Freedom Federation

Religious Right Leader: Vote Romney Because Mormons Believe US Constitution is Biblical Truth

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Wednesday, 10/31/2012 4:41 pm

As RWW has noted, most Religious Right leaders have cast aside whatever reservations they once had about voting for Mitt Romney, whose Mormonism many do not consider a Christian faith.  Sure, they’d rather have a conservative evangelical or right-wing Catholic as the GOP nominee, but they lost that chance in the primaries.  And they are so eager to defeat Barack Obama, and avoid the divine wrath that his re-election would provoke, that they have circled the wagons around Romney.

In September, more than two dozen Religious Right leaders wrote a letter dismissing differences over doctrine, praising the Republican platform, and saying “it is time to remind ourselves that civil government is not about a particular theology but rather about public policy." Long past time, some might say.
 
Marc Nuttle, a board member of the dominionist Oak Initiative and regular speaker at the Freedom Federation’s Awakening conferences, goes one better. Rather than telling evangelicals they should vote for Romney in spite of his Mormonism, he essentially says in a recent Oak Initiative bulletin that people should vote for Romney because of the Mormon faith’s incorporation of the US Constitution into a particularly potent form of American exceptionalism:
 
Governor Romney has been criticized by some for being a Mormon.  I find this curious given the fact that little criticism has been given to the President who belonged to a church headed by a pastor who condemned the United States of America.  
 
The Mormon Church is the only religion that has canonized the Constitution of the United States as biblical truth.  The scripture in point is Doctrine and Covenants, Section 101, Verses 77-80.  In verse 80 the Lord is speaking, “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.”
 
Mormons believe the principles within the Constitution are eternal principles given to us from God Himself for the benefit of all mankind.  They support the Constitution, they revere it, and they will defend it with all their strength.  It is fundamental to their belief.
 
If you are an evangelical and concerned about the federalization of moral values without consideration of the 9th or 10th Amendment, if you are a small business owner concerned about unfair taxes from a big business viewpoint, if you are a community banker concerned about onerous regulations based upon the concept of “big banks are too big to fail,” if you are worried about federal judges who legislate from the bench and do not respect the Constitution or state laws, then Governor Romney is the answer for your security.

Maybe She Wishes Romney's Position Wasn't So Clear

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Tuesday, 5/8/2012 5:11 pm

The Republican National Committee’s Hispanic Outreach Director Bettina Inclan sparked a mini-firestorm today when she told reporters that she could not comment on Romney’s immigration positions because “he’s still deciding what his position on immigration is.”  She later tried to clean up the mess by tweeting that she was mistaken, and that his position was clear, linking to his website. 

Unfortunately for Romney and for the RNC’s Hispanic outreach, his position is all too clear: he opposes not only “amnesty” but all “magnets” – such as the DREAM Act or in-state tuition for students whose parents brought them here as children.  Romney has backed legislation, like Arizona’s, that has the goal of making life for undocumented immigrants so miserable that they will choose to “self-deport.”  That’s a bit much even for some right-wing activists, including some of those at the Freedom Federation’s recent Awakening conference in Orlando, Florida, where one speaker called the “self-deportation” approach “cruel” and “unbiblical” and where the Southern Baptists’ Richard Land called the GOP’s positions on immigration policy “dismal” and “indefensible.”

Jacobs: Satan Seeks to Destroy God's Model for the Family and Install Tyranny

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 4/23/2012 10:25 am

The third annual Awakening conference was held this weekend and, unlike the first two which took place at Liberty University, this year's conference was held down in Orlanda, Florida.  But other than that, the event was similar to those held in previous years, featuring various breakout sessions mixed with a few plenary session featuring panel discussions, messages from various Republican leaders, and time for worship. 

This year, attendees were treated to video messages from the likes of Marco Rubio, Allen West, and Newt Gingrich, interspersed between addresses from leaders like Richard Land, panels featuring various Religious Right activists like Matt Barber and Rick Scarborough, and praise and worship services led by Lou Engle.

The event kicked off Friday evening the with a panel discussion on "Religious Liberty, Life and Family" that featured several Hispanic leaders ... and Cindy Jacobs, whom moderator Mat Staver repeatedly referred to as "Wendy."

And, as you would expect, Jacobs kicked off the panel by declaring that "Satan wants to steal God's family and create tyranny to have a people he can rule over" and is doing so by undermining God's design for the family as featuring one man and one woman:

Religious Right 'War' Room: This Weekend's Awakening Conference

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Thursday, 4/19/2012 5:58 pm

The Freedom Federation – an anti-Obama amalgam of Religious Right groups, "apostolic" ministries, and the corporate-funded astroturf Americans for Prosperity – is holding its third annual Awakening conference in Orlando, Florida this weekend. Here’s how it describes the event:

Uniting our Voices Around Shared Values: Turning Voices into Votes

A war is raging against our shared values. Our faith and freedom are under attack. Silence in the face of this war is not an option. Decisive action is needed. Join with others who share the core values that make America a great nation. Take a stand for righteousness and justice and be part of a new revolution to take back America. The time has come to turn our voices into votes and to change the course of history.

