Christian Coalition of America

Christian Coalition of America

Founder and former President: Rev. Pat Robertson
President: Dr. Joel C. Hunter was announced as President in October 2006 to replace Roberta Combs
Founded: 1989
Membership: Claimed nearly 2 million members at the height of its influence, but other data suggested 300,000-400,000 members.
Directors or Trustees as of 2004: Dr. Billy McCormack; Drew McKissick; Roberta Combs, Chair
Finances: In 1999, the Christian Coalition was stripped of its 501(c)(3) non-profit status for violating various IRS rules that govern non-profits. Contributions to the group have dropped from a record of $26.5 million in 1996 to their 2004 revenue, which was $1,321,774. The CC is now a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization supported through member dues.
State chapters: As many as 30 chapters were listed on their website, though those lists have since been removed. Several state chapters have dropped their affiliation in 2006.
Publications: The coalition creates and distributes voter guides during primaries and elections in every state. They also have action alerts and newsletters via e-mail on state and federal legislation.
Affiliated Groups: Pat Robertson also created the 700 Club, Christian Broadcasting Network, American Center for Law and Justice, and Regent University, which awards graduate and law degrees and offers a bachelor degree completion program. Two CC projects that are no longer associated with the group are the Samaritan Project and the Catholic Alliance. The Christian Coalition launched the Catholic Alliance in an attempt to boost its membership among pro-family, anti-choice Catholics. The Samaritan Project was the Christian Coalition's vehicle for outreach to African Americans.

Read the latest news on the Christian Coalition on the group's Right Wing Watch index page

Principal Issues

The Christian Coalition (CC) has two central goals: to control the agenda of the Republican party by working from the grassroots up; and to train and elect pro-family, Christian candidates to public office. The group has had considerable success in both areas, and their impact in state and national elections can be detected through their work during primaries and ability to mobilize Christian conservative voters. The CC describes itself as "the largest and most active conservative grassroots political organization in America."

Activities

  • In recent years, the Coalition has fallen on hard times. IRS records show that the Christian Coalition's red ink climbing. Its debts exceeded its assets by $983,000 in 2001, $1.3 million in 2002, $2 million in 2003 and $2.28 million at the end of 2004. Some of the most active and influential chapters, such as the Christian Coalition of Iowa, have cut ties with the national organization. [source]
  • In 2000, the Christian Coalition launched what they claim was their biggest election year campaign ever, distributing 70 million voter guides to their members and conservative churches in every state. Robertson is given credit for throwing his support behind Bush very early in his candidacy, and helping Bush gain the support of the Religious Right. The coalition is credited with assisting Bush with winning the South Carolina presidential primary through their strong get-out-the-vote activities. During the 2000 election Pat Robertson taped a telephone message criticizing presidential candidate John McCain on the eve of the February Michigan primary.
  • The coalition is a major lobbying force on Capitol Hill and has many strong ties to Congress.
  • The Christian Coalition's annual conference, "Road to Victory," speakers list reads like a veritable who's who in right-wing and mainstream conservative circles. In 2000 their list of speakers included: Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, Rev. Jerry Falwell, RNC chairman Jim Nicholson, and then-presidential candidate George W. Bush via videotape.
  • The Christian Coalition's principal "contribution" to electoral politics is the distribution of election-eve voters guides. Nominally nonpartisan but plainly directive, the guides outline the candidates' positions on a variety of issues. The Coalition's descriptions, however, are often manipulative. They describe a supporter of the National Endowment for the Arts, for example, as a proponent of "tax-funded obscene art." Many candidates refuse to respond to the questionnaires for fear of distortion, however the group filled it in for them by reviewing voting records. These "non-partisan" voter guides eventually led to the group losing its tax-exempt status. The Federal Election Commission charged that the Christian Coalition endorsed Republican candidates with its voter guides in the 1990 and 1992 elections, and illegally coordinated its activities with the Bush reelection campaign.

