Immigration

Perry and Bachmann on Immigration: Shut Down the Border, Deport 11 Million People

Submitted by Josh Glasstetter on Monday, 12/5/2011 4:15 pm

The issues of border security and illegal immigration are incredibly complex and directly affect tens of millions of Americans – not to mention the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are estimated to be living in the United States. In other words, these are issues that call for some level of nuance.

Nuance, however, isn’t something that Governor Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann do:

When asked about border security by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Perry responded:

I have made the commitment that 12 months after being inaugurated as president, that border will be shut down, and it’ll be secure.

We can only hope that Perry misspoke about shutting down the border with Mexico. Bachmann, however, was very clear in stating her determination to tear apart millions of families and devastate the economy by deporting all 11 million undocumented immigrants:

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi: You have pledged to deport all 11 million illegal aliens. Homeland Security tells us that will cost $135 billion. Tell us, first, how you plan to pay for that and how you will execute that plan.

Bachmann: This is the thorniest, most difficult issue in dealing with illegal immigration. What about deportation? I believe that we should uphold the laws of the land which does include deportation. […]

Bondi: What is your plan for executing it?

Bachmann: It would be enforcement. Enforcement both at the border but also by the ICE agents. Right now, essentially, our ICE agents – those are the agents in the interior of the country who are tasked with enforcing the laws – they’re not enforcing them. We also have sanctuary cities where they don’t enforce the laws either on deportation.

ALIPAC On The Verge Of Going Out Of Business

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Thursday, 12/1/2011 5:14 pm

This summer, William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC appeared on the Janet Mefferd program where he declared that President Obama had become a dictator with plans to create a police state and use undocumented immigrants to wage war on "White America."

Gheen went on to suggest that there was no "peaceful, political recourse" to Obama's dictatorship and so people might need to start contemplating "some type of extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent."

Today, Gheen sent out an email to supporters reporting that due to anemic fundraising, ALIPAC is on the verge of being forced to shut down operations:

We are sorry to report that for the first time in our organization's history, we have failed to reach our minimum operational expenses for our final funds drive of 2011. All things being equal, this would put us on a final shutdown date of January 1, 2011.

ALIPAC's fund raising difficulties can be explained by four major causes. The first is the horrific political and economic environment we find ourselves in as a nation at this time. The second is that we are having to take issue with different politicians like Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich of whom some of our members have decided to support.

Third, many of our supporters are utterly dismayed by the authoritarian and dictatorial actions of Obama, who has decreed a form of Amnesty for illegal aliens, while secretly using our tax monies to buy military style weapons for the smugglers bringing in the aliens and the drugs. Unfortunately, Obama has demoralized some of our supporters who are throwing their hands up in exhaustion instead of rallying against Obama.

The fourth reason we are having trouble raising funds has to do with some very important technical issues involving our website and e-mail distribution lists. These issues have caused many of our supporters to be unfortunately, disconnected from our reach and our communications. We have a bold plan to fix these issues.

We are so thankful for all of you who have given of your time and money to support ALIPAC. Your loyalty and dedication to our cause is something for which we cannot say thank you enough times!

Buchanan Agrees With Fischer That U.S. Should Ban Muslim Immigration And Mosques

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 11/2/2011 4:00 pm

Today on Focal Point, Pat Buchanan told host Bryan Fischer that he was “absolutely correct” in his repeated demand that the U.S. ban mosques and Muslim immigration. Buchanan, promoting his new book Suicide of a Superpower, has recently reminisced about the segregation era and made an appearance on a self-described “pro-white” radio show.

Not only does Fischer, the Director of Issues Analysis for the American Family Association, want to ban Muslim immigration, but he also wants to force all immigrants to “convert to Christianity.”

Watch:

Fischer: One of the suggestions I’ve made and have been hammered for it and I want to get your take on this, I’ve suggested that it’s time for us to reconsider Islamic immigration because we’re inviting into our shores people who do not share Western values. Islam, all the values in Sharia law, are absolutely, fundamentally contrary to all of the values and freedoms that we cherish in the West, and so I’ve suggested we need to rethink whether we can afford any more Muslim immigration into the US, whether we can afford to have more mosques built, do you think that’s too extreme or do you think there’s another way we can deal with the threat Islam poses to our cultural fabric?

Buchanan: In Europe you know they had a referendum in Switzerland that no more minarets, any prayer towers on the existing mosques, and they’ve condemned the wearing of the burqa that’s forced upon Muslim women. And in France and all across Europe they’re applauding those decisions, now Europe is far more to the left than the United States. But I think you’re absolutely correct.

Fischer: Halal Foods Represent "Creeping" Sharia

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Friday, 10/7/2011 12:58 pm

It’s that time of year again when anti-Muslim activists discuss the growing threat of halal foods. WorldNetDaily has published yet another exposé into the “march of Sharia” through the “growth of halal foods,” quoting American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer as an authority on the matter. Fischer, who has called American Muslims a “toxic cancer” on society and wants the U.S. to deport all Muslims, implied that the availability of halal foods is an illustration of “creeping” Sharia law:

Specialty markets first supplied "halal" food to Muslims in America, then restaurants joined in the effort and now the very grocery stores from which you buy hamburger and chops are offering food that has been slaughtered according to Islamic ritual, according to responses from food outlets contacted by WND.

Islam requires Muslims to eat such "halal" food, which as part of the religion's rituals already has been dedicated to the Muslim god Allah.

And it's an alarming issue for Christians because the Bible warns against eating food previously dedicated to idols. Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake, Wash., has explained in previous WND reports that eating food that's "halal" would be the same as disregarding the Bible's commands.

"From the Christian standpoint, Allah would be an idol," Biltz told WND earlier.

…

But Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association also has expressed alarm.

"To see where things are going with this whole halal business, look no further than the U.K., where grocers have gone whole-hog – pardon the expression – on offering halal meat but without telling anybody about it.

"Shariah law is no longer creeping up on us. It's bearing down on us at full gallop. It's time for Christian civilization to grab the reins of this runaway horse and stop it dead in its tracks. No Shariah law in America, period."

Religious Right Hoping to Exploit Hispanic Frustration with Obama

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Friday, 10/7/2011 9:59 am

Even before the opening bell at the Values Voter Summit, the Liberty Counsel hosted a breakfast on messaging and outreach to Hispanic Americans. Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver shared the stage with Tony Calatayud, a Miami-based activist who works for the Spanish language arm of Christian radio Salem Communications. Calatayud, who helped Marco Rubio get elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida, now travels the country helping to identify and support conservative Hispanic candidates with the group Conservadores.

Staver said that Hispanic unhappiness with Barack Obama is “a really good thing going into 2012.” Calatayud agreed. The growing Hispanic community could be a huge electoral force for conservatives, he said, if only Republicans would stop alienating Hispanic voters with “idiotic” anti-immigrant rhetoric. He said “the Hispanic evangelical movement in this country is exploding” and said repeatedly that Hispanics are “conservative in nature” and share the Religious Right’s values on social issues. Polls suggest, in fact, that Latinos are pro-LGBT equality, but also that Latino evangelicals are more politically conservative than Latino Catholics.

Calatayud argued that conservative leaders need to make a “covenant” with “Kingdom-minded” Latino leaders and support an approach to immigration that includes four points: border security first; family reunification; a guest worker program; and “just integration” (a term he attributed to Sam Rodriguez) of the 12-15 million undocumented people already in the country. Calatayud said he didn’t want to hear the word “amnesty” ever again; he and Staver complained about Republicans who use the word “amnesty” to describe anything short of mass deportation. Calatayud got a polite but quiet hearing from the audience for his presentation on immigration; the only applause came when, in response to a question, he affirmed his belief that everyone must learn English.

Calatayud also insisted that the eventual Republican candidate must build a “covenant” relationship with Latino evangelical pastors and devote real money to campaign outreach. He said he had hoped Marco Rubio would run this time around; he predicts Rubio will not accept a VP slot this year, but believes he will be the GOP nominee in 2016 or 2020.

