Harry Jackson

For the last several months we've been noting the gradual re-emergence of James Robison, who was an influential leader back at the founding of the Religious Right but who eventually sort of fell off the radar. 

But in the last year or so, he has suddenly become more and more involved in Religious Right activism and I guess nothing better demonstrates that fact like this article, via AU, reporting that a few months back Robison convened a large gathering of leaders to plot how to defeat President Obama in 2012:

Conservative Christian leaders from across the nation met two months ago near the Dallas airport to strategize about replacing President Barack Obama with someone who matches their agenda – a move that paralleled an effort by Christian leaders in 1979 to defeat then President Jimmy Carter.

About 40 conservative Christian leaders gathered in Dallas on Sept. 8-9 to begin laying the groundwork for a religious-political movement similar to the one that helped Ronald Reagan oust the Baptist Sunday school teacher from the Oval Office. Convened by evangelist James Robison – a key figure in the religious effort 30 years ago to promote Reagan's candidacy – the list of attendees included many of the most prominent Christian evangelists and ministers, including several Southern Baptist leaders.

Southern Baptist leaders attending the meeting included: Richard Land (president of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission); Richard Lee (pastor and the editor of The American Patriot's Bible); John Meador (pastor of First Baptist Church of Euless, Texas); and Paige Patterson (president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary).

Others at the meeting included: Tony Evans (a megachurch pastor in Texas); Father Joseph Fessio (founder and editor of Ignatius Press); Craig Groeschel (pastor of LifeChurch.tv); Miles McPherson (a megachurch pastor in California who spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention); Johnnie Moore (a vice president at Liberty University who defended the school's decisions to have Glenn Beck and Newt Gingrich as recent speakers); Tom Mullins (a megachurch pastor in Florida); Doug Napier (legal counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund); Dino Rizzo (a megachurch pastor in Louisiana); Dave Roever (an evangelist who prayed at Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally); Mark Rutland (president of Oral Roberts University); David Stone (a megachurch pastor in Kentucky); and Stu Weber (a megachurch pastor in Oregon).

Several conservative Christian leaders highly active in politics attended the meeting, including: Stephen Broden (a pastor and Republican politician in Texas); Keith Butler (a pastor and Republican politician in Michigan); Maggie Gallagher (a conservative columnist who received tens of thousands of dollars for her work from the George W. Bush administration); Jim Garlow (chairman of Newt Gingrich's organization, Renewing American Leadership); Harry Jackson (pastor of Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C.); Gene Mills (executive director of the Louisiana Family Forum); and Tony Perkins (president of the Family Research Council).

Some attendees have been guests on Glenn Beck's program on Fox News (including Broden, Garlow, Lee, McPherson, Mullins, Robison, Roever and Stone), and several were involved with his "Restoring Honor" rally (including Jackson, Land, Lee, Gallagher, Garlow and Roever).

Three of the attendees at the meeting have been under investigation since 2007 by Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Baptist from Iowa, for perhaps violating IRS tax-exempt rules. Those at the meeting included televangelists Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Joyce Meyer.

Other individuals helped plan the September meeting but were unable to attend. They included: Jerry Falwell Jr. (president of Liberty University); Jack Graham (a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention); O.S. Hawkins (head of the SBC's Guidestone Financial Resources); Jack Hayford (president of Foursquare International); and author Ravi Zacharias.

I should point out, also, that Robison's return can only be good news for Mike Huckabee, as Robison was his mentor back in the 1970s, leading Huckabee to drop out of seminary so he could go to work for Robison as his director of communications.

If Robison and crew are looking to replace Obama "with someone who matches their agenda," Huckabee seems like a perfect fit.

Earlier this week, the Family Research Council hosted a webcast entitled "Taxman Cometh: Stopping the Obama Tax Hikes" that featured various members of Congress and right-wing activists (as was supposed to co-sponsored by Virginia Thomas and Liberty Central, until she dropped out).