History

  • The Christian Coalition's initial approach to elections, popularly known as "stealth" tactics, has three essential parts: targeting low-profile elections that normally attract few voters, focusing get-out-the-vote efforts on certain conservative churches, and instructing the candidates to hide their views from the public by avoiding public appearances and refusing to fill out questionnaires. In 1992, Ralph Reed told a Coalition gathering, "The first strategy, and in many ways the most important strategy, for evangelicals is secrecy."
  • The Coalition's strategy first attracted national attention in 1990, when a coalition of right-wing groups led by the Christian Coalition helped candidates in San Diego win 60 of 90 races for a variety of offices, such as school and hospital boards.
  • Reed boasted of their early success with a few choice comments that helped make him famous. "[S]tealth was a big factor in San Diego's success," he said. "But that's just good strategy. It's like guerrilla warfare. If you reveal your location, all it does is allow your opponent to improve his artillery bearings. It's better to move quietly, with stealth, under cover of night." Continuing, "I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag. You don't know until election night." Later, under intense pressure, Reed renounced his covert tactics and now denies the group ever used them.

Recent problems

  • The Christian Coalition has undergone several changes in leadership since the departure of Executive Director Ralph Reed [see PFAW's report on Reed] in September of 1997. It has also suffered a severe decline in donations, from $26.5 million in 1996 to an estimated $3 million in 2000. As a result of this steep loss in revenue, the group has reorganized by cutting staff and dropping its minority outreach program, the Samaritan Project. Another recent stumbling block for the Christian Coalition has been a series of racial discrimination lawsuits by their employees.
  • In February of 2001, ten black employees filed a racial discrimination suit against the organization. Alleging that they were treated with Jim Crow-style segregationist rules, the black employees also stated in their lawsuit that the Christian Coalition's director was "uncomfortable" when the black employees joined company-sponsored prayer sessions and eventually stopped inviting them. In March, two more black employees and a white employee filed discrimination charges against the organization. The white employee claims he was fired by the evangelical organization when he refused the director's request to spy on the black employees who had filed the lawsuit.
  • In December 2001, Pat Robertson stepped down as the President of the Christian Coalition. Robertson said it was because he wanted to spend more time on his ministry work.
  • In March 2004 a law firm that has worked for the CC since 1989 asked a judge to garnish the assets of the group for $75,000 in unpaid legal fees.

Quotes from Pat Robertson

On women's equality: "I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period."— The 700 Club, 01/08/92

Referring to the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, Pat Robertson had this to say; "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."— The 700 Club, 08/22/05

" [The people in the United States] have allowed rampant secularism and occult, etc. to be broadcast on television. We have permitted somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 million unborn babies to be slaughtered in our society. We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye and said we're going to legislate you out of the schools. We're going to take your commandments from off the courthouse steps in various states. We're not going to let little children read the commandments of God. We're not going to let the Bible be read, no prayer in our schools. We have insulted God at the highest levels of our government. And, then we say "why does this happen?" Well, why its happening is that God Almighty is lifting his protection from us. And once that protection is gone, we all are vulnerable because we're a free society, and we're vulnerable. We lay naked before these terrorists who have infiltrated our country. There's probably tens of thousands of them in America right now. They've been raising money. They've been preaching their hate and overseas they've been spewing out venom against the United States for years. All over the Arab world, there is venom being poured out into people's ears and minds against America. And, the only thing that's going to sustain us is the power of the Almighty God."— 700 Club, 09/13/01

"The worse thing in the world for somebody who is a person of color, black, African American, whatever term is in vogue these days to hold grudges and say well 100 years ago my ancestors were in slavery, and therefore I hate you. That doesn't fly. And to live in the past is the most numbing experience because what it does is sap your energy for the future. And, what everybody's got to do is to say before God I'm going to ask God to bring forgiveness into my life. And, I am just totally against these leaders who stir up the divisions and the hatred. You've seen it - talking about all these offenses and things that happened. And, they're doing it for publicity. They're doing it to raise money. They're doing it to get a following so they'll be elected to some office, and so forth. That's wrong. To play on the hatred of people for your own personal gain is abhorrent, and there are many people who do that."— 700 Club, 02/06/01

"The concept that one God, "Thou shall have no other gods before me", will somehow upset a Hindu, that's tough luck! America was founded as a Christian nation. Our institutions presuppose the existence of a Supreme Being, a Being after the Bible. And we as Americans believe in the god of the Bible. And the fact that somebody comes with what amounts to an alien religion to these shores doesn't mean that we're going to give up all of our cherished religious beliefs to accommodate a few people who happen to believe in something else. You just can't do that. And that's been the thing that's been pushed over and over again. Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice, said as I read the constitution, it's very clear. It says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. It says nothing of about a school district letting book covers be passed out"— 700 Club, 10/05/00