Outreach to the Hispanic community is a major goal of this year’s Awakening and the theme of Friday’s opening night session.  That marks a continuation of the Freedom Federation’s efforts to re-brand the Religious Right as a multiracial and multigenerational movement, and to re-brand the culture war as a “social justice” movement. Last year’s gathering included a major effort to claim a religious grounding for the anti-tax, anti-government agenda of Grover Norquist and the Tea Party.

This year’s conference features Samuel Rodriguez, the head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, who tries to sell the Religious Right’s culture war to Latinos while trying to get Religious Right leaders to make themselves more palatable to Latinos.  Rodriguez recently said that Latinos are here to “bring panic to the kingdom of darkness” and “make the gospel of Jesus Christ, the church, the most influential institution in America.”  He said God has sent illegal immigrants here to “redeem Christianity” in America.

Also scheduled to address this year’s conference is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a favorite of Tea Party and Religious Right leaders who describe him as the party’s Latino Ronald Reagan. Rubio is reportedly concocting a hollowed-out version of the DREAM Act that will try to help Romney and the GOP fix their well-earned image as hostile to the aspirations of millions of immigrants.

A new feature at this year’s Awakening is Patriot Camp on Saturday for kids ages 5-15.  Organizers promise that kids will learn about “the Christian principles on which America was founded,” which is important since, “As most Christians know, our true American heritage is not taught in schools, especially not in an objective manner.”

Notably for this Obama-bashing group, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending a video presentation; senior Likud official Moshe Ya'alon, Vice Premier, Minister of Strategic Affairs, is also listed as a speaker.  Also on the list, some of whom might appear by video: Former GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, and Reps. John Mica and Allen West. West has been warming up for the conference by announcing, McCarthy-style, that dozens of progressive members of the House of Representatives are communists.

The list of speakers is a Who’s Who of the Religious Right and conservative legal movements, including characters like spiritual warrior Lou Engle and Cindy “God kills birds when America supports gays” Jacobs, who once haunted the fringes of the far right but have since been welcomed into a movement seeking to build the broadest political base possible.  Among them:

  • John Stemberger: head of the Florida Family Policy Council who chaired the 2008 campaign that outlawed marriage equality in Florida. Awakening organizers say he has “a unique understanding" of law and government. You could say that: He has argued that only Christians are capable of creating a free society. As a lawyer he once sued a rental car company when an Irish customer was involved in a fatal crash; he argued that the company should have known that an Irish customer “would have a high propensity to drink alcohol.” (He later apologized.) 
  • Rick Scarborough:birther, self-proclaimed “Christocrat,” and Rick Perry backer who said last year that he refused to endorse Romney in the primary because he is a Mormon. At the 2010 Awakening, Scarborough called Obama a “Marxist president.” Scarborough stated a few months ago that AIDS is God’s judgment for engaging in an immoral act. 
  • Frank Gaffney: his infamous anti-Muslim bigotry, including charges that fellow conservatives are Islamist sympathizers, is so virulent that he was denounced by the American Conservative Union.  
  • Harry Jackson:  point man for the Religious Right’s anti-gay racial wedge strategies, defender of the National Organization for Marriage’s cynical racial wedge politics, and all-around right-wing activist, who recently called for believers to form a “fifth column” to undermine America’s secularist culture from within.  
  • Rick Joyner:  a dominionist and self-proclaimed prophet who recently warned people to get out of California because God is going to punish America for not being sufficiently supportive of Israel,  Joyner heads the Oak Initiative.
  • Richard Land:  the primary political spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, Land supports the criminalization of homosexuality and recently told NPR that “The Bible tells us that socialism and neo-socialism never worked. Confiscatory tax rates never work.” Land was recently pushed into apologizing both for racially inflammatory remarks about the Trayvon Martin case and for having plagiarized them from right-wing columnists. 
  • Janet (Folger) Porter: an anti-abortion activist who famously brought fetuses to “testify” for Ohio’s “Heartbeat Bill,” declared during the 2008 GOP primary that God had chosen Mike Huckabee to lead the nation. Her radio show was dropped by a Christian radio network unhappy with her political embrace of Christian dominionists. 
  • Mat Staver: heads Liberty Counsel, recently called the “homosexual agenda” a “moral iceberg” that threatens religious freedom.  At the 2010 Awakening, Staver agreed with a questioner that the health care reform law had a provision that gave Obama the power to create an army of brownshirts that could take control of communities. 

Should be more fun than Disney World.  Watch for updates.

Bachmann, Gingrich and Santorum to Participate in Forum hosted by Radical Anti-Choice Activists

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 12/21/2011 6:35 pm

Republican presidential candidiates Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have signed on for a “Presidential Pro-Life Forum” hosted by Personhood USA and moderated by Iowa conservative radio personality Steve Deace. The three candidates along with Rick Perry have already announced their support for personhood laws.

