« Rod Parsley
March 21, 2008
Double Standards
Although it wasn’t surprising to see John McCain spend much of the past few years courting the Religious Right in advance of securing the Republican presidential nomination, he continued to pander even after his primary victory was all but finalized. Beginning with his speech to the right-wing activists at CPAC—which followed shortly after his main rival, Mitt Romney, dropped out—McCain seemed to step up his embrace of the fringe, picking up more and more endorsements, campaigning with apocalyptic televangelist John Hagee and “Patriot Pastor” Rod Parsley, and reaching out to the Council for National Policy.
McCain’s search for religious-right support might have raised a few flags. Hagee, for example, frames his support for Israel in terms of the end times, going as far as warning that any U.S. foreign policy decision that isn’t “pro-Israel” enough will result in God bringing a “blood bath” of terrorist attacks to America. Hagee also identifies the Catholic Church as the “great whore” of Revelation (a characterization he now denies) and said Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment on a sinful city.
When confronted with some of Hagee’s extreme views, McCain simply responded “all I can tell you is that I am very proud to have Pastor John Hagee’s support.'’ After a lot of pressure from the Catholic League, McCain finally issued a bland statement: “I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee’s, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics.”
Indeed, McCain would have had difficulty criticizing Hagee any further—much less call the pastor out on his “profoundly distorted view of this country,” to quote Barack Obama’s critique of Rev. Jeremiah Wright—because McCain had sought out Hagee precisely for his extreme stance and the religious-right constituency he can reach.
Just as McCain sought out Hagee for his political clout, it was politics that brought McCain and Ohio televangelist Rod Parsley together on the campaign. When McCain brought Parsley on stage and called him a “spiritual guide,” that didn’t mean the senator had sent the Word of Faith preacher a financial “seed” in hopes that God would bolster his campaign contributions. Instead, McCain was embracing Parsley’s far-right political views and the political machine of “Patriot Pastors” he leads.
David Limbaugh, one of the many right-wing commentators who dismissed Obama’s speech on his pastor, claimed there was a “double standard” when it came to conservatives: “When the remotest connection can be inferred between a conservative and a bigoted supporter, there is always hell to pay.”
But in fact the opposite double standard seems to be in play: While Obama continues to be attacked for his personal relationship with a pastor whose controversial political ideology he’s rejected, McCain’s ongoing ideological relationship with the far Right—consisting, in essence, of him telling them he embraces their political views—remains unconnected to McCain’s political reputation.
Posted by Ezra at 12:45 PM | Permalink
March 6, 2008
Rod Parsley, John McCain's 'Spiritual Guide'
A number of media outlets have picked up on John McCain’s embrace of fringe televangelist John Hagee, although (thanks in part to the Catholic League’s efforts) the focus has been on Hagee’s anti-Catholic sentiment rather than the pastor’s far-right political views or his obsession that Israel must be defeated by a Russian-Arab military alliance, perhaps preceded by a U.S. invasion of Iran, in order to usher in Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus.
But few have paid attention to the other far-right televangelist McCain embraced last week, Rod Parsley.
You won’t hear Parsley rail against Catholics, but you will hear him rail against gays, abortion, Islam, judges, and People For the American Way. And in Ohio, he has built a political machine of partisan “Patriot Pastors” who will turn their churches into get-out-the-vote campaigns.
Posted by Ezra at 12:01 PM | Permalink
February 27, 2008
McCain Brings Parsley on Stage—Get Ready for 'Patriot Pastors' Campaign
“A spiritual invasion is taking place!” shouted Rod Parsley at the “War on Christians” conference in 2006. “… Man your battle stations! Ready your weapons! Lock and load!” Parsley, an Ohio megachurch pastor and televangelist, promised to build an army of “Patriot Pastors” to march to the polls, an even bolder political machine than the one he led in 2004 that helped pass an anti-gay amendment in the state and nudge George W. Bush to reelection. Parsley’s 2006 candidate, Ken Blackwell, ultimately lost the governor’s race, but the televangelist remains an outsized political force, and his “Patriot Pastors” machine is still a model for church-based electoral organizing—as demonstrated by Mike Huckabee’s surprise win in Iowa.