Pat responds to the question "Certain denominations are beginning to accept homosexual behavior in the church. Do you feel that it is for benefit, political gain or social acceptance?" sent in by a 700 Club viewer. His response was, ""I think that we have a pressure in our society right now called political correctness where it is not appropriate any longer to criticize anybody for their religion, their lifestyle, their race, their creed, their color, national origin, disabilities, or anything. You can't criticize anybody for anything. And so, if somebody has a quote lifestyle, that's their thing, and if somebody said, 'I'll make it with a duck', well, you know, who are you to criticize them. Well that isn't what the Bible says. The Bible has standards, and the standard makes it very clear that the acceptance of homosexuality in a society is the last stage after God has given a people up."… "How can a church open their arms and say 'You keep on with the lifestyle.'"— 700 Club, 10/17/00

"In the Old Testament and the New Testament boys and girls didn't make decisions like this, they were betrothed by their parents. We've got a couple here at Regent University whose parents arranged the marriage and they're very, very happy. I honestly think if we went back to that kind of thing you'd have a whole lot less problems — It'll help. I think it would cut down the divorce rate."— 700 Club, 0214/00

"We want...as soon as possible to see a majority of the Republican Party in the hands of pro-family Christians by 1996."— Denver Post, 10/26/92

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians."— Pat Robertson direct mail, Summer 1992

"I believe that during the next couple of years there will be a fierce struggle between the militant leftists, secular humanists, and atheists who have dominated the power centers of American culture for the past 50 years and the Evangelical Christians, pro-family Roman Catholics, and their conservative allies. The radical left will lose its hold, and by the end of this decade control of the major institutions of society will be firmly in the hands of those who share a pro-family, religious, traditional value perspective."— Pat Robertson's Perspective, July-August/1991


Updated: September 2006
 

Christian Coalition Wants "Twilight" Books Banned

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 7/7/2010 11:07 am

Imagine that you were the president of a Religious Right organization that was, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, among the most influential political operations in the nation.  Since then, the organization has drastically constricted and lost nearly all of its relevance.  As such, as president of said organization, you are constantly on the lookout for ways to make an impact and announce to the world that you are, in fact, still a group to be reckoned with. 

How would you go about trying to do that?

Well, if you are Roberta Combs of the Christian Coalition, you do so by announcing that you want to see the Twilight series banned because the books are luring the nation's teens into the occult: 

Meanwhile, conservative Christian organizations that sought to ban the Harry Potter books because they're about wizards and witches are divided about criticizing Twilight.

Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America, which called for a ban on the Potter series, says she's considering a similar campaign against Twilight because even though it's pro-abstinence, it's also pro-vampires.

She says vampires are definitely not good role models, and she blames Hollywood.

"We can let our voices be heard, and anytime you do that you have an effect one way or another," Combs says. "These Twilight books are very disturbing books for family values. Teen marriage is not the standard, but the part that is more troubling is the vampire. It's just not normal for young people to idolize a vampire."

If Combs' mission is to ensure that the Christian Coalition remains a laughingstock ... well, mission accomplished.

An Environmentally-Friendly Christian Coalition?

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Thursday, 6/4/2009 4:11 pm

Back in 2006, the Christian Coalition made news when its new president, Joel Hunter, resigned before even official taking office due to the organization's unwillingness to consider broadening its agenda beyond gays and abortion to include things like poverty and climate change:

The Central Florida pastor recently tapped to lead the Christian Coalition of America resigned his position in a dispute about conservative philosophy -- more than a month before he was to fully assume his post, he said Wednesday.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, of Longwood's Northland, A Church Distributed, said he quit as president-elect of the group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson because he realized he would be unable to broaden the organization's agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

He hoped to include issues such as easing poverty and saving the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," Hunter said.

The resignation took place Tuesday during an organization board meeting. Hunter said he was not asked to leave.

"They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues; that's not our base,' " Hunter said of his conversation with the group's leadership.

A statement issued by the coalition said Hunter resigned because of "differences in philosophy and vision." The board accepted his decision "unanimously," it states.

As Hunter explained at the time, his "attempt to broaden the agenda just didn't work. I thought maybe it would. They said they wanted to go into some of these other issues, but when it came time to do it, they were afraid of alienating their base."