Personhood USA wants abortion and even common forms of birth control banned without exception, and personhood laws may even outlaw in-vitro fertilization and the treatment of problem pregnancies. The group launched unsuccessful referendums in Colorado and Mississippi, and has characterized President Obama as the “Angel of Death” and likened opponents to Nazis.

The other organizations listed as hosts of the forum are just as radical, if not more so.

The Call is led by Lou Engle, who has claimed that legal abortion may lead to civil war and is responsible for the Joplin tornado. Engle has also used his The Call prayer rally to bolster Ugandan legislation that would criminalize and in some cases give the death penalty for homosexuals. Moreover, Engle has compared gay rights to Nazism, advocated for Seven Mountains dominionism, and said that both gays and Muslims are demonic.

Another organization hosting the forum is the Oak Initiative, a project of South Carolina pastor Rick Joyner, who has argued that God will imminently destroy California, Hurricane Katrina was God’s judgment for homosexuality, “extremist Islam” is God’s judgment for “perversions” and “abortions,” and that very soon “God’s judgment is going to come upon Hollywood.” Joyner also believes that President Obama may be a Muslim and that Muslims are trying to take control of Michigan, school textbooks and Christianity. Like Engle, Joyner is a proponent of Seven Mountains dominionism.

Both Engle and Joyner are closely affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation, which believes that God is raising up modern day apostles and prophets, and another cosponsor, the Freedom Federation, includes the NAR groups Generals International, led by the self-proclaimed prophet Cindy Jacobs, and Harvest International Ministries of self-proclaimed apostle Che Ahn.

Three Republican candidates for the nation’s high office including Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Senator Rick Santorum, and Speaker Newt Gingrich have confirmed their participation in the Presidential Pro-Life Forum on Tuesday, December 27, from 8:00 to 9:30 pm CST. The national tele-town hall and radio simulcast will be hosted by Personhood USA and their partner organizations: National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition, Liberty Counsel, Bott Radio Network, Freedom Federation, Frederick Douglass Foundation, Champion the Vote, Oak Initiative, The Call, Georgia Right to Life, Rock for Life, and Iowa Right to Life. An invitation has been extended to the remaining GOP presidential candidates.

The 90-minute pro-life tele-town hall will feature the candidates discussing their views on the rights of the preborn and other issues of great importance to pro-life voters. Pro-life groups around the nation are inviting their members to attend. Callers will have an opportunity to ask questions via email and give instant feedback to thoughts and ideas shared.

Nationally-syndicated radio host Steve Deace, whose influence in the Iowa Caucuses has been highlighted by numerous national media outlets, will broadcast the event live on his Salem Network program. Last week, four candidates, Bachmann, Santorum, Gingrich, and Gov. Rick Perry, signed Personhood USA’s Personhood Republican Candidate Pledge, declaring their intentions to stand with President Ronald Reagan in supporting “the unalienable personhood of every American, from the moment of conception until natural death.”

“We’re pleased to see the candidates standing for the rights of every person to live, love, and be loved. The time has come to end the 40-year reign of the abortion industry, once and for all,” said Keith Mason, President of Personhood USA. “This is an opportunity for everyone who understands that ‘all men are created equal’ to hear from the candidates their plans to recognize the most fundamental rights of every human being, no matter their age. Come, take advantage of this interactive and important event, and be a voice for the voiceless.”

Will Benjamin Netanyahu Address An Anti-Obama Pep Rally?

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Thursday, 11/3/2011 12:58 pm

The Freedom Federation is set to hold Awakening 2012 in Orlando, Florida, next year, and according to the schedule, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confirmed to address the right-wing rally via video feed.

The Freedom Federation includes the country’s leading Religious Right groups: Liberty Counsel, Eagle Forum, Exodus International, Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, WallBuilders, Vision America, High Impact Leadership Coalition, Traditional Values Coalition, American Values and Americans for Prosperity. The Freedom Federation also includes fringe groups closely associated with the New Apostolic Reformation, including Cindy Jacobs’ Generals International, Lou Engle’s The Call, Rick Joyner’s MorningStar Ministries and Che Ahn’s Harvest International Ministries.

Last year’s Awakening 2011 at Liberty University’s Thomas Road Baptist Church featured speeches from leading Republicans including Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee, as well as talks from far-right extremists like Janet Porter, Ryan Sorba, Greg Quinlan, Matt Barber, Rick Joyner, Rick Scarborough, Judith Reisman and Frank Gaffney, among others.

Confirmed speakers for Awakening 2012 already include Liberty Counsel’s Staver, who said that Obama made the U.S. “one of the world’s immoral leaders” for opposing the criminalization of homosexuality; LC’s Barber, who has called President Obama “anti-God”; Engle, who used one of his The Call prayer rallies to defend Uganda’s “kill the gays” bill; Quinlan, the prominent ex-gay leader; John Stemberger, a Florida anti-gay and anti-Muslim activist; and Gaffney, the conspiracy theorist who has claimed that Obama is a secret Muslim.

If Awakening 2012 is anything like Awakening 2011, it is set to be a gathering of far-right, anti-Obama extremists. And since it will be held months before the presidential election, the focus on defeating Obama will likely be even stronger.