Thus far, Parsley has kept his distance from the presidential race, while continuing to use his TV show to oppose abortion and hate-crimes protections. But now he’s jumped in to help John McCain lock up the Republican nomination. From the Columbus Dispatch:
McCain campaigned yesterday in Cincinnati, where he appeared with the Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church of Columbus. McCain called Parsley a "spiritual guide," while Parsley later labeled McCain a "strong, true, consistent conservative." …
Parsley shared the stage with McCain during a rally at Hamilton County Memorial Hall in Cincinnati but didn't speak.
In a later interview, Parsley said he supports McCain because the senator will be tough on national security and "protect the unborn."
The megachurch pastor, criticized in the past for mixing religion and politics, acknowledged that McCain isn't the ideal candidate for evangelical Christians, who overwhelmingly backed President Bush in 2004.
"Yet at the same time, when you put John McCain up against Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, the ideological and philosophical differences are overwhelming," Parsley said.
While the results of next Tuesday’s GOP primary vote in Ohio are all but certain, Parsley’s intervention suggests that he may deploy his “Patriot Pastor” machine on behalf of McCain ahead of November, when the state is likely to be a closely-fought “battleground” yet again.
Recent polling suggests that no matter how much time McCain has spent recently pandering to far-right activists, he still retains the positive image of a political “maverick.” That air of bipartisanship is difficult to reconcile with McCain’s decision to campaign side-by-side with Parsley, a figure who has taken partisanship to apocalyptic levels, translating the Republican-Democrat divide into spiritual warfare.
(AP photo of McCain and Parsley.)
Posted by Ezra at 3:59 PM | Permalink
February 5, 2008
Easy Targets
The infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision—declaring enslaved blacks to be property and presaging the Civil War—is often invoked by opponents of abortion rights, who make the analogy that Roe v. Wade is to fetuses as Dred Scott is to African Americans. Rod Parsley does them one better, arguing that Roe v. Wade is to African Americans just as Dred Scott is to African Americans.
Last week, the Ohio televangelist used his TV show to claim that reproductive health-care providers were trying to “exterminate” African Americans. On Sunday he aired a sermon version of the same argument—and paired it with a get-out-the-vote message for his viewers in Super Tuesday states. Warning that a candidate victorious in today’s primaries will likely become president, and will appoint Supreme Court justices and sign or veto abortion legislation, Parsley’s show told viewers, “Our democracy is too important for Christians to be silent any more.”
Parsley appears to have largely abstained from campaigning around the presidential election so far, but it’s hard to imagine him being apolitical in the coming year. In 2004 and 2006, Parsley and Russell Johnson, another Columbus-area megachurch pastor, teamed up to run a church-based political machine driving the successful anti-gay marriage initiative and the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Ken Blackwell. Calling themselves “Patriot Pastors,” they vowed to wage war against their political opponents—“secular jihadists,” the “forces of darkness,” and the “hordes of hell.”
The Cleveland Plain Dealer caught up with Parsley’s comrade Johnson, who headed the Ohio Restoration Project alongside Parsley’s Reformation Ohio. The groups promised to save souls while moving hundreds of thousands of voters to the polls, all while hosting candidate Blackwell at events around the state. Johnson promises more “Patriot Pastor”-style organizing—but without being so blatant about it:
Johnson said he expects that Ohio's Christian leadership will become more active once primary season is over, with varying emphasis on social issues, economics and national security from a conservative point of view. …
Johnson said political activity among preachers might look a little different than it did in the past, when he and the Rev. Parsley and their Patriot Pastors movement drew accusations of violating their churches' tax-exempt status by campaigning for Blackwell. (The pastors denied that they officially backed any particular candidate.)
