Vision America head Rick Scarborough, a Texas religious-right activist and pioneering organizer of politically-oriented “patriot pastors,” is continuing to plan out his 2007-2008 campaign, “Seventy Weeks to Renew America.” In recent years, the “patriot pastor” model has been closely tied to partisan electoral efforts, most notably Ken Blackwell’s bid for governor of Ohio in 2006; Scarborough’s effort that year in Missouri was at least nominally limited to opposing a referendum on stem-cell research, although Republican Sen. Jim Talent was no doubt aided by Vision America’s church events. (The amendment passed and Talent lost.)
But this far before November, 2008, there’s neither a clear issue at stake nor a presumptive candidate for Scarborough to support, making his “major effort to enlist 100,000 Values Voters, 10,000 key leaders, 5,000 Patriot Pastors and 5,000 women – who will pray for national renewal and who will vote their Christian values on election day 2008” a seem somewhat nebulous. Nevertheless, a “Patriot Pastor”-driven political machine as Scarborough hopes to build would be nothing to sneeze at, no matter who wins the Republican presidential nomination.
Vision America’s PR firm has uploaded this video segment to GodTube, in which Scarborough offers a preview to church audiences of his “One Day Crusade to Save America.” Appearing with Scarborough will be Gordon Klingenschmitt, the former Navy chaplain who declared himself a martyr cut down by the military policy of non-sectarian prayer at certain types of events, and former presidential and senate candidate Alan Keyes (who is pictured arguing that the Constitution forbids Congress from preventing the establishment of religion). “You’re the greatest fear of the left: a church united and mobilized,” shouts Scarborough.
Also available from Vision America are a sample program and press release:
___________________________ (church) will serve as the local host church for the national ONE DAY CRUSADE TO SAVE AMERICA rally led by Dr. Rick Scarborough of Vision America located in Texas. The rally will be held _________________ ( date) at _________ (time).
The mission of the rally is to motivate and train Christian men and women to enter the public square and articulate their Christian faith, to vote their values, and to be salt and light in their communities. The rally is non-partisan in nature and purpose.