Does Prime Minister Netanyahu feel comfortable addressing an election-year anti-Obama pep rally that will feature some of the most extreme and unhinged anti-gay, anti-choice, Christian nationalist activists in America?

AFA Blog Post Calls Out Religious Right Leaders For Associating With False Prophets

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 5/18/2011 2:03 pm

We have been writing about the growing overlap between the traditional Religious Right and the new brand of self-proclaimed prophets and apostles like Cindy Jacobs, Rick Joyner, Chuck Pierce, and Lou Engle, who have emerged out of the New Apostolic Reformation movement.

In recent years, old-school Religious Right leaders like Tony Perkins and Janet Porter have eagerly embraced leaders like Joyner, Engle and Jacobs and welcomed them into movement, often placing them front and center in their events. 

So imagine our surprise when we took at look at the American Family Association's blog today and saw a post by Marsha West laying out her concerns about the movement and calling out various Religious Right leaders by name for aligning with false prophets like Jacobs:

Last year self-professed NAR prophet Cindy Jacobs’ and General’s International held the May Day 2010: A Cry To God For A Nation In Distress at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial where “local representatives shared about their state’s Christian heritage and lifted up prayers for their state and the United States. National leaders offered up prayers of repentance for seven main issues: family, the church, education, arts and entertainment, business, government and the media.” Janet Porter of Faith2Action had an active role in organizing the gathering. In attendance were such notables as James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Wendy Wright, Jerry Newcombe, Peter LaBarbera, David Barton, Mathew Staver, Robert Knight, Alan Keyes, to name a few. Also in attendance were several NAR leaders including C. Peter Wagner, Chuck Pierce, Dutch Sheets, Lance Wallnau and Rick Joyner.

In April 2010 conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA hosted The Awakening 2010 conference sponsored by the Freedom Federation. They define themselves as “a group of the nation's largest multiracial, multiethnic and multigenerational faith-based and policy organizations representing more than 30 million Americans united by core values. The group’s mission is to bring together community leaders committed to mobilizing the Judeo-Christian worldview to preserve freedom and promote justice.”

One of the speakers at the event was Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Other influential leaders include Newt Gingrich, Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, Wendy Wright, Richard Land, Andrea Lafferty, Kelly Shackelford, Ken Blackwell, Mat Staver, Rick Scarborough, and NAR Apostles Cindy Jacobs, Lou Engle, Harry Jackson and Samuel Rodriguez.

What is wrong with this picture? People from the NAR who are in the grip of evil were invited to participate in both of these events. One example is Cindy Jacobs. Jacobs is the NAR’s “lead U.S. National Apostle.” Cindy is supposedly a modern day prophet. But I beg to differ. This woman has uttered more false prophecies than Walgreen’s has pills, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that she is no more a prophet of God than Lady Gaga! The truth is, Cindy Jacobs is a false prophet.

Considering that Perkins regularly co-hosts a radio broadcast with AFA head Tim Wildmon and Dobson, Barton, Staver and the like are key ideological allies of the organization, I wonder how they feel about being called out for associating with people "who are in the grip of evil."

Profiles in Debt-Busting Courage (Not)

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Friday, 4/15/2011 5:33 pm

Friday’s Washington Post features a story about a battle within the conservative movement. Hard-right figures like Sen. Tom Coburn and Grover “drown the government in the bathtub” Norquist are fighting among themselves about which is more important: reducing the deficit or sticking to Norquist’s  “no new taxes” pledge, which many Republicans have signed in recent years. 

The same question played out at last weekend’s “Awakening” conference, sponsored by the Freedom Federation at Liberty University. In a Saturday panel moderated by Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-funded Tea Party astroturfing group Americans for Prosperity, Norquist urged participants not to focus on the size of the deficit, but the size of government. 
 
Being told not to focus on the size of the deficit was a bit stunning given that a major theme of the conference had been that the growing national debt was an evil, immoral force. In fact, the night before Norquist’s panel, participants were told that the national debt was on the verge of destroying civilization as we know it. Former Reagan administration official Marc Nuttle, now on the board of the dominionist Oak Initiative, gave a gloom-and-doom-and-more-doom analysis of the mounting national debt. Nuttle’s thesis is that we could be less than two years from hitting a catastrophic debt wall, where interest rates rise and we can’t keep up payments, the U.S. fails, and with it freedom, and the world collapses into 1,000 years of darkness.
 
Nuttle had given essentially the same analysis in an interview with “apostles” Cindy and Rick Jacobs a few weeks earlier. But in that interview, Nuttle also presented the outline of his suggested plan for averting catastrophe. The dire threat required a spirit of shared sacrifice, he said, and the “Nuttle plan,” as he described it then, called for extraordinary temporary measures, including four years of sales taxes and taxes on the rich along with means-testing social security.
 