Which makes this recent development all the more confusing:

To environmentalists, it must have seemed a sight as rare as an ivory-billed woodpecker nesting in a chainsaw factory: Roberta Combs addressing the annual gathering of the National Wildlife Federation?

Let's rephrase that: The president of the Christian Coalition, a staunch ally of right-wing Republicans, has befriended one of the country's most venerable environmental groups.

In a later phone interview with Pittsburgh City Paper, Combs confirmed it was her first public talk ever to an environmental group. And it happened right here in Pittsburgh, the latest development in a burgeoning partnership between Combs and NWF President Larry Schweiger.

"I feel at home here, with you guys, the National Wildlife Federation," Combs told some 250 staffers and volunteers from across the nation, at their May 1 gathering at Downtown's Omni William Penn.

Schweiger, a Pittsburgh native, told the audience that he and Combs have been quietly working Washington, D.C., together for some time. As a result, he said, "We're getting into places we've never gotten into before" -- like the offices of some Republican politicians.

The NWF has more than 4 million members and supporters. The Christian Coalition claims some 2 million supporters, a substantial pool of potential new allies in the fight against global warming and other ills.

For Combs, the chief motivator is energy policy. She said the alliance with the NWF dovetails with the Coalition's own America's Path to Progress initiative, which calls for ending our reliance on foreign oil to improve national security as well as to combat climate change. The urgency of those goals helped her see past a longstanding partisan divide.

"This is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democratic issue," said Combs, standing at the podium with her grandson Logan. "This is a family-values issue."

Energy efficiency and renewable energy, she added, are "the kind of progress that upholds our Christian values."

For the last several years, the Christian Coalition has been rather irrelevant, having all but lost every bit of the influence it once wielded within the Religious Right political power-structure.  And I suspect that this sort of heretical behavior will only serve to further lessen what little relevance it might still have had within the movement. 

After all, the Religious Right does not look kindly on those in its camp who try to make climate change part of the agenda, regardless of their motivation.

Why Read It Yourself When You Can Take The Right's Word For It?

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Thursday, 4/16/2009 4:01 pm

Back in February and March, we wrote a series of posts about how the Religious Right was trying to get a supposedly "anti-Christian" provision stripped from the stimulus legislation, screaming and yelling about discrimination and threatening lawsuits only to utterly fall silent about it after the legislation containing the provision at issue was signed into law.

The over-arching theme of those posts was a sense of amazement that the Right fully knew that everything they were saying about this provision was blatantly untrue yet they continued to repeat it regardless.  In fact, it seemed as if most of those screeching about it didn't even bother to read the provision itself or do any basic research ... presumably because doing so would have only undermined their ability to keep lying about it.

I am getting the same impression regarding the Department of Homeland Security report that has become the focus of the Right's outrage over the last few days. The fact that DHS has issued a statement explaining that the report is part of "an ongoing series of assessments to provide situational awareness to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies on the phenomenon and trends of violent radicalization in the United States" doesn't matter. The fact that it was commissioned under the Bush administration and overseen by a Bush appointee does not matter either.  Nor does the fact that the report obviously is not an attack on conservatives, veterans, or Christians, as they are claiming, which is something they would know if they bothered to actually read it [PDF].

But they don't care:

Call Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, to demand an apology for the outrageous DHS memo disparaging America's veterans and pro-lifers

Barack Obama's Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is stubbornly refusing to apologize to our nation's veterans for issuing a DHS intelligence assessment which disparages veterans as possible terrorist threats. The report also defamed peaceful pro-lifers.

Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America said: "I agree with the Democrat chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Congressman Bennie Thompson, when he said he was "dumbfounded" that such a report would be issued. Veterans and pro-lifers should not be targeted as terrorist threats by the Obama administration. This partisanship must stop."

And, just as with the stimulus provision," the ACLJ is among those taking the lead in generating faux outrage once again, sending out an email to supporters blasting this "unconstitutional report":

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has labeled you, a member of the pro-life community, THE MOST DANGEROUS DOMESTIC TERRORIST.

The DHS warning entitled: ''Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment'' is so troubling that at first, I actually didn't believe that Homeland Security could issue such a document.