Who’s Who at the Values Voter Summit 2011

Submitted by Miranda Blue on Wednesday, 10/5/2011 11:20 am

This weekend, nearly every major GOP presidential candidate, along with the top two Republicans in the House of Representatives, will speak at the Values Voter Summit, an annual gathering of the leaders of the movement to integrate fundamentalist Christianity and American politics.

The candidates – Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich – and the congressmen – House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor – will join a who’s who of the far Right at the event. The organizers of the Values Voter Summit and many of its prominent attendees are on the frontlines of removing hard-won rights for gay and lesbian Americans, restricting women’s access to reproductive healthcare, undermining the free exercise rights of non-Christian religions and breaking down the wall of separation between church and state.

In perhaps the starkest illustration of how far even mainstream Republican candidates are willing to go to appease the Religious Right, Mitt Romney is scheduled to speak immediately before the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer, a man whose record of hate speech should be shocking by any standard. Along with regularly denigrating gays and lesbians, Muslims, and other minority groups, Fischer has no love for Romney’s Mormon faith. In a radio program last week, Fischer insisted that Mormons have no right to religious freedom under the First Amendment and falsely claimed that the LDS Church still sanctions polygamy.

People For the American Way has called on GOP presidential candidates appearing at the conference to denounce Fischer’s bigotry. Last year, PFAW issued a similar call to attendees, which was met with silence.

The following is a guide to some of the individuals with whom the leaders of the GOP will be rubbing shoulders at the Values Voter Summit this year.

Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer is the Director of Issues Analysis at the American Family Association, which is a sponsor of the Values Voter Summit. Fischer acts as the chief spokesman for the group and also hosts its flagship radio program, Focal Point, on which he has interviewed a number of prominent figures including Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum and Mike Huckabee.

On his radio program and in blog posts, Fischer frequently expresses unmitigated bigotry toward a number of minority groups, including gays and lesbians, Muslim Americans, Native Americans, low-income African Americans and Mormons.

Fischer has:

held gays responsible for the Holocaust and likened them to domestic terrorists and Nazis who are intent on committing “ virtual genocide” against the military, asserts that “homosexuals should be disqualified from public office” " and has even called for the re-criminalization of homosexuality;
said “we have feminized the Medal of Honor” by awarding it to a soldier who saved his fellow combatants rather than killing enemies;
demanded all immigrants “ convert to Christianity” and renounce their religions;
asserted that Muslims have “no fundamental First Amendment claims” and should be banned from building mosques and deported from the US, adding that Muslims are inherently stupid as a result of inbreeding;
insisted that, in fact, no non-Christian religions are protected by the First Amendment , a group in which he includes Mormons, who he falsely claims still sanction polygamy;
claimed African American women “ rut like rabbit s” due to welfare and that Native Americans are “ morally disqualified” from living in America because they didn’t convert to Christianity and were consequently cursed by God with alcoholism and poverty;
maintained that “President Barack Obama nurtures this hatred for the United States of America and, I believe, nurtures a hatred for the white man.”
said that the anti-Muslim manifesto of the right-wing Christian terrorist who killed dozens in Norway was “accurate.”

At a speech at last year’s Values Voter Summit, Fischer said that if Christians don’t get involved in politics, they “make a deliberate decision to turn over the running of the United States government to atheists and pagans.” Of the gay rights movement, he warned, “We are going to have to choose, as a nation, between the homosexual agenda and freedom, because the two cannot coexist.”

Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, the main organizer of this weekend’s summit. Perkins leads the group’s efforts against gay rights, abortion rights and church/state separation.

The FRC famously expressed its hostility to religious pluralism in a 2000 statement blasting a Hindu priest who was invited to give an opening prayer in Congress: "[W]hile it is true that the United States of America was founded on the sacred principle of religious freedom for all, that liberty was never intended to exalt other religions to the level that Christianity holds in our country's heritage…. Our Founders … would have found utterly incredible the idea that all religions, including paganism, be treated with equal deference."

The FRC has one of the most anti-gay platforms of any major political organization, including expressions of support for the criminalization of homosexuality. Earlier this year, the group called on members to pray for the continuation of Malawi’s law prohibiting homosexuality , under which a gay couple was sentenced to fourteen years in jail. Senior fellow Peter Sprigg said he would “much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society.”

Perkins himself frequently reflects the extreme views of his organization. He:

says Islam is “evil”;
called gay rights activists “intolerant,” “hateful,” “vile,” “spiteful” and “pawns” of Satan and said that homosexuality is “ man shaking his fist in the face of God”;
wrote that the anti-bullying “It Gets Better Project” is “immoral,” “disgusting,” and promotes “perversion”;
denied that there was a correlation between anti-gay bullying and depression and suicide, saying instead that gay and lesbian teens know they are “abnormal” and “have a higher propensity to depression or suicide because of that internal conflict";
wrote that senators would have " the blood of innocent soldiers on their hands" if they vote to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military;
warned, “ I don’t know if the country can survive” another Obama term and that the president’s reelection would “destroy this country.”

At last year’s Values Voter Summit, Perkins managed to simultaneously insult U.S. servicemembers and several important U.S. allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that armies that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly “ participate in parades, they don’t fight wars to keep the world free .”

Mat Staver

Mat Staver is the head of the Liberty University School of Law and its legal affiliate, Liberty Counsel, both sponsors of the Values Voter Summit. Liberty Counsel vehemently opposes rights for gays and lesbians, and in July filed the lawsuit to overturn New York’s Marriage Equality Act . The group’s Director of Cultural Affairs Matt Barber has called marriage equality “ rebellion against God” and said LGBT youth are more likely to commit suicide because they know “ what they are doing is unnatural, is wrong, [and] is immoral .” Barber has also described liberalism as “hatred for God” and said the president and Democrats “are anti-God.” In fact, Liberty Counsel claimed that Obama is “ pushing America to move under the curse ” of God and “ jeopardizing our nation” for purportedly not supporting Israel.

Through his role at Liberty Counsel and on his radio program Faith & Freedom, Staver has:

argued that President Obama “does not respect America” and wants to intentionally cripple America so he can have global power;
suggested that the president was using health care reform to create his own personal army of Brownshirts;
pledged to resist the "abusive and lawless regime in the Executive Branch and in the United States Congress”;
defended Malawi’s law criminalizing homosexuality and said U.S. opposition to criminalization was “immoral”;
urged schools to prohibit students from holding a “Day of Silence” to protest anti-gay bullying;

Staver aggressively promotes “ex-gay” reparative therapy and warns that gays and lesbians are “ intent on trampling upon the fundamental freedoms ” of others. He is also closely linked to the saga of Lisa Miller, a woman represented by Liberty Counsel who kidnapped her daughter and fled to Central America after a court granted custody to her former partner, a lesbian woman. Although Liberty Counsel denies involvement in the kidnapping, earlier this year Miller was reportedly staying at the house of Staver’s administrative assistant’s father in Nicaragua . Staver has also taught the Miller case in his law classes as an example of an instance where “God’s law” preempts “man’s law.”

Jerry Boykin

Retired Army Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin sparked a controversy when, as a high-ranking official in the Bush Defense Department, he framed the War on Terror as a holy war against Islam. He has since built a career as a Religious Right speaker, specializing in anti-Muslim rhetoric and anti-Obama conspiracy theories. Boykin rejects religious freedom for American Muslims, claiming that Islam “is not just a religion, it is a totalitarian way of life.” In an interview with Bryan Fischer, he called for “no mosques in America.”

Boykin is a leading member of the dominionist group The Oak Initiative. In a speech at the group’s conference in April, he declared that George Soros and the Council on Foreign Relations conspired to collapse the U.S. economy in order to help President Obama get elected. Last year, he told the group that President Obama was using his health care reform legislation as a cover to establish a private army of Brownshirts loyal just to him .

Star Parker

Parker is a long-time Religious Right activist who is particularly active in anti-gay and anti-abortion rights work. As Washington, DC was poised to legalize marriage equality, Parker warned that it would lead to more HIV infections in the city, which would “ transform officially into Sodom.” In a recent radio interview with Tony Perkins, Parker mused that black family life was “ more healthy” under slavery than it is today and has accused liberals of treating Justice Clarence Thomas and Gov. Sarah Palin like runaway slaves. She has called legal abortion a “genocide” on par with slavery and the Holocaust.