I had been surprised at parts of Nuttle’s proposal, and expected some sparks to fly when I saw he was appearing on the Norquist panel.  But under the gaze of Phillips and Norquist, Nuttle choked. His presentation painted the same frightening picture that he had described the night before, but did not talk about the kind of tax-inclusive shared sacrifice he had described in his interview with Cindy and Rick Jacobs.  So during the Q&A I asked him whether there wasn’t some disagreement on the panel between his and Norquist’s visions.
 
Nuttle was clearly uncomfortable and apparently unwilling to stand up to Norquist on the tax question, so he declared “I don’t want to raise taxes” and suggested the government could survive on 20 percent of what it now spends. When asked about his earlier interview, he suggested that he was talking about the fact that after the nation hit the wall and we were in crisis, we would be forced to take drastic measures to help the nation survive. 
 
But wouldn’t you want to make a shared sacrifice to prevent disaster rather than during the aftermath? It seems quite clear in Nuttle’s interview with the Jacobs that his call for shared sacrifice and temporary taxes was to help prevent the U.S.  from hitting the “wall” by dealing with the deficit while we still had a chance to get it under control. But his unwillingness to say so while seated next to Norquist demonstrates the same kind of uncomfortable position Republican lawmakers are in. Under pressure from Norquist, they’ve been making easy “no new taxes” pledges for years.  But this year, many Republicans were swept into power by Tea Partiers’ fears that the debt was destroying their children’s and grandchildren’s future and their urgent desire to reduce federal deficits.  And it's not so easy to reconcile the two.  Welcome to governing.

Religious Right Ramps Up Attacks on Judicial Nominee Goodwin Liu

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Tuesday, 4/12/2011 11:12 am

As we have previously noted, right-wing activists have waged a year-long smear campaign against legal scholar Goodwin Liu, who was nominated by President Obama to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last year. Liu’s nomination was not acted on in the last Congress; he had his second confirmation hearing on March 2, 2011, and on April 7, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved his nomination.

In the wake of that approval, Religious Right activists are ramping up their rhetoric and demanding that Republican senators block Liu’s confirmation. On Sunday, the Oak Initiative, a dominionist Religious Right group led by self-proclaimed apostle Rick Joyner, sent activists an email alert urging them to contact their Senators and urge opposition to Liu’s confirmation. On Monday, Concerned Women for America posted an interview with Mario Diaz, CWA’s Policy Director for Legal Issues, who repeated the litany of charges right-wing activists have been hurling at Liu since his nomination in February 2010, calling him the nominee of the “extreme radical left.”

It’s worth noting one more time that Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, has publicly endorsed Liu’s confirmation and slammed the smear campaign against him:

However, for anyone who has actually read Liu's writings or watched his testimony, it's clear that the attacks--filled with polemic, caricature, and hyperbole--reveal very little about this exceptionally qualified, measured, and mainstream nominee. ..

He’s not the only conservative legal luminary to endorse Liu. So have Ken Starr and Clint Bolick.

But that hasn’t kept right-wing activists, led the National Review’s Ed Whelan, from waging an all-out rhetorical attack on Liu. Some on the Religious Right are trying to take things further: at the Freedom Federation’s Awakening conference at Liberty University this past weekend, the Family Research Council’s Ken Blackwell said they’d be calling people into the streets of Washington D.C. to stop the nomination.

2012 Candidates Weekly Update 4/12/11

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Tuesday, 4/12/2011 9:36 am

Michele Bachmann

Iowa: Slams marriage equality in speech to The Family Leader (Politico, 4/11).

Religious Right: Wins straw poll at Liberty University's The Awakening 2011 (Freedom Federation, 4/11). 

Budget: Refuses to endorse budget compromise (NPR, 4/11). 

Haley Barbour

Background: Experience as a lobbyist may make problems for campaign (AP, 4/12).

New Hampshire: Traveling to Republican events in New Hampshire this week (Boston Globe, 4/11).

Herman Cain

South Carolina: Talks about the "ultimate destruction of the IRS" at Furman University (CSBT, 4/9). 

Background: Discusses the role faith plays in his presidential ambitions (Christian Post, 4/8). 

Newt Gingrich

Georgia: Slated to address Georgia GOP convention (The State Column, 4/11).

Religious Right: Speaks to conservative leaders at Liberty University (Lynchburg News & Advance, 4/8). 

Minnesota: To deliver keynote address to anti-gay Minnesota group along with Bachmann (RWW, 4/11). 

Mike Huckabee

Reproductive Rights: Endorses Janet Porter's "Hearbeat Bill" (RWW, 4/11). 

Religious Right: Faces increasing scrutiny over ties to pseudo-historian David Barton (RWW, 4/7).

Jon Huntsman

Utah: Receives support of just fourteen percent of Republicans in home state of Utah (AP, 4/10). 

South Carolina: Selected to deliver commencement address to University of South Carolina (The Hill, 4/8). 

Sarah Palin

Birther: Lauds Donald Trump's "investigation" of Obama's birth certificate (Mediaite, 4/9). 

Poll: Popularity continues to plunge, even among Republicans (WaPo, 4/8). 