But it's true. We've verified it. And make no mistake, this unconstitutional report raises serious questions about the leadership and direction of the agency charged with protecting Americans in the ongoing battle against terrorism.

And why don't they care?  Because they can use as part of their fundraising efforts:

Today, federal employees whose salaries we pay are issuing reports from the Department of Homeland Security that say some conservatives are a grave threat to America. Why? Because we oppose abortion and the massive growth of the federal government. Do they no longer see Al Qaeda or the Taliban as the greatest threat to Americans' liberty? Apparently they are now targeting us. I remind DHS and all who read this that we oppose all violence or lawbreaking. But speaking out is an American right we will not give up!

Parents with children are bearing the brunt of this administration's drive for ever greater control--control of our checkbooks, control of the schools, control of our communities, control of our churches, population control, gun control, environmental control. Control is the common thread.

...

Will you help Family Research Council (FRC) fight excessive government and defend your rights with a donation today?

...

What's their strategy in this new campaign to undermine America 's Judeo-Christian heritage and moral foundation?

* Money to silence your voice. Billions set aside for ACORN and other radical coalitions committed to creating a permanently left-wing government by whatever means necessary--including voter fraud which ACORN has committed.

* Money to teach immoral behavior in schools. New spending means more federal interference in local schools, loss of parental rights, and forcing our children to learn about immoral behavior.

* Money for abortion and a culture of death. Top abortion advocates get hundreds of millions of new federal subsidies from their liberal allies in Washington.

The one common thread to all of this "outrage" from the Christian Coalition, the Family Reserach Council, and others (aside from the lying) is that they don't provide a link to the actual DHS report itself, despite the fact that it is widely available.

If this report is so outrageous and offensive, why aren't these right-wing groups providing links to it so that their activists can read it for themselves?

Maybe because a) they haven't read it themselves or b) they have read it and know that it doesn't say what they are claiming it says and are hoping that their activists will just take their word for it and start sending in the checks.

Early Right Wing Reaction to Iowa Ruling

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Friday, 4/3/2009 1:15 pm

A short round-up of some of the earliest responses to the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous marriage ruling:

Rep. Steve King:

“This is an unconstitutional ruling and another example of activist judges molding the Constitution to achieve their personal political ends. Iowa law says that marriage is between one man and one woman. If judges believe the Iowa legislature should grant same sex marriage, they should resign from their positions and run for office, not legislate from the bench.

“Now it is the Iowa legislature’s responsibility to pass the Marriage Amendment to the Iowa Constitution, clarifying that marriage is between one man and one woman, to give the power that the Supreme Court has arrogated to itself back to the people of Iowa. Along with a constitutional amendment, the legislature must also enact marriage license residency requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to the Supreme Court’s latest experiment in social engineering.”

Family Research Council:

Today, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins condemned the decision by the Iowa Supreme Court striking down the state's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and forcing same-sex "marriage" on the state. The ruling in Varnum v. Brien was the fourth in favor of legalizing same-sex "marriage" by a state high court. California's ruling was overturned by the people at the ballot box last November; Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only states which currently give marriage licenses to homosexual couples.

"Same-sex 'marriage' continues to be a movement driven by a liberal judicial elite determined to destroy not only the institution of marriage, but democracy as well. The casual dismissal of the facts of human biology and thousands of years of human history, simply to pander to a small band of social radicals, is bizarre and indefensible," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC).

...

"We urge Iowans to contact their legislators and urge them to move quickly to pass a constitutional amendment protecting marriage, joining the twenty-nine states that have already defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman in their state constitutions," stated Mr. Perkins.

Eagle Forum:

"This decision should be a wake-up call to Americans that traditional marriage is under assault not only in liberal havens, like Massachusetts and California, but also in traditionally conservative states," said Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly. "The American people will not continue to stand by silently in the face of more and more of these activist court rulings that openly defy the will of the people."

"Over the past few decades, many of the most far-reaching social, economic, and political decisions have been made by judges rather than elected representatives," Schlafly said. "Only elected representatives have the power to make laws, not judges."

"We can never allow the definition of marriage to simply mean two consenting persons who agree to share quarters and start applying to the government for benefits," concluded Schlafly. "Eagle Forum calls on the Iowa state legislature to work to adopt a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman only, and by subsequently passing a state law that withdraws jurisdiction from the state courts over this issue."