Ed Vitagliano

As the AFA’s research director, Ed Vitagliano helped co-produce the 2000 anti-gay documentary “It’s Not Gay,” which is riddled with misleading statistics about gays and lesbians and promotes “ex-gay” reparative therapy. The “documentary” starred ex-gay leader Michael Johnston, a self-described “former homosexual,” who was later revealed to have been secretly having sex with other men. Vitagliano’s anti-gay work has continued apace — on the AFA’s radio program this year, Vitagliano argued that gay men are “ abusing the nature of the design of the human body” and said homosexuality is not a “ natural and normal and healthy activity.” Vitagliano also scolded congressman and civil rights hero John Lewis for supporting marriage equality , saying that Lewis “thumbed [his] nose” at God and “needs to go back and read his Bible.”

Bishop Harry Jackson

Jackson, who built his career as an avowed opponent of rights for gays and lesbians, is a regular speaker at Religious Right conferences. He has called for a “SWAT Team” of “Holy Ghost terrorists” to work against hate crimes legislation that protects gays and lesbians, and said that black organizations that support gay rights have “ sold out the black community” and have been “ co-opted by the radical gay movement .” Jackson claims that gay marriage is part of “ a Satanic plot to destroy our seed” and that the larger gay rights movement is “ an insidious intrusion of the Devil.”

Along with his fierce opposition to LGBT rights, Jackson has compared legal abortion to “lynching” and urged the Senate to defeat Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court because she is not a Protestant (Kagan is Jewish). Jackson has even described his political efforts in apocalyptic terms, telling a Religious Right group before the 2010 elections, “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.”

Lila Rose

Rose is the anti-choice activist responsible for carrying out a deceptive hit job against Planned Parenthood this year. Members of Rose’s group, Live Action, went to Planned Parenthood clinics around the country posing as clients seeking help with a child sex trafficking ring. Planned Parenthood alerted the FBI about the activity, and the one staffer who handled the supposed traffickers inappropriately was promptly fired. Nevertheless, Rose claimed that her hoax proved “beyond a shadow of a doubt that Planned Parenthood intentionally breaks state and federal laws and covers up the abuse of young girls it claims to serve.”

Rose is no newcomer to the Values Voter Summit: in a speech at 2009’s summit, she called for abortions to be performed “in the public square.”

Glenn Beck

Until Beck’s Fox News program was canceled earlier this year, he was one of the Right’s most visible fear-mongers and conspiracy theorists. When his violent rhetoric inspired some real threats against progressive leaders, he laughed off the critics who urged him to choose his words more responsibly. Beck’s elaborate conspiracy theories include the idea that socialists and Islamists were planning a global caliphate, with the help of American progressives; an obsession with the progressive funder George Soros, at whom he leveled a number of anti-Semitic smears including a personal attack that the Anti-Defamation league called “horrific”; and a distrust of President Obama, who he once said was “racist” with a “ deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture .”

On air, Beck joked about killing prominent progressives (for instance, poisoning Nancy Pelosi’s wine), but frequently insisted that it is progressives who were urging violence, even predicting his own martyrdom. In one 2010 broadcast, he warned that "anarchists, Marxists, communists, revolutionaries, Maoists" have to "eliminate 10 percent of the U.S. population" in order to "gain control."

After a terrorist in Oslo killed dozens of young members of Norway’s Labor Party at an island summer camp, Beck attacked the victims , comparing the camp to “Hitler Youth” and calling it “disturbing.”

Anti-Immigrant Activists Blast Perry Over DREAM Act Defense

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Friday, 9/23/2011 1:37 pm

At last night’s Republican presidential debate Gov. Rick Perry defended a state law he signed that allows the children of undocumented immigrants living in Texas to pay in-state tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities. Although Perry has attacked the federal DREAM Act as “amnesty,” anti-immigrant activists are furious over his defense of the Texas law.

In a statement, Americans for Legal Immigration-PAC president William Gheen speculated that Perry has “assured his own defeat”:

Texas Governor Perry destroyed his chances of winning the GOP Presidential primary during last night's debate when he defended his support for in-state tuition for illegal aliens which is opposed by 81% of all Americans.

"Rick Perry proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is not the right choice for America by supporting these radical illegal immigration attracting measures," said William Gheen, President of ALIPAC. "Perry's support for in-state tuition for illegals forces taxpayers to pay to replace their own children in the limited seats in our colleges!"

…

"GOP voters cannot vote for Rick Perry now without legitimizing and supporting in-state tuition for illegal immigrants," said William Gheen. "Perry has assured his own defeat despite the fact that he is receiving so much support and favoritism from globalist groups in the media. It is clear to me that the globalists who are responsible for illegal immigration in America are using their power to promote Rick Perry at this time."

Chris Chmielenski of Numbers USA also criticized Perry:

Legal immigration aside, the storyline of tonight's debate was Gov. Perry's insistence to stand behind his decision to sign the Texas Dream Act, granting in-state tuition benefits to illegal aliens. Perry's response continues to be that these individuals will become a drag on society, but what he fails to understand is that with or without an education, these young people can't legally work in the United States. Plus, as Rick Santorum pointed out, no one is denying illegal aliens an education. Illegal aliens can still go to the University of Texas, but they should have to pay the same tuition rate that Arizona residents who attend the University of Texas pay.

Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation wrote in an email to members that his stance will haunt him throughout the primary:

Perry blew it.

How?

By pandering to the illegal alien vote.

Perry has gained a lot of traction from the Tea Party movement. By doubling down on the illegal alien issue, he has gained no friend and alienated many in the conservative movement.

…

His support of illegal aliens is hurting him.

Even American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer got into the mix, taking particular issue with Perry’s claim that those who oppose in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants don’t “have a heart”:

It’s fine to say we should not punish children for the sins of their fathers. But neither should we reward them. And we are not just rewarding the children, we are rewarding the parents, since many of them stole into the U.S. because they wanted to give their children a shot at a decent education. (The solution: help Mexico improve its educational system.) So Gov. Perry simply cannot get around the fact that he is rewarding the illegal behavior of aliens who have no right to be here. That is an exceedingly troublesome position for someone who wants to be our nation’s chief law enforcement officer.

…

Public schools at every level should be reserved for students who have a legal right to be in this country. The immigration status of every applicant should be checked and enrollment reserved for legal residents of the United States. If illegal aliens wants [sic] to pursue higher education, let’s repatriate them to their native land where they can pursue education to their heart’s content.

Schlafly Mocks NEA for Opposing Discrimination in Schools

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Thursday, 9/8/2011 2:18 pm

Phyllis Schlafly is a longtime critic of the National Education Association and LGBT rights, and today in The Phyllis Schlafly Report she ridicules the teachers’ union’s endorsement of resolutions calling for a safe and diverse work environment and opposing discrimination against LGBT school employees, families and students. While Schlafly mainly lists excerpts from the NEA, she dubs their anti-discrimination policies as “radical” and leaves no confusion over where she stands:

Eagle Forum always sends an observer to the annual convention of the National Education Association to report on its radical resolutions. The NEA usually has about 20 resolutions endorsing the gay rights agenda, often using the code word "diversity." Here are some excerpts from pro-gay resolutions adopted this year by the National Education Association.

Resolution B-14, for example, states that "discrimination and stereotyping based on ... sexual orientation, [and] gender identification ... must be eliminated" and that these factors must not affect the legal rights of "partners in ... civil unions ... in regard to ... medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, and immigration." School "activities, and programs must increase respect, understanding, acceptance, and sensitivity toward individuals and groups in a diverse society composed of ... gays, lesbians, bisexuals, [and] transgender persons." The NEA believes that "students who are struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identification" must be provided by the school with "counseling services." Another NEA resolution declared that hiring policies and practices must be nondiscriminatory and include provisions for the recruitment of a diverse teaching staff so that public schools "Offer ... diverse role models" among teachers, ... and education employees."