During the broadcast, Harry Jackson made the case that raising taxes is really a moral issue and an attempt to limit the work that Christians can do through their charitable donations, for which they deserve to be applauded:

Perkins: Let's talk about the moral aspects of taxes. Why should Christians be concerned about the tax policy that America adopts?

Jackson: Well, I think that we're called to be stewards of our finances and we want to make sure that we do the right thing and I can ensure my stewardship of my resources if they're in my control.

Christians are more generous by every measure, if you study it out, than those who are not Christians. In other words, others look for the government to do good in our stead. We as Christians want to take control of our money and then honor Christ first hopefully with our tithes, offerings and then with targeted acts of kindness that we do all the time to help those at home and abroad.

Perkins: So you're not speaking from a standpoint of stinginess when conservatives are talking about we don't want to see additional tax increases because they give disproportionately of their income to do the work that the government attempts to do.

Jackson: Absolutely not. What you are really doing by increasing this tax burden is hindering the possibility of generosity of the most generous segment of our culture. And I think because we've got a clash of worldviews, this is why people demonize those of us who are Bible-believers and are faithful stewards of God's resources instead of applauding.

In our post yesterday on Sam Brownback finally acknowledging his long relationship with Lou Engle, we noted that Brownback sought to downplay it by claiming that they only worked on human rights issues:

Brownback, of Topeka, said he worked with Engle on adoption by the U.S. Senate of official statements of apology to Native Americans and African-Americans. He said the Native American statement became law.

"Those were the substantive items," Brownback said. "It's all been about human rights and helping people live better."

Now, as anyone who knows anything about Engle and his associates realizes, every move they make is aimed at unleashing revival here in America and ultimately establishing God's kingdom on Earth ... and that is exactly what was at work in these two cases.

If you jump ahead to the 4 minute mark of this video of Sen. Brownback on the Senate floor discussing the apology for slavery, you will hear him talk about a "kettle tour":

This "kettle tour" was organized by Engle associates Dutch Sheets and Will Ford in order to create a "'synergistic agreement' that will release a multiplication of power for spiritual breakthrough" and Brownback played a key role in the tour when it came to Washington: 

The idea for what is being called the "Kettle Tour" was birthed during a conference last March when Sheets spoke about the joining of the present generation's prayers with those of the past to form a "synergy of the ages."

Will Ford, an African American conference attendee from Euless, Texas, shared a powerful story about an old kettle that had been passed down through the generations from his slave ancestors.

"My ancestors would be beaten if they were caught praying," Ford explained, "so they'd wait until everyone was asleep, sneak into the barn late at night, turn this pot upside down on some rocks, and get underneath it to pray where they wouldn't be heard. Although they didn't believe they would see freedom in their lifetime, they prayed for the freedom of the next generation."

When Ford heard Sheets speak about the "bowls of incense," which contained the prayers of the saints from all generations, mentioned in Revelation 5:8, he said he realized his prayers were being united with those of his slave ancestors.

Ford agreed to travel throughout New England with Sheets and a team of people, taking along his "prayer kettle" as a symbol of what God desires to do in this nation.

"God is connecting all the ages to heal history," Sheets told the prayer participants in Washington. "We must come into agreement with the prayers of past generations in order for God to fulfill His purposes for this nation."

Pointing to a significant movement of repentance and reconciliation between races, genders, and denominations that has already taken place in the last few years, Sheets believes God is now desiring a "synergistic agreement" that will release a multiplication of power for spiritual breakthrough.

"The church has been so disjointed that we haven't been able to accomplish what the Lord wants to do through us, but we're moving into a season in the body of Christ where I believe over the next five years there's going to be more joining together of the church than in all the 2,000 years leading up to this."

At the Washington prayer gathering, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., told those present that in all the history of the country nothing has happened but that it happened first in prayer.

"We've made it up the mountain a long way, but we have to make that final assault on the peak," Brownback said. "We can make that final leap to the top, if we stay on our knees."