Alliance Defense Fund:

“The Iowa marriage law was simple, settled, and overwhelmingly supported by Iowans. There was simply no legitimate reason for the court to redefine marriage,” said long-time Iowa attorney and ADF Senior Legal Counsel Douglas Napier. “The court stepped outside of its proper role of interpreting the law and has instead overruled the will of the people and created new law. Marriage as one man and one woman has been the law in Iowa for 170 years. The Defense of Marriage Act was nearly unanimously supported by the legislature when it was passed. It was supported by the governor and a majority of Iowans.”

“Now it’s time for the Iowa Legislature to allow the people to vote on marriage as one man and one woman by placing a marriage amendment on the ballot. Let Iowans be heard. The legal definition of marriage should be in their hands, not the hands of unelected judges,” Napier added.

Concerned Women for America:

The most disappointing aspect of this ruling is that many pro-family groups and Christian voters continue to hope the judicial or legislative branches will fix the problem when we, the people have failed to honestly stand on the principles of God which gave our Forefathers direction, protection and great wisdom. Until we rightly handle these issues in God's house, we will continue to fail in the court house, the state house and the school house. George Washington warned us it would be impossible to rightly govern without the Bible, until we repent and return to those same principles, we will fail to properly govern and succeed as a nation.

Iowans need to look to the people of California for encouragement and begin working today to pass an amendment by asking our legislators to allow us a vote on an amendment. Sitting legislators should not only support a bill that would allow Iowans a say in the vote, but they should demand their constituents' voices be heard by sponsoring the bill and offering to bring it to the floor. Any legislator not willing to sponsor such a bill is proving their loyalty is with political agendas and not with the people of Iowa or the intent of our Founding Fathers.

Christian Coalition:

The President of the Christian Coalition of America, Roberta Combs said: "American voters time after time have said they do not want to allow homosexual 'marriages' in America. In fact, some 30 states, by an average approval rating of 70%, including California last November, have approved constitutional amendments banning homosexual 'marriages.' State and federal judges should not be legislating their personal viewpoints from the bench. The American people and their representatives are the only ones who should be making our country's laws."

It is way past time for the United States Congress to finally pass a federal constitutional amendment banning homosexual "marriage" once and for all. Considering the fact that some 30 states have overwhelmingly passed such state amendments, and that 38 states are required to ratify a federal constitutional amendment, such a federal amendment will undoubtedly be ratified by more than enough state legislatures. It is time for Congress to act.

Traditional Values Coalition:

This latest decision makes it all the more urgent for Iowa to pass a constitutional amendment that will define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The Iowa Supreme Court may be less anxious to declare a constitutional amendment unconstitutional. If the Court dares to do so, it will mean that Iowans are not self-governing, but are being ruled by a judicial oligarchy.

If this ruling is permitted to stand without challenge, it will result in the persecution of Christians and anyone else who criticizes homosexual conduct.

This ruling will mean that schools will be forced to teach that homosexual marriage is normal – and parents who object will face ridicule and possible criminal penalties against them.

This ruling will be used to force pastors to conduct same-sex ceremonies or face penalties.

Religious groups could lose government funding, tax exempt status or other benefits if they openly oppose same-sex marriage.

Religious employers could face penalties for refusing to provide spousal benefits to same-sex couples.

Religious colleges could be forced to extend housing benefits to same-sex couples.

Iowans must start to work immediately on getting a constitutional amendment passed to protect marriage. Their religious freedoms are in jeopardy if they fail to do so.

Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber:

“What a contrast. Today, the Iowa Supreme Court cast aside any semblance of judicial restraint doing exactly that which the U.S. Supreme Court detested. It unequivocally engaged in ‘judicial legislation,’ unconstitutionally manufacturing law from the bench. No one in his right mind would suggest that the framers of the Iowa Constitution could have ever imagined the silly and incongruous notion of ‘same sex marriage,’ much less considered it a ‘fundamental right.’

“The Iowa Supreme Court has earned its rightful place in the judicial activism hall of shame. It has infected the wholesome heartland with the same malady eating away at natural marriage, family and morality at our nation’s coastal and ideological fringes.

“If you think you saw a fight in California to restore natural marriage with the successful passage of Proposition 8, then hold on to your hats. Something tells me the fine folks of Iowa don’t cotton to seven black robed autocrats supplanting mid-western values with San Francisco vice.”