NEA Resolutions for the classroom demand that the schools "Eliminate ... stereotyping in curricula, textbooks, resource and instructional materials, [and activities" and "Integrate an accurate portrayal of the roles and contributions of all groups throughout history across curricula, particularly groups that have been under-represented historically." Another resolution urges the use of Multicultural education because it "should ... reduce ... homophobia ... and all other forms of prejudice, and discrimination."

Just so you will know -- these are the stated beliefs of the biggest teachers union.

Boykin: "No Mosques In America"

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 9/7/2011 3:40 pm

Jerry Boykin appeared on Bryan Fischer’s show Focal Point yesterday where the two anti-Muslim activists found common ground in their belief that mosques should be banned in the United States. Boykin, who has appeared with Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee, has launched some of the most sordid attacks against Muslim-Americans since he left the military, following an investigation that he violated rules due to his partisan and anti-Muslim rhetoric. He has argued that “Islam itself is not just a religion” and “should not be protected under the First Amendment,” so it is no surprise that he appeared with Fischer, who advocates banning the construction of mosques and barring First Amendment protections for Muslims.

While speaking with Fischer, Boykin declared, “no mosques in America.” He later added that Muslims do not have First Amendment rights because Islam “is not just a religion, it is a totalitarian way of life.”

Watch:

Fischer: What do you think we ought to do with regard to our immigration policies and with regard to issuing permits to build mosques in order to build mosques in order to deal with this threat, immigration and mosque building, what do you think we should do?

Boykin: Seal the borders and eliminate sanctuary cities and they’ll go home. No mosques in America. Islam is a totalitarian way of life; it’s not just a religion.

Fischer: Now how do you respond to the First Amendment? Now I believe the same thing that you do, we should not allow the building of any more mosques in America, everyone is a potential recruiting or training ground for terrorist activity. They will bring the First Amendment up, your response when people say they have a First Amendment right to build their mosque anywhere they want.

Boykin: If it’s a religion that’s the truth. But Islam, we need to think Sharia, it is not just a religion it is a totalitarian way of life. A mosque is an embassy for Islam and they recognize only a global caliphate, not the sanctity or sovereignty of the United States.

Gohmert: Obama Breached His Oath Of Office; "Is Making Us Like A Third World, Corrupt Country"

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 8/31/2011 10:25 am

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) joined Frank Gaffney yesterday on Secure Freedom Radio to discuss President Obama’s recent executive order that would prioritize the deportation of undocumented immigrants “who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk” over “people who are low priorities for deportation,” such as children, students and veterans. During his appearance on Gaffney’s show, Gohmert maintained that this executive order represents “a breach of the oath” and proves that Obama “has done more to undo the very foundation of the country: the rule of law.” Later in the interview the congressman alleged that Obama is “making us like a Third World, corrupt country where the rule of law is tossed aside”:

Gaffney: What does it mean to a polity like ours, that you have a president who says, I am going to selectively enforce the laws on immigration, for example and to what extent does that really represent a breach of his oath of office?

Gohmert: Well it does represent a breach of the oath. This is a president who has done more to undo the very foundation of the country: the rule of law, that no matter who you are, President, member of Congress, whoever it doesn’t matter, the law is to be equally applied across the board. And there’ve been exceptions where people have gotten away with stuff but never to the extent that this guy has pushed, and like you said he’s shown contempt for the lawmaking process.

…

So immigration is now one more thing where he is making us like a Third World, corrupt country where the rule of law is tossed aside and it’s not equal application of the law, it’s who you know that gets you by.

Mefferd Rejects Gheen’s Talk Of “Violent” And “Illegal” Activities Against The Government

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Friday, 8/26/2011 11:39 am

As first reported on Right Wing Watch, William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC appeared on The Janet Mefferd Show and discussed the possibility of a military coup and other “extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent” to overthrow “Dictator Barack Obama.” While Gheen later denied the comments, even after they were replayed to him verbatim on Alan Colmes’s show, Mefferd yesterday weighed in on Gheen’s statements.

Mefferd strongly distanced herself from Gheen and made clear that she does not endorse Gheen’s extreme rhetoric. “I don’t think President Obama is a dictator. And I also don’t advocate the illegal or violent overthrow of the government; in fact William himself has now said that is not what he was trying to say either,” Mefferd said, “I don’t advocate military coups.”

Mefferd: I just want to make a quick clarification on a guest who was on my show the other day, William Gheen is the head of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. We had had him on the show before and he was a good guest, he had some valid thoughts on the subject of illegal immigration. So we had talked to William Gheen before, he’s on the other side of the issue and we decided to invite him back on the show and find out what his thoughts were. And if you heard that interview you heard that William had some strong words of objection to the recent decision, he had some very strong words in some instances to this decision. And after the interview there were some far-left websites and radio shows who picked up on this, we’re getting some emails complaining that we allowed him to say some of the things he said.

So briefly I want to see this: in the case of William Gheen referring to President Obama as a dictator, that is not my opinion. I don’t think President Obama is a dictator. And I also don’t advocate the illegal or violent overthrow of the government; in fact William himself has now said that is not what he was trying to say either. I don’t advocate military coups.

So I just want to make that clear. I interview a lot of people on this show, and I’ll tell you quite honestly there are an awful lot of political and theological opinions that guests say and callers say on my show that I don’t agree with. But I tend to let people talk, and that tends to be more of my style. I think my listeners are smart enough to draw their own conclusions by people’s statements. So that is generally what I tend to do. I ask the question, I get out of the way and I allow people to decide for themselves whether or not the segment that was just aired was worthwhile. In this case you though know it’s a judgment call on every front whether or not to engage someone on a strong opinion with which you disagree or just to let it go and move on.

But later on when I was able to hear some of the remarks that he had made, I realized I should’ve engaged him right then and there and I should’ve just talked to him directly about what he had just said and clarified what he was really trying to say. So honestly at the time he had an awful a lot to say and the exact statement and question slipped past me at the time. And were I to go back and be able to it again I would’ve addressed it and I would’ve said something to William, and said, ‘William, is that really what you mean? Do you really mean what some people might interpret that last statement to say? Anyway, I thought it was worthwhile to let you know that William’s statements on those particular things did not reflect my views, at all.

Gheen Floats Military Coup And Arrest To "Remove" Obama From Office "As Soon As Possible"

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 8/24/2011 5:48 pm

Americans for Legal Immigration PAC’s William Gheen is out in force after we at People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch reported on an interview with Janet Mefferd in which he said that “extra-political activities” that he described as “illegal and violent” might be the only way for people to stop the "Dictator Barack Obama." Gheen told Mefferd that the Obama administration is “putting out videos and propaganda telegraphing what I believe to be a conflict with White America they’re preparing for after they get another 10 or 15 million people in the country to back them up.” He went on to say that his group is now referring to the president as “Dictator Barack Obama” and said, “If you’re looking for a peaceful, political recourse there really isn’t one that we can think of, and I’m really not sure what to tell people out there than I guess they need to make decisions soon to just accept whatever comes next or some type of extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent.”

Gheen has since released a “clarification” of his comments. “I have made it very clear that I disavow any form of violence on many occasions,” Gheen said, “I cannot delve into the options Barack Obama is forcing on Americans that are concerned about the illegal alien invasion of America.” He blames Obama for forcing people “into a decision between submission or more revolutionary means” and added that he is considering “ending efforts to influence elections or Congress because I feel that such measures will not be enough to change the course of America.”

Later, Gheen appeared on Alan Colmes’s radio show, and continued to deny that he mentioned “illegal and violent” activities even when Colmes played to him his own words, and tried to explain that he was not endorsing the possible use of “illegal and violent” activities because he is personally non-violent and that is why he couldn't talk about them. He attacked Colmes’s “exploitation” of his remarks and told him that because he advocates non-violence on his website he doesn’t need to do the same on-air, saying, “I should’ve prepared my comments a little bit better so they wouldn’t be exploited by the opposition” (Watch the interview below the fold).