The same goes for the apology issued to Native Americans - it was considered "a requirement of the Lord for the healing of this land" and once again Brownback played a key role in transforming the religious concerns of these self-proclaimed apostles and prophets into public policy:

[On] January 15, 2003 Dr. John Benefiel, Chairman and Mobilizing Apostle of OCOP, along with Dr. Jay Swallow, Dr. Neigel Bigpond, Jim and Faith Chosa, Gabriel and Vi Medicine-Eagle, Jean Stephenson, Sandy Grady and Mike and Cindy Jacobs met with Senator Sam Brownback in Washington, D.C. Dr. Benefiel explained to the Senator the curse brought upon our nation because of the 381 covenants the United States Government broke with the Native Americans. The Senator repented to the Native Americans right then and there. As a result of these events, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 37, (which will provide a formal apology from the United States Government to Native Americans), was written and is currently on General Order in the U.S. Senate awaiting a full Senate vote ... [Dutch Sheets] said the starting of the 50 State Tour could not have happened until what happened in D.C. took place with the broken covenants and the repentance of Senator Brownback.

And here is Brownback being introduced by Sheets at the 2007 The Call rally in Nashville where he officially apologized to several Native Americans for the actions of the federal government and asked for their forgiveness.  He then issued a similar apology for the treatment of African Americans which he delivered to none other than Harry Jackson before finally bringing his own daughter out on stage and asking her for forgiveness for the 40 million abortions that have taken place in the wake of Roe v Wade:

Engle, Sheets, Jacobs and other are all key leaders in the dominionist movement and Sam Brownback has had a deep relationship with them for years, often serving as their man in Washington and joining them for various events and even living with Engle for several months at one point ... so his recent claims that he doesn't really have any contact with them and has "concerns" about their views is, quite literally, unbelievable.

When he is not fighting marriage equality, Harry Jackson has been busying shilling for energy interests, first through an effort called "Stop the War on the Poor" and, more recently, though something called Affordable Power Alliance, both of which are dedicated to fighting any effort institute environmental regulations as an attack on the poor.

Until today, I had never even heard of the "Black Cross Alliance," but apparently it is a group which has been placing black crosses at different spots all over the country in order to "raise awareness of the death toll and the environmental and economic ruin caused by coal mining and coal-burning power plants."

Which, to Jackson, makes them just like the Ku Klux Klan:

These people have displayed a negative symbol of a black cross around the nation, including our national capitol. In some ways they remind me of the cross burnings of the South. Cross burners sought to uphold their own twisted brand of justice, while abusing the rights of thousands of blacks. The same group of people who were victimized by the KKK are the victims in the energy debates of our day - poor blacks. The Black Cross Alliance shackles people’s hopes and living standards. They make it harder for people to heat and cool their homes, pay their rent and mortgage, afford a car or medical treatment.

The issue is the radical green community’s insistence on raising the cost of energy for everyone in order to force conservation. Further, they ignore the economic war that radical environmentalists are waging on the finances of the poorest of the poor in our culture by dramatically raising their energy costs. In fact, this is tantamount to levying a regressive tax on the poor.

...

Anti-coal campaigns equate to many people in America and other countries going without lights or refrigeration. The abundant, dependable, affordable energy of coal or natural gas power generation can bring relief to the world’s poorest countries, communities and families. For them the Black Cross movement equals a real black death.

• PFAW: Senate GOP Blocks Corporate Campaign Disclosure Vote for the Second Time.
• Eric Lach @ TPM: Sen. Chambliss' Office Says It Was Source Of 'Faggot' Comment.
• Justin Elliott @ Salon: The militias' man in the Senate?
• Alexander C. Hart @ TNR: Lying With Graphs, Republican Style (Now Featuring 50% More Graphs).
• Rachel Tabachnick @ Talk To Action: Ask Christine O'Donnell the Right Questions - Not if She is a Witch.
• Rob Boston @ AU: Giving The Devil His Due: FRC Staffer Says Americans Who Fail To Toe The Religious Right Line Are Serving Satan.
• Timothy Kincaid @ Box Turtle Bulletin: Star Parker, JC Watts and Bishop Harry Jackson file amicus brief for Prop 8 Proponents.
• Joe.My.God: Juice Boxes Make You Gay!