 

Fairness Doctrine Causes Collective Insanity

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Thursday, 1/8/2009 5:47 pm

We already mentioned earlier today that several Republicans have introduced legislation designed to "bar Congress, President-elect Barack Obama and federal media regulators from bringing back the Fairness Doctrine" despite the fact that there are currently no plans or efforts underway to actually bring it back. 

But that didn't stop these Republican legislators from taking "preventive measures" just to be sure ... for which they are now being hailed by right-wing groups:

The Family Research Council

Trying to hedge off an inevitable attack on free speech, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) introduced the Broadcaster Freedom Act at a press conference today on Capitol Hill ... We applaud Pence, Walden, and DeMint for their work to protect the airwaves from government control and pledge to join them in this fight.

The American Center for Law and Justice

A return of the Fairness Doctrine would be devastating to Christian broadcasters by putting the federal government in charge of telling broadcasters what to air,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. Such a move would put the federal government in control of dictating the content of what’s aired effectively muzzling Christian broadcasters. That’s precisely why the Broadcaster Freedom Act is so important. We applaud the many House and Senate members who have introduced and co-sponsored the measure. We believe passage of this measure is paramount to protecting free speech.

The Christian Coalition

The President of the Christian Coalition of America, Roberta Combs said: "Congress should resist the urge to shut down radio talk show hosts around the country which is what the "Fairness Doctrine" would effectively do if brought back. Christian Coalition of America has begun an on-line campaign to ensure that the onerous "Fairness Doctrine" is not reinstituted by Congress or by the Obama Administration."

Christian Coalition of America commends the efforts by Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and others in Congress to stop the "Fairness Doctrine" legislation from passing.

Is this really going to become a crusade for the Right: to fight for passage of legislation designed to prevent the implementation of something that nobody is planning on trying to implement? 

And to think, pundits were worried that the conservative movement was out of touch and bereft of ideas on how to deal with the various crises this country is currently facing.

Publisher, Former Christian Coalition Hire Accused of Fraud

Submitted by Anonymous on Thursday, 8/2/2007 5:38 pm

Jason Christy, publisher of Church Report, is being accused of a long pattern of fraud, including selling advertisements in a magazine that was never printed. A lengthy report by Associated Baptist Press details the charges and a string of lawsuits related to Christy’s business practices, as well as Christy’s brief association with the struggling Christian Coalition of America, where he was hired as national director:

That Didn’t Last Long

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 11/27/2006 2:18 pm

Back in October, the Christian Coalition announced that it had chosen Rev. Joel Hunter as its new president.  At the time, Hunter was touted as someone who might be able make the Coalition relevant again, primarily by helping the organization move beyond its traditional anti-gay, anti-abortion agenda.  Hunter seemed to recognize that he had his work cut out for him, saying that he had “always been drawn to lost causes.”

Now, it looks like it was more of a “lost cause” than even Hunter imagined and he has resigned before even assuming the post

The Central Florida pastor recently tapped to lead the Christian Coalition of America resigned his position in a dispute about conservative philosophy -- more than a month before he was to fully assume his post, he said Wednesday.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, of Longwood's Northland, A Church Distributed, said he quit as president-elect of the group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson because he realized he would be unable to broaden the organization's agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

He hoped to include issues such as easing poverty and saving the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," Hunter said.

The resignation took place Tuesday during an organization board meeting. Hunter said he was not asked to leave.

"They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues; that's not our base,' " Hunter said of his conversation with the group's leadership.

A statement issued by the coalition said Hunter resigned because of "differences in philosophy and vision." The board accepted his decision "unanimously," it states.

…

The coalition's rejection of Hunter's approach means it is unwilling to part with its partisan, Republican roots, Hunter said.

As Hunter notes, when given a choice between potentially expanding or moderating its agenda or sticking with its “partisan, Republican roots,” the Christian Coalition preferred the latter.   

The Hunter episode is one more indication, like Family Research Council’s “Values Voter Summit,” that while some Religious Right political leaders may claim to care about things beyond homosexuality and abortion, in reality they have no interest in moving beyond those issues and are, in fact, actively hostile to attempts by others to encourage greater involvement in issues like poverty and the environment.