Now that Gheen is furiously backtracking from his comments, we thought it would be a good time to post another segment of his interview with Mefferd, in which he says that options beyond impeaching Obama to “remove him from office” must be on the table, adding that there is talk “about the military coming in or somebody just coming in taking this guy into some form of arrest.” Gheen also warns against marching in Washington D.C. because of the city’s black and Latino population’s support for Obama:

Gheen: Once again this isn’t just Obama, this is a group of people, we’ve been reading about them for five or ten years now about how they plan to integrate the economies of North America and to do so in a way to do so that bypasses the legislatures, that’s been in all the materials that we’ve read and here it is in front of us. They’re integrating the workforce of North America and the populations of North America and they did just bypass the legislatures. The same cabal has such influence with the media and the Associated Press, I’ll give you example and I haven’t totally muttered this on the air before, right after Obama did this I got a call from an Associated Press writer out of Washington, D.C., she’s like ‘what’s your initial reaction’ and I said, ‘this is, Obama has just exceeded his constitutional authority and acted in a dictatorial manner which we believe removes all legitimacy for his presidency and that we’re gonna be calling on the Republican to remove this man from office as soon as possible.’

And I didn’t say just impeachment. I said remove him from office because some people are also leaning to the words ‘treason’ and talking about the military coming in or somebody just coming in taking this guy into some form of arrest if we’re doing this. I mean what do you do here? What does a nation do when this happens? We may have to try to have to gather in the streets and demand that Obama step down. But you know when you talk about doing that, you’re gonna gather in the streets of Washington D.C. which where Obama has a support rate of 88% of the blacks and Hispanics who live there.

Gheen Suggests Violence May Be Needed To Stop Obama's War On "White America"

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 8/22/2011 5:22 pm

William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC joined Janet Mefferd today to make the case that President Obama is now a dictator who plans to create a police state and use undocumented immigrants to wage war on “White America.” Gheen, who previously accused Obama of treason and “replacing many core Americans” (among other radical claims), told Mefferd that “extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent” may be needed to bring down Obama. Later in the interview, Gheen demanded that Republicans begin an impeachment process against Obama but lamented that he couldn’t hold marches in Washington D.C. because he was afraid that the president has too many supporters among the city’s black and Latino residents.

Gheen: What Janet Napolitano has spent most of her time doing in the last couple of months has been, one, preparing the new spy network that’s available now, the new data-collecting, see everything you do online, beyond the normal terrorist list that they’re creating, they’re creating a much larger list now of people who might be troublesome here in the country. And putting out videos and propaganda telegraphing what I believe to be a conflict with White America they’re preparing for after they get another 10 or 15 million people in the country to back them up.

…

We’re no longer referring to him as President Barack Obama, our national organization has made the decision and made the announcement we now refer to him as Dictator Barack Obama. That’s what he is. And basically at this point, if you’re looking for a peaceful, political recourse there really isn’t one that we can think of, and I’m really not sure what to tell people out there than I guess they need to make decisions soon to just accept whatever comes next or some type of extra-political activities that I can’t really talk about because they’re all illegal and violent.

Robertson: Media Hate Freedom, Democracy and America

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Thursday, 8/18/2011 12:46 pm

On The 700 Club today, following a program on the impact of Muslim immigration in Norway, Pat Robertson went on another tirade about how the media treat Muslims. Earlier this month, Robertson and guest Robert Spencer discussed the media’s supposed anti-American and anti-Christian bias, and today Robertson attacked the media for allegedly promoting radical Islam because of their hatred for freedom and democracy and love of communism. Robertson added: “I don’t think these media people realize what they’re getting into because they’ll be the first ones to go when it’s all over with.”

Watch:

Robertson:The left-wing media are anti-Christian, they’re anti-democracy, they’re anti-the government they live in, they’re anti-the United States, anti-Norway, anti-freedom. Whether it comes out of communism I don’t know. But I don’t think those media people realize what they’re getting into because they’ll be the first to go when it’s all over with. Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t something we’re just waving a flag about. It’s real, this is real.

AFA Again Tries To Distance Itself From Bryan Fischer

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 8/17/2011 3:31 pm

Bryan Fischer has made it quite clear that he does not believe that the First Amendment applies to Muslims or any "non-Christian religions." And that is why he can feels he can advocate for bans on immigration and service in the armed forces by Muslims as well as prohibitions on the construction of mosques in the United States.

Now obviously, the idea that the First Amendment doesn't apply to non-Christians is a pretty radical one ... so much so, in fact, that Fischer's employer, the American Family Association, decided to release an official statement distancing the organization from Fischer's views:

America’s Founders disagreed how broadly the First Amendment extended Freedom of Religion. Since James Madison, known as the Father of the Bill of Rights, insured that the Congressional debates over the Bill of Rights were conducted in secret, Americans must look to later sources to understand the positions taken by their Founders. Thomas Jefferson and Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, whom Madison appointed to the Supreme Court and who later founded Harvard Law School, openly debated over the place of Christianity in American law. Jefferson advocated a broad view that that all religions, not merely variations of Christianity, were to be protected. In his autobiography Jefferson wrote:

[When] the [Virginia] bill for establishing religious freedom... was finally passed,... a singular proposition proved that its protection of opinion was meant to be universal. Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word 'Jesus Christ,' so that it should read 'a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion.' The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend within the mantle of its protection the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo and infidel of every denomination.

Joseph Story stated a contradictory view in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States:

The real object of the [First] amendment was, not to countenance, much less to advance Mahometanism, or Judaism, or infidelity, by prostrating Christianity; but to exclude all rivalry among Christian sects, and to prevent any national ecclesiastical establishment, which should give to an hierarchy the exclusive patronage of the national government.”

Jefferson’s position has ultimately prevailed; under American law all religions enjoy freedom from government interference. However Joseph Story’s view continues to have proponents, including Bryan Fischer, one of American Family Radio’s talk show hosts. However, the American Family Association (“AFA”) officially sides with Jefferson on this question. AFA is confident that the truth of Christianity will prevail whenever it is allowed to freely compete in the marketplace of ideas.

As we have said time and again, it is amazing how the AFA can pay Fischer, publish his writings and give him two-hour daily radio platform from which to spout his relentless stream of bigotry yet continue to claim that Fischer's views ought to in no way reflect upon the organization.

Name one other organization that regularly has to declare that the things said by its own spokesman should not be construed as reflecting the views of the organization itself.

Fact Sheet: Gov. Rick Perry’s Extremist Allies

Submitted by Miranda Blue on Friday, 8/5/2011 7:14 pm

Updated 8/5/2011

On August 6, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will host The Response, a “prayer rally” in Houston, along with the extremist American Family Association and a cohort of Religious Right leaders with far-right political ties. While the rally’s leaders label it a "a non-denominational, apolitical Christian prayer meeting," the history of the groups behind it suggests otherwise. The Response is powered by politically active Religious Right individuals and groups who are dedicated to bringing far-right religious view, including degrading views of gays and lesbians and non-Christians, into American politics.

In fact, a spokesman for The Response has said that while non-Christians will be welcomed at the rally, they will be urged to “seek out the living Christ.” Allan Parker, a right-wing activist who participated in an organizing conference call for the event, declared in an email bearing the official Response logo that including non-Christians in the event "would be idolatry of the worst sort."

Perry told James Dobson that the rally was necessary because Americans have “turned away from God.”

The following is an introduction to the groups and individuals who Gov. Perry has allied himself with in planning this event.

The American Family Association

The American Family Association is the driving force behind The Response. Founded by the Rev. Don Wildmon in 1977, the organization is based is best known for its various boycott campaigns, promotion of art censorship, and political advocacy against women’s rights and LGBT equality. The organization also controls the vast American Family Radio and an online news service, in addition to sponsoring various conferences frequented by Republican leaders, including the Values Voter Summit and Rediscovering God in America. The AFA today is led by Tim Wildmon, Don’s son, and its chief spokesperson is Bryan Fischer, the Director of Issues Analysis for Government and Public Policy and host of its flagship radio show Focal Point.

