or unbiblical about labor unions. The evil comes from the Marxist ideologues and organized crime elements who control them. Union members were the heart and soul of the so-called “Reagan Democrats” who crossed party lines in droves for Reagan because he sincerely espoused Christian values. This is a natural constituency for a newly Bible-centered GOP. The only reason we don’t have them now in any significant numbers is that the corporate giants don’t like them (for obvious reasons) and continually foster hostility against them among the Republican rank and file.

Last month we noted that Brian Camenker of MassResistance had been invited to speak at a local Tea Party rally in Massachusetts, only to see the entire rally collapse after other speakers backed out when they learned that he was be participating.

He's been complaining about it ever since and lashing out at the "RINOs" who are trying to keep social conservatives like him out of the movement instead of recognizing the real reason, which is that his organization is listed as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

Which makes this new email from MassResistance all the more interesting, as Camenker is urging activists to write in Scott Lively for Governor:

This week we are urging people to write in Scott Lively for Governor, against Charlie Baker.

Scott Lively lives in Springfield and is known as a major pro-family figure not only in the U.S. but internationally. He is an attorney, pastor (with a PhD in theology), pro-family activist, and author of several books. He also spent time as an international consultant on family issues with more than twenty years of ministry opposing the "gay" political agenda around the world.

Dr. Lively is founder of Abiding Truth Ministries, the Pro-Family Law Center, DefendTheFamily.com, and most recently the Redemption Gate Ministry Society in Springfield, Mass.. Over the past 20 years he has also lectured and consulted on pro-family strategies in more than 30 countries.

Like Glenn Beck, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, the Tea Party Movement, MassResistance, and many more, Scott Lively has been demonized by the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a "hate group" - a disgusting tactic meant to marginalize effective conservatives. For his beliefs and activism he has withstood pressure that would overcome most people.

Lively is everything that Charlie Baker is not. He is principled, pro-family, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-2nd-amendment, pro-religion, pro-parents' rights, and utterly fearless.

Send a clear message to the RINO establishment

There's nothing quite like voting for someone you actually support, rather than the lesser of two (or three) evils.

And by thousands (we hope!) of people voting for Scott Lively as a write-in candidate in the September 14 Republican Primary, a very strong statement will be made to the RINO Republican establishment, especially since relatively few people vote in most primaries. Don't assume you own us. What you're selling, we're not buying. The people running the Massachusetts Republican Party love to use social conservatives to do the grunt work on campaigns, but they arrogantly see themselves as above "dirtying" themselves with the principled issues that conservatives care about.

That's right: the head of one Massachusetts based SPLC-certified anti-gay hate group is urging his supporters to support the head of another Massachusetts based SPLC-certified anti-gay hate group for governor. 

In the same email, Camenker brags that he has been invited to speak at a South Boston Tea Party rally at Fort Independence on August 22 with Don Feder and others. 

Unlike the other cowardly Tea Party activists who didn't want anything to do with Camenker, "South Boston Tea Party president Susan Long invites everyone to come and make a statement: If Tea Partiers upset the Left and the political establishment, well -- so be it."

Will they still feel that way about letting Camenker participate when then learn that he wants to see someone like Lively elected Governor? 

Today's best reporting on the Right from around the web:

• Adele Stan has posted a robo-call from AFA's Tim Wildmon saying that their "Speechless: Silencing the Christians" program will soon be airing "on cable as well as network affiliates nationwide."
• Bill Berkowitz reports that Scott Lively, author of "The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party" is now targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center for labeling his Abiding Truth Ministries as a hate group.
• Speaking of SPLC -certified hate groups, Good as You notes that several of them and their allies have teamed up to call on parents to keep their kids out of school on the "Day of Silence."
• Box Turtle Bulletin reports that the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has engaged its private communications network to bombard state legislators with phone calls in opposition" to a civil unions bill in Illinois.
• Rod Parsley's Center for Moral Clarity is going after Pastor Dan again.
• Media Matters points out that the people running Sean Hannity's show can't seem to spell.
• Sarah Posner responds to the James Dobson announcement with a mighty "meh?"
• Steve Benen marvels that Sen. David Vitter of all people is targeting family planning funding.