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Christian Coalition of America
Founder and former President: Rev. Pat Robertson President: Dr. Joel C. Hunter was announced as President in October 2006 to replace Roberta Combs Founded: 1989 Membership: Claimed nearly 2 million members at the height of its influence, but other data suggested 300,000-400,000 members. Directors or Trustees as of 2004: Dr. Billy McCormack; Drew McKissick; Roberta Combs, Chair Finances: In 1999, the Christian Coalition was stripped of its 501(c)(3) non-profit status for violating various IRS rules that govern non-profits. Contributions to the group have dropped from a record of $26.5... MORE >

Christian Coalition of America Posts Archive

Christian Coalition Wants "Twilight" Books Banned
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 07/07/2010, 11:07am
Imagine that you were the president of a Religious Right organization that was, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, among the most influential political operations in the nation.  Since then, the organization has drastically constricted and lost nearly all of its relevance.  As such, as president of said organization, you are constantly on the lookout for ways to make an impact and announce to the world that you are, in fact, still a group to be reckoned with.  How would you go about trying to do that? Well, if you are Roberta Combs of the Christian Coalition, you do so by... MORE >
An Environmentally-Friendly Christian Coalition?
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Thursday 06/04/2009, 4:11pm
Back in 2006, the Christian Coalition made news when its new president, Joel Hunter, resigned before even official taking office due to the organization's unwillingness to consider broadening its agenda beyond gays and abortion to include things like poverty and climate change:The Central Florida pastor recently tapped to lead the Christian Coalition of America resigned his position in a dispute about conservative philosophy -- more than a month before he was to fully assume his post, he said Wednesday.The Rev. Joel Hunter, of Longwood's Northland, A Church Distributed, said he quit as... MORE >
Why Read It Yourself When You Can Take The Right's Word For It?
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Thursday 04/16/2009, 4:01pm
Back in February and March, we wrote a series of posts about how the Religious Right was trying to get a supposedly "anti-Christian" provision stripped from the stimulus legislation, screaming and yelling about discrimination and threatening lawsuits only to utterly fall silent about it after the legislation containing the provision at issue was signed into law.The over-arching theme of those posts was a sense of amazement that the Right fully knew that everything they were saying about this provision was blatantly untrue yet they continued to repeat it regardless.  In fact, it... MORE >
Early Right Wing Reaction to Iowa Ruling
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Friday 04/03/2009, 1:15pm
A short round-up of some of the earliest responses to the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous marriage ruling:Rep. Steve King:“This is an unconstitutional ruling and another example of activist judges molding the Constitution to achieve their personal political ends. Iowa law says that marriage is between one man and one woman. If judges believe the Iowa legislature should grant same sex marriage, they should resign from their positions and run for office, not legislate from the bench.“Now it is the Iowa legislature’s responsibility to pass the Marriage Amendment to the Iowa... MORE >
Fairness Doctrine Causes Collective Insanity
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Thursday 01/08/2009, 5:47pm
We already mentioned earlier today that several Republicans have introduced legislation designed to "bar Congress, President-elect Barack Obama and federal media regulators from bringing back the Fairness Doctrine" despite the fact that there are currently no plans or efforts underway to actually bring it back.  But that didn't stop these Republican legislators from taking "preventive measures" just to be sure ... for which they are now being hailed by right-wing groups: The Family Research CouncilTrying to hedge off an inevitable attack on free speech, Rep. Mike... MORE >
Publisher, Former Christian Coalition Hire Accused of Fraud
, Thursday 08/02/2007, 5:38pm
Jason Christy, publisher of Church Report, is being accused of a long pattern of fraud, including selling advertisements in a magazine that was never printed. A lengthy report by Associated Baptist Press details the charges and a string of lawsuits related to Christy’s business practices, as well as Christy’s brief association with the struggling Christian Coalition of America, where he was hired as national director: MORE >
That Didn’t Last Long
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Monday 11/27/2006, 2:18pm
Back in October, the Christian Coalition announced that it had chosen Rev. Joel Hunter as its new president.  At the time, Hunter was touted as someone who might be able make the Coalition relevant again, primarily by helping the organization move beyond its traditional anti-gay, anti-abortion agenda.  Hunter seemed to recognize that he had his work cut out for him, saying that he had “always been drawn to lost causes.” Now, it looks like it was more of a “lost cause” than even Hunter imagined and he has resigned before even assuming the post The... MORE >