Fischer routinely expresses support for some of the most bigoted and shocking ideas found in the Religious Right today. He has:

held gays responsible for the Holocaust and likened them to domestic terrorists and Nazis who are intent on committing “virtual genocide” against the military, and asserts that “homosexuals should be disqualified from public office”;
said “we have feminized the Medal of Honor” by awarding it to a soldier who saved his fellow combatants rather than killing enemies;
demanded all immigrants “convert to Christianity” and renounce their religions;
asserted that Muslims have “no fundamental First Amendment claims” and should be banned from building mosques and deported from the US, adding that Muslims are inherently stupid as a result of inbreeding;
claimed African American women “rut like rabbits” due to welfare and that Native Americans are “morally disqualified” from living in America because they didn’t convert to Christianity and were consequently cursed by God with alcoholism and poverty;
said that the anti-Muslim manifesto of the right-wing Christian terrorist who killed dozens in Norway was “accurate.”

Other AFA leaders and activists are just as radical:

AFA President Tim Wildmon claims that by repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell President Obama shows he “doesn’t give a rip about the Marines or the Army” and “just wants to force homosexuality into every place that he can.”
AFA Vice President Buddy Smith, who is on the leadership council of The Response, said that gays and lesbians are “in the clasp of Satan.”
The head of the AFA’s women’s group led a boycott against Glee because she accused it of indoctrinating children in homosexuality and idolatry.The editor of AFA Journal Ed Vitagliano said that gay pride months are an affront to the Founding Fathers and will usher in “a return to pagan sexuality.”
A columnist for the AFA demanded Christians stop practicing yoga because it was inspired by the “evil” religions of Buddhism and Hinduism.

International House of Prayer

The Response’s leadership team includes five senior staff members of the International House of Prayer (IHOP), a large, highly political Pentecostal organization built on preparing participants for the return of Jesus Christ. In a recent video, IHOP encouraged supporters to pray for Jews to convert to Christianity in order to bring about the Second Coming. IHOP is closely associated with Lou Engle, a Religious Right leader whose anti-gay, anti-choice extremism hasn’t stopped him from hobnobbing with Republican leaders including Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee. Engle is the founder of The Call, day-long rallies against abortion rights and gay marriage, which Engle says are meant to break Satan’s control over the U.S. government. One recent Call event featured “prophet” Cindy Jacobs calling for repentance for the “girl-on-girl kissing” of Britney Spears and Madonna. Perry's The Response event is clearly built upon Engle's The Call model.

Engle has a long history of pushing extreme right-wing views and advocating for a conservative theocracy in America. Engle:

is a proponent of “Seven Mountains” dominionism, a movement that seeks to have Christians take control of all aspects of American life, including government, business, entertainment and the media;supports the criminalization of homosexuality;
claimed that universities with LGBT anti-discrimination measures are teaching students to “accept the mark of the beast”;
is waging a “spiritual war” on the Supreme Court to get abortion outlawed in America;
prayed that Ellen Degeneres will be “converted” from homosexuality.
led a prayer rally in Jerusalem to lead one of the "greatest awakenings in the earth" to bring the Jews of Israel to Christianity.
claimed that the devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri was God’s judgment for abortion.

IHOP’s founder and executive director, Mike Bickle, who is an official endorser of The Response, like Engle pushes radical End Times prophesies. In one sermon, he declared that Oprah Winfrey is a precursor to the Antichrist.

The International House of Prayer, incidentally, remains locked in a copyright infringement lawsuit with the International House of Pancakes.

Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, is a co-chairman of The Response. At the FRC, Perkins has been a vocal opponent of LGBT equality, often relying on false claims about gay people to push his agenda. He:

called gay rights activists “intolerant,” “hateful,” “vile,” “spiteful” and “pawns” of Satan;
denied that there was a correlation between anti-gay bullying and depression and suicide, saying instead that gay and lesbian teens know they are “abnormal” and “have a higher propensity to depression or suicide because of that internal conflict";
wrote that Senators would have "the blood of innocent soldiers on their hands" if they vote to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and allow gays to serve openly in the military;
likened President Obama to a Middle East dictator when the president refused to defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act in court;
said “I don’t know if the country can survive” another Obama term;
said that armies that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly – including several U.S. allies in Iraq and Afghanistan –“participate in parades, they don’t fight wars to keep the world free.”

Jim Garlow

One of the most prominent members of The Response’s leadership team is pastor Jim Garlow. The pastor for a San Diego megachurch, Garlow has been intimately involved in political battles, especially the campaign to pass Proposition 8. Garlow invited and housed Lou Engle to lead The Call rallies around California for six months to sway voters to support Proposition 8, which would repeal the right of gay and lesbian couples to get married. He claims Satan is behind the “attack on marriage” and credits the prayer rallies for the passage of Prop 8. He said that during a massive The Call rally in San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium “something had snapped in the Heavenlies” and “God had moved” to deliver Prop 8 to victory.

Most importantly, Garlow is a close spiritual adviser to presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and leads Gingrich’s Renewing American Leadership (ReAL). Garlow is a principal advocate of Seven Mountains Dominionism, and wants to “bring armies of people” to bring Religious Right leaders into public office and defeat their political opponents.

Garlow has a long record of extreme rhetoric. He:

when Prop 8 passed in California, claimed that African Americans “saved us from the bondage and enslavement that would come upon us if gay marriage actually passed in a state” and alleged marriage equality supporters are going to “totally destroy the definition of the family”;
likened homosexuality to bestiality, saying that if marriage equality is upheld “the next court case could conceivably say that if three people wanted to marry or four people or five people or if someone wanted to marry their dog or their horse”;
compared gay adoption to children losing their parents in the September 11th attacks and said that supporters of gay rights are “almost like an Antichrist spirit”;
told conservative activists that “your land has cancer” and believes that the “lethal ideological ‘radiation’” of progressives “is killing our nation” and “poisoning us and our children”;
argued that legal abortion is responsible for unemployment.

John Hagee

While Senator John McCain rejected John Hagee’s endorsement during the 2008 presidential campaign for his “deeply offensive and indefensible” remarks, Perry invited Hagee to join The Response. Hagee leads a megachurch in San Antonio, Texas, and is a purveyor of End Times prophesies. Like members of the International House of Prayer, Hagee utilizes language of spiritual warfare and says he is part of “the army of the living God.” He runs the prominent group Christians United For Israel, which believes that eventually a cataclysmic war in the Middle East will bring about the Rapture.

John McCain was forced to disavow Hagee for a reason as the Texas pastor:

claimed that God sent Hitler to be a “hunter” of Jews to usher in the establishment of Israel and “do God’s work,” lamenting that Jews are no longer “spiritually alive.”
referred to the Catholic Church as ‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and a ‘false cult system.’
believes that Hurricane Katrina “looked like the curse of God” and ravaged New Orleans in order to stop a “homosexual rally” and punish the city’s high “level of sin.”
said that if gay marriage becomes legal “you can kiss this country goodbye,” alleged that the US is “rebirthing Sodom and Gomorrah,” and demanded that the government stop funding AIDS research and treatment to stop benefiting a “sinful lifestyle.”
demands that “wives submit yourselves to your husbands” and said that the “husband has a God-given role as leader of your home.”
said that God won’t allow the United States to win wars anymore because “we have allowed the worship of Satanism in the U.S. military.”

James Dobson

James Dobson, an official endorser of The Response, is one of the most prominent figures in the Religious Right. Founder of both Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council , Dobson has been instrumental in bringing the priorities of the Religious Right to Republican politics, including campaigning hard for President George W. Bush. But many of the views that Dobson pushes are hardly mainstream. Dobson:

is no fan of the women’s movement, writing that women are just “waiting for their husbands to assume leadership” ;
claims that marriage equality will “destroy the Earth”;
insists that the Religious Right’s fight against Planned Parenthood is “very similar” to that of abolitionists who fought against the slave trade.
Asked if God had withdrawn his hand from America after 9/11, Dobson responded: “Christians have made arguments on both sides of this question. I certainly believe that God is displeased with America for its pride and arrogance, for killing 40 million unborn babies, for the universality of profanity and for other forms of immorality. However, rather than trying to forge a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the terrorist attacks and America's abandonment of biblical principles, which I think is wrong, we need to accept the truth that this nation will suffer in many ways for departing from the principles of righteousness. "The wages of sin is death," as it says in Romans 6, both for individuals and for entire cultures.”