Tim Pawlenty

Campaign: Picks former head of the Republican Governors Association as campaign manager (Star Tribune, 4/11). 

Iowa: Campaign aide arrested for breaking into home while drunk (Des Moines Register, 4/8). 

Mitt Romney

Health Care: Marks fifth anniversary of Massachusetts health care reform law (RCP, 4/12). 

2012: Makes video announcement of exploratory committee (LA Times, 4/11). 

Rick Santorum

New Hampshire: Commits to June 7 presidential debate in New Hampshire (The Hill, 4/11). 

South Carolina: Wins straw poll in GOP-heavy Greenville County (Greenville Online, 4/10). 

Health Care: Says health care reform makes one "less than what God created you to be" (RWW, 4/8). 

Donald Trump

Religious Right: Speaks about faith to David Brody of CBN News (CBN News, 4/11). 

Media: Lashes out at Vanity Fair and the New York Times (Vanity Fair, 4/11).

Knight: Gay Staffers Control Congress And Washington DC

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 4/11/2011 1:10 pm

At the Freedom Federation’s The Awakening 2011, right-wing activists unleashed their venom at the gay community and supporters of gay rights at the “Religious Liberty and the LGBT Agenda” panel. Robert Knight, a columnist for the Washington Times who is the executive director of the far-right American Civil Rights Union, maintained that gay congressional staffers represent one of the most difficult hurdles for opponents of LGBT equality. According to Knight, who has also worked for a wide range of conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Media Research Center, and Coral Ridge Ministries, gay staffers have “veto power” over legislation because they “work all hours and, I think, tend not to have family lives.” He went on to say that the “gay subculture” in D.C. “intimidates the overriding Washington culture” and that opponents of gay rights are “undermined from within”:

Rick Scarborough: AIDS Is God's Judgment For An Immoral Act

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 4/11/2011 10:33 am

Over the weekend, the Freedom Federation's "Awakening 2011" was held at Liberty University and Saturday was dedicated primarily to smaller break-out sessions featuring a variety of right-wing and Religious Right activists.

One of those sessions was entitled "Confronting the Culture: Engaging People of Faith" and moderated by Vision America's Rick Scarborough who used it as an opportunity to recount how he first became engaged in Religious Right activism. 

As Scarborough explained, he attended a sex ed program at this daughter's high school and was so outraged by what he heard that he was mobilized to action because, as he explained, he knew that AIDS was not just a disease but rather God's judgment for engaging in immoral behavior:

This was right at the front end of the AIDS epidemic and pastors who care were reading everything they could find out because I happened to have believed - and haven't changed by mind - that it was a judgment as a result of an immoral act.

It was interesting, in those days it was still largely called GRIDS: Gay Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome. And to this very day, the overwhelming majority of those who are transmitting that disease are still homosexuals. It is a homosexual disease.

Gingrich To Kick Off Awakening 2011 Via Invitation-Only Luncheon With Birther King Joseph Farah

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 3/28/2011 3:51 pm

The Freedom Federation's "Awakening 2011" conference is being held next week at Liberty University and I think nothing better sums up what we can be expected from the event than the fact that it kicks-off with a speech from Lila Rose followed by an invitation-only luncheon with Newt Gingrich and Birther king Joseph Farah:

In addition to Rep. Tom Price and Texas Senate hopeful Ted Cruz, the event features a panoply of right-wing participants and speakers including Matt Barber, Frank Gaffney, Harry Jackson, Robert Knight, Andrea Lafferty, Mat Staver, Rick Scarborough, Ryan Sorba, Janet Porter, and Penny Nance.

And while Cindy Jacobs is not listed on the schedule even though she participated in last year's conference, her fellow prophet Rick Joyner is:

  • Confronting the Culture: Engaging People of Faith
    • Rev. Rick Scarborough (Moderator)
    • David Brog
    • Rev. Rick Joyner
    • Cynthia Dunbar, Esq.
It is especially timely that Joyner will be discussing how to engage people of faith given that he is convinced that the earthquake in Japan is a sign that demonic Nazism is about to take over America after God destroys California.

Porter, Boykin, Joyner Team Up for "Oak Initiative Summit"

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 3/7/2011 12:37 pm

A week after the Freedom Federation hosts its Awakening 2011 conference at Liberty University, one of its more fringe members - The Oak Initiative - will be hosting its own conference in South Carolina featuring Rick Joyner, Jerry Boykin, and Janet Porter:

To give you a sense of just what type of ultra-right-wing lunacy attendees can expect at this conference, here is Boykin warning that President Obama is attempting to create an army of Brownshirts loyal only to him though the passage of Health Care Reform, Porter praying for God to give Christians complete control over every level of government, and Joyner explaining how governmental leaders need to start seeking counsel from the "prophetic voices" like himself, because God speaks to him in dreams: 

Huckabee and Norquist Disappear From List of "Invited Speakers" to "The Awakening 2011"

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 1/26/2011 4:32 pm

Earlier this month we noted that the Freedom Federation had announced that the next "Awakening" conference would be held at Liberty University in April, offering an opportunity for Republican leaders like Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich to rub shoulders with Religious Right activists like Lou Engle and David Barton.