In any case, leaders don't want to become "an easy target," Johnson says, so they are unlikely to give themselves a moniker. But they will be spreading information through e-mail networks, creating discussion groups and voter guides, and urging people to "get registered, get informed, go vote and take somebody with you."
Posted by Ezra at 5:46 PM | Permalink
January 31, 2008
Parsley and Hunter: Planned Parenthood = Hitler
As the nation celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. last week, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council wrote of what he called the “irony” of the fact that anti-abortion activists choose the same day to rally in Washington: Hoping to piggyback on the civil rights movement, historically never allied with the Religious Right, Perkins implied that reproductive health-care providers are really motivated by a desire to “exterminate” black people.
Tandem with efforts by the Religious Right to recruit African American churches, the idea that abortion providers are trying to wipe out blacks is being heavily promoted on the far right, thanks to the efforts of the Life Education and Resource Network (LEARN) and BlackGenocide.org. (The group was featured on this “700 Club” report in 2006.)
Johnny Hunter of LEARN was a guest on televangelist Rod Parsley’s show this week:
“Roe v. Wade doesn’t have to be overturned. The hearts and minds of this nation must be overturned,” said Hunter.
Posted by Ezra at 5:45 PM | Permalink
September 17, 2007
Rod Parsley on Hate Crimes
In their opposition to the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, which extends federal protections to victims of violent crime targeted because of sexual orientation, many religious-right activists have taken a rhetorical short-cut, skipping claims of a “slippery slope” and asserting—against the explicit text of the bill—that it would target speech or religion. Ohio televangelist and megachurch pastor Rod Parsley, an increasingly influential political figure on the Right, dedicated his cable show to advancing this idea last week. From Wednesday’s “Rod Parsley” show on TBN (re-run on Friday):
The world, and the Enemy of our soul are making an all-out assault on our religious freedoms, and they’re leading the charge with proposed federal hate crimes legislation. …
This deceptive ploy of liberal, homosexual agenda begins to lose its allure once you pull the mask back and take a closer look. You see, the legislation that’s before our United States senators right now extends to speech and can punish people—hear me now—not for their actions, but for their culturally incorrect thoughts.
This legislation could become law, and you and I could find ourselves forbidden to speak from God’s word right here in America. I could no longer share my heart with you, on critical issues, such as this, through the medium of television, or even from the pulpit of my own church. …
[T]he next person charged with a crime could be me, or your pastor, or your grandmother, or maybe YOU.
Of course, when you “pull the mask back” on the Religious Right’s campaign against the bill, you find something completely different: a law that would only apply to violent crimes, and that specifically states that it does not apply to speech or religious expression.
On a segment that aired Tuesday and Thursday, Parsley compared hate-crimes protections to George Orwell’s novel “1984,” and asserted the existence of a conspiracy “whose sole intent is to limit traditional biblical thinking and biblical speaking”:
[I]t stands to reason that there's something else here, some underlying insidious motive. In my book, "Silent No More," I touch on this very issue. In Chapter Four I wrote: "The fact is the Homosexual world is rife with revolutionary rhetoric... and it has carefully mobilized itself to translate that rhetoric into action. Ready or not, here they come." The radical agenda of these few activists is all too open and obvious. We cannot ignore the fact that a war is being raged against our belief system---against our very thoughts! ...
Make no mistake about it: There is an agenda of "culturally correct" propaganda at work in the legislative branch of our government, whose sole intent is to limit traditional biblical thinking and biblical speaking, including God's views on homosexuality.
The programs also featured brief segments of Bishop Harry Jackson, who claimed that Martin Luther King would be “against this kind of hate-speech [sic] legislation.” Jackson’s High-Impact Leadership Coalition previously ran newspaper ads claiming the bill would “muzzle our pulpits.”