David Barton

David Barton, an official endorser of The Response, is a self-proclaimed historian known for his twisting of American History and the Bible to justify right-wing political positions. Barton’s strategy is twofold: he first works to find Biblical bases for right-wing policy initiatives, and then argues that the Founding Fathers wanted the United States to be a Christian nation, so obviously wanted whatever policy he has just found a flimsy Biblical basis for. Barton, “documenting” the divine origins of his interpretations of the Constitution gives him and his political allies a potent weapon. Opponents who disagree about tax policy or the powers of Congress are not only wrong, they are un-American and anti-religious, enemies of America and of God.

Barton uses his shoddy historical and biblical scholarship to push a right-wing political agenda, including:

Biblical Capitalism: Barton’s “scholarship” helps to form the basis for far-right economic policies. He claims that “Jesus was against the minimum wage,” that the Bible “absolutely condemned” the estate tax,” and opposed the progressive income tax.
Revising Racial History: Barton has traveled the country peddling a documentary he made blaming the Democratic Party for slavery, lynching and Jim Crow…while ignoring more recent history.
Opposing Gay Rights: Barton believes the government should regulate gay sex and maintains that countries which “rejected sexual regulation” inevitably collapse.

Other Allies

Among the other far-right figures who have signed on to work with Gov. Perry on The Response are:

Rob Schenk, an anti-choice extremist who was once arrested for throwing a fetus in the face of President Clinton, and who allegedly had ties with the murderer of abortion provider Dr. Barnett Slepian.
Loren Cunningham, who is working to mobilize support for the rally is a co-founder of the radical “Seven Mountains Dominionist” ideology. Cunningham says that he received the “seven mountains” idea, which holds that evangelical Christians must take hold of all aspects of society in order to pave the way for the Second Coming, in a message directly from God.
Doug Stringer, The Response's National Church and Ministry Mobilization Coordinator, who blamed American secularism and the increased acceptance of homosexuality for the 9/11 attacks, saying “It was our choice to ask God not to be in our every day lives and not to be present in our land.”
Cindy Jacobs, self-proclaimed “prophet” and endorser of The Response, who famously insisted that birds were dying in Arkansas earlier this year because of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
C. Peter Wagner, an official endorser of The Response, is one of the most prominent leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, a controversial movement whose followers believe they are prophets and apostles on par with Christ himself (other adherents include Engle, Jacobs and Anh). Wagner has advocated burning Catholic, Mormon and non-Christian religious objects. He blamed the Japanese stock market crash and later the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the country on a traditional ritual in which the emperor supposedly has “sexual intercourse” with the pagan Sun Goddess.
Che Ahn, a mentor of John Hagee and official endorser of The Response, who endorses “Seven Mountains” dominionism and compares the fight against gay rights to the fight against slavery.
John Benefiel, a self-proclaimed "apostle" and official endorser of The Response, who claims the Statue of Liberty is a "demonic idol" and that homosexuality is a plot cooked up by the Illuminati to control the world's population, and that he renamed the District of Columbia the “District of Christ” because he has “more authority than the U.S. Congress does.”
James “Jay” Swallow, official endorser of the rally, who calls himself a “spiritual warrior” and hosts “Strategic Warriors At Training (SWAT): A Christian Military Training Camp for the purpose of dealing with the occult and territorial enemy strong holds in America.”
Alice Smith, who advocates "spiritual housecleaning" because demons "sneak into" homes through everyday objects.
Willie Wooten, a self-proclaimed “apostle” who claims that God is punishing the African American community for supporting gay rights, reproductive freedom and the Democratic Party.
Pastor Stephen Broden – Broden, an endorser of The Response, has repeatedly insisted that a violent overthrow of the U.S. government must remain “on the table.”
Timothy F. Johnson – Johnson, a former vice-chairman of the North Carolina GOP, was elected to that post despite two domestic violence convictions and still unresolved questions about his military service and educational record.
Alice Patterson – Patterson, a member of The Response's leadership team, insists that the Democratic Party is controlled by a "demonic structure."

Savage: Norway Terrorist Attacks A Left-Wing Conspiracy

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 7/25/2011 4:54 pm

Michael Savage and World Net Daily have already begun floating the conspiracy theory that this weekend’s massacre and bombing in Norway was a “cover-up.” The talk show host said on his radio show today that Muslims were responsible for the attacks in Norway, and in an interview with WND doubled down on his claims, saying that he now believes that the attacks were “likely a fabrication of the Labour Party,” whose youth retreat was specifically targeted by the right-wing terrorist. Savage went on to essentially echo the rhetoric of the accused terrorist, Andres Behring Breivik, blaming “Eurosocialism,” progressivism, multiculturalism and immigration for the attacks and hoping that they lead to a backlash against Muslims:

The Islamic news angle, Savage said, has faded from the press since Breivik was fingered, even though the lone Norwegian committing both crimes seems to Savage a suspect possibility"The official story makes no sense," Savage told WND. "This looks like a classic conspiracy."

"This has all the appearances of a cover-up," Savage told WND. "They created their Reichstag fire. They found their Timothy McVeigh. They created their Jack Ruby. How could one man have blown up the downtown and then raced to the island to kill the teens?

"This is likely a fabrication of the Labour Party, who needs to hold onto power to enforce their multi-culturalist, Muslim-favoring, anti-nationalist views," he continued, "especially in light of the earlier 'credit' for this atrocity claimed by the radical Muslim group whose leader they were threatening to deport.

"The official story defies logic in the following sense as well," he continued, "if this lone right-winger hated Muslims, as the New York Times is reporting, then why did he slaughter his own people and not Muslims?"

…

Savage said "Norway's 9/11" could have been stopped, "but it grew far too long, nourished by the bile of Eurosocialism."

"I hoped that incidents like this," he said, "will lead Europeans to come to the defense of their own civilizations and clamp down on the hate and intolerance that takes perverse advantage of European tolerance and openness."

Fischer: Norway Terrorist's Manifesto Is "Accurate"

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 7/25/2011 1:48 pm

In today’s column, the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer says that after reading Norway terrorist Anders Behring Breivik’s manifesto, he concluded that Breivik’s “analysis of cultural trends in Europe and the danger created by Islamic immigration and inflitration [sic] is accurate,” adding that he strongly disagrees with Breivik’s violent means even though he agrees with Breivik’s diatribe against progressive politics and cultural diversity. Fischer contends that Breivik is not a Christian but instead should be considered a “jihadist,” writing that his close resemblance to Islamic terrorists shows that he is not a Christian (since apparently, for Fischer, terrorists cannot be Christian):

Much of his analysis of cultural trends in Europe and the danger created by Islamic immigration and inflitration [sic] is accurate. But clear thinking Westerners and every Christian I know believes these problems can be solved through public policy rather than mass murder. Breivik’s angst was caused by the presence of so many Muslims in Norway and Europe, which he correctly observes is leading to “cultural annihilation.’ But he blames their presence not on the Muslims themselves but on the “cultural Marxists” and their obsession with diversity and unrestricted Islamic immigration. So he went after the Marxists rather than the Muslims.

…

He assures his would-be jihadist colleagues, “The cultural factors are more important than your personal relationship with God, Jesus or the holy spirit (sic). Even Odinists can fight with us or by our side as brothers in this fight as long as they accept the founding principles of (the) Knights Templar...So no, you don’t need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist” (pp. 1360, 1361).

Breivik is counting on the indulgences offered all crusaders by Pope Urban II and Pope Innocent III, which guarantees entrance into heaven, and which is virtually no different than a Muslim’s conviction that killing people in the name of Allah is the only way to guarantee eternal life.