Among those listed on "The Awakening 2011" flier at the time as "Invited Speakers" were Mike Huckabee and Grover Norquist:

But the flier has recently been updated and both men have been removed:

Now, it makes sense that someone like Norquist would be dropped, given that he is involved with the organizations that are causing many of the Religious Right groups to boycott CPAC, but why has Huckabee suddenly disappeared from the list of "invited speakers"?  Did he decline to participate, or has he been uninvited, or what?

Huckabee and Norquist Disappear From List of "Invited Speakers" to "The Awakening 2011"

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 1/26/2011 4:32 pm

Earlier this month we noted that the Freedom Federation had announced that the next "Awakening" conference would be held at Liberty University in April, offering an opportunity for Republican leaders like Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich to rub shoulders with Religious Right activists like Lou Engle and David Barton.

Among those listed on "The Awakening 2011" flier at the time as "Invited Speakers" were Mike Huckabee and Grover Norquist:

But the flier has recently been updated and both men have been removed:

Now, it makes sense that someone like Norquist would be dropped, given that he is involved with the organizations that are causing many of the Religious Right groups to boycott CPAC, but why has Huckabee suddenly disappeared from the list of "invited speakers"?  Did he decline to participate, or has he been uninvited, or what?

Rick Joyner Has A Dream ... Of America's Destruction

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 1/24/2011 2:05 pm

We have mentioned Rick Joyner here a few times before, mainly to point out that he is a member of the Religious Right supergroup known as The Freedom Federation and that several Religious Right leaders -including Janet Porter, Lou Sheldon, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Cindy Jacobs, Lt.Gen. W.G. "Jerry" Boykin - sit on the board his Oak Initiative.  

In fact, it was for the Oak Initiative that Boykin recorded his video explaining how President Obama intended to use health care reform legislation to create his own private army of Brownshirts.

Joyner has been deepening his ties to the Religious Right in recent months, apparently because he recently received a message from God while visiting Moravian Falls, NC - which is reportedly an open portal to Heaven - in the form of a dream revealing that the foundation of America is literally on fire and that only the Word of God could save it from utter destruction:

Joyner went on to explain that the only thing that can save America is for Christians to become more involved in politics and for our political and governmental leaders to start listening to the "prophetic voices" of people like Joyner:

Rick Joyner Has A Dream ... Of America's Destruction

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 1/24/2011 2:05 pm

We have mentioned Rick Joyner here a few times before, mainly to point out that he is a member of the Religious Right supergroup known as The Freedom Federation and that several Religious Right leaders -including Janet Porter, Lou Sheldon, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Cindy Jacobs, Lt.Gen. W.G. "Jerry" Boykin - sit on the board his Oak Initiative.  

In fact, it was for the Oak Initiative that Boykin recorded his video explaining how President Obama intended to use health care reform legislation to create his own private army of Brownshirts.

Joyner has been deepening his ties to the Religious Right in recent months, apparently because he recently received a message from God while visiting Moravian Falls, NC - which is reportedly an open portal to Heaven - in the form of a dream revealing that the foundation of America is literally on fire and that only the Word of God could save it from utter destruction:

Joyner went on to explain that the only thing that can save America is for Christians to become more involved in politics and for our political and governmental leaders to start listening to the "prophetic voices" of people like Joyner:

Will Cindy Jacobs Participate in "Awakening 2011"?

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Friday, 1/14/2011 2:04 pm

Earlier this week, we noted that the Freedom Federation had announced that its next "Awakening" conference will take place in April at Liberty University and that organizers have invited dozens of Religious Right leaders as well as Republican leaders like Ken Cuccinelli, Michele Bachmann, Marco Rubio, Alan West, Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Huckabee.

But one of the Religious Right activists who is not listed is Cindy Jacobs, who is not only a member of the Freedom Federation but was featured on stage during last year's conference along with Richard Land and Samuel Rodriguez:

And judging by the public calendar posted on Jacobs' Generals International website, it sure looks like she plans on attending:

So why isn't Jacobs listed among the Awakening's invited speakers?  Are organizers afraid that she might start talking about how the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is killing birds while sharing the stage with the Republican leaders who attend?  

Will Cindy Jacobs Participate in "Awakening 2011"?

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Friday, 1/14/2011 2:04 pm

Earlier this week, we noted that the Freedom Federation had announced that its next "Awakening" conference will take place in April at Liberty University and that organizers have invited dozens of Religious Right leaders as well as Republican leaders like Ken Cuccinelli, Michele Bachmann, Marco Rubio, Alan West, Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Huckabee.

But one of the Religious Right activists who is not listed is Cindy Jacobs, who is not only a member of the Freedom Federation but was featured on stage during last year's conference along with Richard Land and Samuel Rodriguez:

And judging by the public calendar posted on Jacobs' Generals International website, it sure looks like she plans on attending:

So why isn't Jacobs listed among the Awakening's invited speakers?  Are organizers afraid that she might start talking about how the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is killing birds while sharing the stage with the Republican leaders who attend?  