Posted by Ezra at 5:46 PM | Permalink
September 11, 2007
Religious Right Warns English-Arabic School 'Incubator' for Terrorists
“Dual-language classes give U.S. an edge,” read the headline of an AP story printed last Tuesday in the right-wing Washington Times, lauding New York City’s 67 schools that offer instruction in English plus immersion in a foreign language to student bodies comprised of about half native English speakers and half children with a background in the other language. The two-way immersion approach has not been without pedagogical controversy, but programs in French, Spanish, Chinese, Creole, and other languages have not produced widespread criticism. That changed with the proposal of a dual-language program for Arabic.
The Kahlil Gibran International Academy opened last week following months of backlash from commentators such as Daniel Pipes, founder of the Middle East Forum and a columnist for the conservative New York Sun. A New York City-based group called Stop the Madrassa formed and some Religious Right groups joined in, warning that the school would become a training ground for Islamist extremism.
“Step Aside, English-Speaking Christians,” warned Rod Parsley’s Center for Moral Clarity, claiming the school will “indoctrinate young people in customs of a racist, sexist and intolerant culture.” The Catholic League held a rally to protest the school, and joined Stop the Madrassa to form a group to counter the teaching of “Islamic culture.” And the Thomas More Law Center’s Richard Thompson declared that the school “is a Trojan horse” for “homegrown terrorists”:
This proposed public school is nothing more than an incubator for the radicalization that leads to terrorism … Rather than use the public school system to assimilate Muslims and other immigrants into American culture, New York City is doing everything it can to keep them isolated – a target rich environment for recruiting potential new homegrown terrorists and a recipe for a future 911 disaster, according to my read of the NYPD Report.
As uncomfortable as it makes one feel, we must understand that the political goal of radical Islam is to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture. And the KGIA is a Trojan Horse New York City is building for radical Islam with taxpayer money.
Problems caused by the limited number of Arabic-speaking Americans in Iraq have been widely reported. That may be why the federal government offers funding for K-12 instruction in Arabic, Chinese, and other critical foreign languages. The Gibran Academy's curriculum, posted online, shows standard social studies and math along with Arabic language instruction. Nevertheless, opponents remain committed to their apprehensions: “The burden to prove that it's not a madrassa is on them…” as one member of Stop the Madrassa said.
Posted by Ezra at 3:20 PM | Permalink
August 15, 2007
Parsley Group, Fearing Protections for Gays, Dreams of President-for-Life
Anti-gay groups cheered when President Bush (apparently) promised to veto hate-crimes protections for gays and lesbians, but the Center for Moral Clarity – the political arm of “Patriot Pastor” Rod Parsley – warns activists not to rest, because “[u]nfortunately,” Bush won’t hold the office “forever.”
Restating the false claim that the hate-crimes bill – which targets violent crimes – would somehow impede religious expression, the Center urges its supporters to continue pressuring Congress, and to oppose presidential candidates who lack a “biblical worldview.”
Unfortunately, George W. won't be president forever. The next person occupying the Oval Office might be willing - maybe even eager - to criminalize our thoughts.
Christians who want to continue speaking the Gospel's truth without fear of arrest and prosecution should not be content to let the probability of a presidential veto become the resolution. Christians need to understand that a person's worldview influences his or her views on public policy and law making; they can't be divorced. A president without a biblical worldview will feel no compulsion to protect evangelism.
Posted by Ezra at 4:50 PM | Permalink
June 14, 2007
CBN Buys 'Patriot Pastors' Spin on Electioneering
In the past year, the IRS has investigated some churches over whether their political advocacy exceeded their non-profit parameters in the tax code -- in which contributions are private and tax deductible – and pushed into the realm of regulated political action committees that give up some of the subsidies for charity and are required to disclose their work on behalf of candidates for office. Yesterday, reporter Michael Haverluck of Pat Robertson’s CBN looked at this complex issue, and whittled it down to its corresponding far-right talking point:
Will pastors' ability to speak to their congregations about social and moral issues erode, or will their appeals to the First Amendment protect this right?