…

In sum, he sounds like a Nordic jihadist, much more like the 21st hijacker than anything else. Remember that the 9/11 hijackers partied down the night before they took the lives of 3000 Americans, since martyrdom in the cause was a guarantee of Paradise no matter what scummy things you were involved in even moments before. Take enough infidel dogs with you, entrance guaranteed. Breivik believed the same thing about taking down enough cultural Marxists and their young offspring.

Is Rick Perry a moderate? Perhaps, if the price is right.

Submitted by Miranda Blue on Wednesday, 7/20/2011 5:30 pm

Cross-Posted on the People For blog

Here at People For the American Way, we’ve spent the last several weeks marveling as Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans a blockbuster Christian prayer rally in Houston, gathering around him a remarkable collection of Religious Right extremists – from a pastor who claims that the Statue of Liberty is a “demonic idol” to a self-described “apostle” who blamed last year’s mysterious bird deaths in Arkansas on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Perry claims the event is apolitical, but it is conveniently timed to coincide with the possible launching of his presidential bid and bolstered by groups that are dedicated to working far-right evangelical values into American politics.

Which is why we were all surprised today to find a story in The Hill titled “At second glance, Texas Gov. Rick Perry not as conservative as some think.” Really?

The evidence presented for Perry’s maverick-moderate tilt is that the governor has taken some reasonable positions on immigration reform and that he once angered Religious Right groups by requiring that all 6th grade girls in the state receive a vaccine for HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical cancer.

Perry’s 2007 executive order requiring that the vaccine be offered to Texas’s sixth graders was a wonderful, progressive public health policy…but seemed a little odd coming from a far-right Texas governor. Interestingly, while the move angered Perry’s supporters on the Religious Right, it made one constituency very happy: lobbyists for Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical giant that manufactured the vaccine and stood to gain billions from the new law. The Associated Press reported at the time on the cozy relationship Merck had developed with the newly-reelected Texas governor:

Merck is bankrolling efforts to pass laws in state legislatures across the country mandating it Gardasil vaccine for girls as young as 11 or 12. It doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.

Details of the order were not immediately available, but the governor's office confirmed to The Associated Press that he was signing the order and he would comment Friday afternoon.

Perry has several ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.

Toomey was expected to be able to woo conservative legislators concerned about the requirement stepping on parent's rights and about signaling tacit approval of sexual activity to young girls. Delisi, as head of the House public health committee, which likely would have considered legislation filed by a Democratic member, also would have helped ease conservative opposition.

Perry also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

Maybe Gov. Perry just really cared about helping prevent an epidemic and helping girls in Texas receive good medical care. On the other hand, health care for Texans doesn’t seem to have been a major priority for Perry: by last year, the tenth year of his governorship, Texas ranked last in the country in terms of the percentage of the population with health insurance and the percentage of insured children.

The “Perry bucks the Religious Right for the health of young girls” story will probably continue to reappear as he continues to be lauded as the Republican Party’s last, best hope for 2012. But the full story in no way proves that Perry’s an independent-minded moderate. Instead, it offers a case study of the sometimes conflicting priorities of the Religious and Corporate Right, and a politician who tries to appease them both.

Right Wing Leftovers

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 7/5/2011 5:43 pm

Sarah Huckabee has been hired by Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign.

Peter LaBarbera complains that those who "practice sodomy ... get to jump to the head of the line in immigration."

If you are going to write a long profile of TVC's Lou Sheldon, can you please mention that he's the head of an anti-gay hate group?

I imagine that if some pilots had refused to fly Christian banners, the response from the Religious Right would have been universal outrage.

Finally, Bryan Fischer is on vacation ... but that isn't going to stop him from continuing his "gays commit hate crimes" crusade.

Immigration Posts Archive

Eagle Forum Assures Us That Bible's Mandate for 'Compassion' Does Not Include Immigrants

SUBMITTED BY: Miranda Blue, Wednesday 05/01/2013, 11:03am

Eagle Forum wants its members to know that the Christian conservative groups backing comprehensive immigration reform are reading their Bibles wrong. In an email to members today, Phyllis Schlafly’s group states in bold print, “Scripture is clear on many things, but a sovereign nation’s immigration policy is not one of them. There is no biblical mandate for mass Amnesty for illegal aliens.” Biblical prescriptions for “kindness and compassion to ‘strangers’ or ‘sojourners’” are meant only for people who are “in a foreign land... MORE

Gohmert Warns of FBI's 'Muslim Brotherhood Advisers' and Immigrants 'Rushing In'

SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Tuesday 04/30/2013, 2:35pm

Last week, Frank Gaffney spoke to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) to discuss immigration reform and the government’s response to the Boston Marathon attack. Gohmert, who has cited the bombing as a reason to oppose comprehensive immigration reform, told Gaffney that “millions” of immigrants will be “rushing in” over the border if Congress is poised to pass legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship. He even said that President Obama is “not going to ever secure the border” until Congress gives legal status to people who will “vote Democrat.... MORE

Krikorian Says GOP Shouldn't Bother Courting Hispanic Voters or 'Importing More of Them'

SUBMITTED BY: Miranda Blue, Tuesday 04/30/2013, 12:19pm

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies and a prominent voice on the anti-immigrant Right, argued yesterday that the Republican Party shouldn’t bother courting Hispanic voters because their “illegitimate” children, “high rates of welfare use,” and opposition to “reducing the size of government” make them an “an overwhelmingly Democratic voter group.” Krikorian is one of the most prominent figures in the effort to stop comprehensive immigration reform. He was invited to be a GOP witness at a Senate hearing... MORE

Schlafly Wonders Why Immigration Officials Didn’t Check if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Was Lying in his Citizenship Oath

SUBMITTED BY: Miranda Blue, Tuesday 04/30/2013, 11:25am

Phyllis Schlafly has been on a tear after the Boston Marathon bombings, using the tragedy to call for the reinstatement of the House Un-American Activities Committee and a hold on comprehensive immigration reform. In a syndicated column today, the Eagle Forum founder seizes on a report that some of the bombing suspects’ family members – all legal immigrants – received occasional welfare and food stamp assistance. “Tamerlan [Tsarnaev] can be said to have financed his radicalization with welfare handouts from our taxpayers,” she charges. She is also shocked that... MORE

Schlafly: Immigration Reform 'Suicide' for GOP Because Immigrants Want a 'Handout'

SUBMITTED BY: Miranda Blue, Monday 04/29/2013, 2:16pm

Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly dropped by the Steve Malzberg Show on NewsMax TV recently to discuss the bipartisan Gang of Eight’s efforts on comprehensive immigration reform. Schlafly told Malzberg that creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would be “suicide for the Republican Party because they’re going to vote Democratic.” Schlafly predicts that immigrants will vote for Democrats “because they come from a country where there’s no tradition or expectation of limited government” and “think government should be there... MORE

Erik Rush: 'We Have Far More Human Garbage in This Country Than We Ever Ought to Have Tolerated'

SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Thursday 04/25/2013, 11:00am

WorldNetDaily columnist Erik Rush, who has called for the mass incarceration of liberals and the murder of all Muslims, writes today that, thanks to liberals, “émigrés from Third World toilets” have come to America and now “we have far more human garbage in this country than we ever ought to have tolerated.” According to Rush, the left has planned “to destabilize America” by promoting “radical Marxism” and “radical Islam” until we are all pushed “into dhimmitude.” If it hasn’t become evident by now:... MORE

Bachmann Endorses WND Prayer Event that Likens Homosexuality to Terrorism

SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Tuesday 04/23/2013, 11:50am

Michele Bachmann has heartily endorsed the WorldNetDaily prayer effort to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks by praying against terrorism, nuclear war and homosexuality. WND editor and birther leader Joseph Farah claimed today that the day of prayer is needed to stop comprehensive immigration reform, the government’s supposed plans to stockpile weapons to “impose de facto firearms restrictions on citizens” and gay rights advocates who seek to “make the citizenry of Sodom and Gomorrah blush.” Have you ever had the feeling the nation is on the brink... MORE

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Immigration

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Is Rick Perry a moderate? Perhaps, if the price is right.

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