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Freedom Federation Posts Archive

Religious Right Leader: Vote Romney Because Mormons Believe US Constitution is Biblical Truth
SUBMITTED BY: Peter Montgomery, Wednesday 10/31/2012, 4:41pm
As RWW has noted, most Religious Right leaders have cast aside whatever reservations they once had about voting for Mitt Romney, whose Mormonism many do not consider a Christian faith.  Sure, they’d rather have a conservative evangelical or right-wing Catholic as the GOP nominee, but they lost that chance in the primaries.  And they are so eager to defeat Barack Obama, and avoid the divine wrath that his re-election would provoke, that they have circled the wagons around Romney. In September, more than two dozen Religious Right leaders wrote a letter dismissing differences... MORE >
Maybe She Wishes Romney's Position Wasn't So Clear
SUBMITTED BY: Peter Montgomery, Tuesday 05/08/2012, 5:11pm
The Republican National Committee’s Hispanic Outreach Director Bettina Inclan sparked a mini-firestorm today when she told reporters that she could not comment on Romney’s immigration positions because “he’s still deciding what his position on immigration is.”  She later tried to clean up the mess by tweeting that she was mistaken, and that his position was clear, linking to his website.  Unfortunately for Romney and for the RNC’s Hispanic outreach, his position is all too clear: he opposes not only “amnesty” but all “magnets... MORE >
Jacobs: Satan Seeks to Destroy God's Model for the Family and Install Tyranny
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Monday 04/23/2012, 10:25am
The third annual Awakening conference was held this weekend and, unlike the first two which took place at Liberty University, this year's conference was held down in Orlanda, Florida.  But other than that, the event was similar to those held in previous years, featuring various breakout sessions mixed with a few plenary session featuring panel discussions, messages from various Republican leaders, and time for worship.  This year, attendees were treated to video messages from the likes of Marco Rubio, Allen West, and Newt Gingrich, interspersed between addresses from leaders... MORE >
Religious Right 'War' Room: This Weekend's Awakening Conference
SUBMITTED BY: Peter Montgomery, Thursday 04/19/2012, 5:58pm
The Freedom Federation – an anti-Obama amalgam of Religious Right groups, "apostolic" ministries, and the corporate-funded astroturf Americans for Prosperity – is holding its third annual Awakening conference in Orlando, Florida this weekend. Here’s how it describes the event: Uniting our Voices Around Shared Values: Turning Voices into Votes A war is raging against our shared values. Our faith and freedom are under attack. Silence in the face of this war is not an option. Decisive action is needed. Join with others who share the core values that make America a... MORE >
Bachmann, Gingrich and Santorum to Participate in Forum hosted by Radical Anti-Choice Activists
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Wednesday 12/21/2011, 6:35pm
Republican presidential candidiates Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have signed on for a “Presidential Pro-Life Forum” hosted by Personhood USA and moderated by Iowa conservative radio personality Steve Deace. The three candidates along with Rick Perry have already announced their support for personhood laws. Personhood USA wants abortion and even common forms of birth control banned without exception, and personhood laws may even outlaw in-vitro fertilization and the treatment of problem pregnancies. The group launched unsuccessful referendums in Colorado and... MORE >
Will Benjamin Netanyahu Address An Anti-Obama Pep Rally?
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Thursday 11/03/2011, 12:58pm
The Freedom Federation is set to hold Awakening 2012 in Orlando, Florida, next year, and according to the schedule, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confirmed to address the right-wing rally via video feed. The Freedom Federation includes the country’s leading Religious Right groups: Liberty Counsel, Eagle Forum, Exodus International, Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, WallBuilders, Vision America, High Impact Leadership Coalition, Traditional Values Coalition, American Values and Americans for Prosperity. The Freedom... MORE >
AFA Blog Post Calls Out Religious Right Leaders For Associating With False Prophets
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 05/18/2011, 2:03pm
We have been writing about the growing overlap between the traditional Religious Right and the new brand of self-proclaimed prophets and apostles like Cindy Jacobs, Rick Joyner, Chuck Pierce, and Lou Engle, who have emerged out of the New Apostolic Reformation movement. In recent years, old-school Religious Right leaders like Tony Perkins and Janet Porter have eagerly embraced leaders like Joyner, Engle and Jacobs and welcomed them into movement, often placing them front and center in their events.  So imagine our surprise when we took at look at the American Family Association's... MORE >
Profiles in Debt-Busting Courage (Not)
SUBMITTED BY: Peter Montgomery, Friday 04/15/2011, 5:33pm
Friday’s Washington Post features a story about a battle within the conservative movement. Hard-right figures like Sen. Tom Coburn and Grover “drown the government in the bathtub” Norquist are fighting among themselves about which is more important: reducing the deficit or sticking to Norquist’s  “no new taxes” pledge, which many Republicans have signed in recent years.  The same question played out at last weekend’s “Awakening” conference, sponsored by the Freedom Federation at Liberty University. In a Saturday panel... MORE >