I put together this quick video featuring some of the "highlights" from the Family Research Council's anti-DADT repeal press conference, including Harry Jackson warning that "introducing sexual tension and conduct into our barracks" would create a slippery slope toward allowing adultery in the military.  Jackson also claimed that any comparison between discrimination African Americans and gays is "insulting" and a "revision of American history"; a point which was echoed by Aubrey Shines who called any such comparison "asinine." Finally, Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund warned that "the agenda of sexual liberty and anarchy does not mix with religious freedom" and asked where you would be willing to deny those serving in the military the "spiritual counsel of their chaplain and of their God as they are looking at death":

On Tuesday, September 7, Jim Garlow hosted a Pray and ACT conference call laying out the groundwork for the upcoming series of events his group will be holding heading into the election.

Among those participating were Ron Luce, James Robison, Chuck Colson, Vonette Bright, Lou Engle, Maggie Gallagher, and Harry Jackson.

Colson used his time to explain that he created the Manhattan Declaration because he realized that America is just like Germany was under Hitler:

We wrote the Manhattan Declaration because we had read The Barmen Declaration and we'd read the history of Germany during the Thirties; I'm reading a book on [Dietrich] Bonhoeffer right now - my wife and I are reading it together - it is incredibly instructive. He went though all the same issues we're dealing with today. As James Robison just said so beautifully, let's all be one, let's stand together. Well, the church couldn't stand together in the face of Hitler, that's why they wrote the Barmen Declaration, to get the true believers separated from the non-believers. But the true believers made a strong stand and it cost them dearly. And I think the time has come in America where we don't have any choice but to take this stand.

For his part, Engle assured those on the call that they are the Elijah, Moses, and Jesus of today:

I believe we are in a critical moment. Forty years since the Sixties began, a rebellion has come, but forty days of fasting, historically, is an epoch changing fast that God has given to us. Elijah fasted forty days and shifted the whole tide of the worst government and moral climate in Israel's history. Moses fasted and delivered the law of God in forty days. And then Jesus fasted forty days and launched the Apostolic Era. I believe we are in such a moment right now that if we will seize this day we can see great victories. I want to encourage us with the supernatural power of fasting.

And finally Harry Jackson declared that Christians are being called by God to "pick a fight" so that God can "wipe out" and silence his enemies once and for all:

God is saying to us "I want to pick a fight in which I can wipe out my enemies and cause them to be silenced once and for all." This is where America is; if we do not recognize and repent, we are going to see our way of life destroyed as we now know it.

The National Organization for Marriage, which has been pouring money into District of Columbia elections to punish officials who supported DC’s  new marriage equality law, has sent voters in the city’s Ward 5 a lurid campaign piece supporting an anti-marriage-equality candidate (see below) and warning that “Outside Special Interests are Targeting Delano Hunter.” 

• GOProud has again signed on to be a sponsor of the next CPAC, so I can't wait to see how the anti-gay Right reacts to this.
• If there is a case to be made for discriminating against a gay person, you can rest assure that Mat Staver will be there to make it.
• Joseph Farah and Ann Coulter continue to fight.
• The New Yorker profiles David and Charles Koch, the ideological billionaires behind so much of today's right-wing movement.
• Replace "homosexuality" with "Christianity" in this Brad Dacus quote and imagine how the Right would respond.
• Harry Jackson continues to rail against gay marriage: "We declare that there is coming an unprecedented political backlash against same-sex marriage being forced down our collective throats."
• Mike Huckabee denies trying to sell his endorsement for $250,000 and also went campaigning with Bill McCollum in church this weekend.
• Janet Porter's Faith 2 Action organization has been almost non-existent lately ... with the exception of posting things on how "Amazing Animals" like the woodpecker prove that God exists.
• Finally, is Hunt Downer the Antichrist or something?