Haverluck cited as an example the activities of World Harvest Church of Ohio, led by televangelist Rod Parsley. Parsley, along with fellow Columbus-area megachurch pastor Russell Johnson, partnered with Ken Blackwell for a series of church “policy briefings” and political rallies, encouraging pastors across the state to mobilize their members to “vote their values” – all while Blackwell was running for governor. At issue was not “speak[ing] … about social and moral issues” so much as the pastors’ apparently brazen use of their churches to campaign for a candidate. Their efforts to build a new church-based political machine are described in People For the American Way’s report on these so-called “Patriot Pastors.”
In Haverluck’s telling, Parsley just happened to bump into Blackwell a couple of times:
Though Pastor Rod Parsley invited Republican and Democratic candidates to World Harvest Church's events, only Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell showed up.
Blackwell is a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and gay marriage. His stance on these issues with Parsley motivated 56 liberal clergy to call for in an IRS investigation.
One complaint accuses Parsley of supporting Blackwell's run for governor by letting him speak at events. Another claims that Parsley planned on having Blackwell on his radio spots, a baseless allegation denied by the pastor and the politician.
It is also contested without evidence that Parsley's "Reformation Ohio" project, aiming to register 400,000 new voters, seeks only conservatives.
In fact, Parsley and Johnson hosted Blackwell as the featured guest speaker at numerous events, in which the candidate was honored with some award or endorsed explicitly from the stage. Parsley even flew Blackwell to one “Patriot Pastor” function on a church-owned plane. This campaign was only part of a broader agenda to promote Blackwell at bigger and bigger rallies featuring famous religious-right leaders, leading up to the primary election and beyond, and indeed including radio spots featuring Blackwell. The radio spots and the rallies with James Dobson never materialized, but far from being a “baseless allegation,” this plan was posted publicly on Johnson’s “Ohio Restoration Project” web site in 2005: you can read it here.
Blackwell’s lopsided loss in 2006 was certainly a major setback to Parsley’s efforts to build a “Patriot Pastor” political machine, but don’t count the charismatic pastor out: His new book, “Culturally Incorrect,” is currently 15 on Publisher’s Weekly’s bestseller list.
Posted by Ezra at 4:55 PM | Permalink
June 1, 2007
Abstinence-Only Industrial Complex
Rod Parsley’s Center for Moral Clarity is calling its supporters to urge Congress to maintain federal funding for abstinence-only sex ed programs, which have come under fire in the past for inaccuracy and religious content, as well as plain ineffectiveness: a study ordered by Congress reported in April that the programs simply don’t stop teens from having sex. Warning that some members of Congress are opposed to “teaching teens virtue” and plan not to renew some of the funding, the Center writes: “Every parent should be concerned about the dire consequences ahead if Congress stops promoting healthy relationships and instead gambles on ‘safe sex.’”
Meanwhile, a report in the Nation examines how the billion dollars spent on abstinence-only has created an industry marked by “a mix of back-scratching cronyism, hefty partisan campaign donations, high-dollar lobbyists, a revolving door for political appointees and a lack of concern for results.”
One of the chief cooks is a media-shy 63-year-old Catholic multimillionaire, welfare privatizer and Republican donor named Raymond Ruddy. With close ties to the White House, federal health officials and Republican power brokers that date back to W.'s days as Texas governor, Ruddy has leveraged his generous wallet and insider muscle to push an ultraconservative social agenda, enrich a preferred network of abstinence-only and antiabortion groups, boost profits for his company and line the pockets of his cronies--all with taxpayer dollars.
Following the money swirling around Ruddy offers an eye-opening glimpse into the squalor at the heart of the abstinence-only project. One top Bush adviser left to take a job at Ruddy's charity, Gerard Health Foundation, and a senior officer at Ruddy's for-profit company, Maximus, left to take a top-level position at the Department of Health and Human Services. Leaders of Christian-right organizations that are Gerard grantees have gained advisory HHS positions--and their organizations have in turn received AIDS and abstinence grants to the tune of at least $25 million. Maximus itself has raked in more than $100 million in federal contracts during the Bush era.
Posted by Ezra at 5:54 PM | Permalink
Older Rod Parsley posts: