Who is Hijacking Our Government?; Vol. 3, Sect. 1

When We Weren't Looking         Vol. 3, Sect. 1

Who is Hijacking Our Government?

Christian Extremists (CEs) have an agenda.  And they are moving state by state to carry it out.  Using stealth tactics, they infiltrate school boards, city councils, state legislatures.  Once in office, they change existing policies and laws, enacting new ones which favor their extremist agenda. 

School boards are especially vulnerable, where CE members make it easier to teach Creationism in Science class, to promote abstinence education in place of comprehensive sex education, and to ban books.  As an example, The American Library Association lists the most frequently challenged books, among them:  Where’s Waldo, Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic, Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World, To Kill a Mockingbird, The ‘What’s Happening to My Body?’ Book for Girls, Huckleberry Finn, A Wrinkle in Time, and Harry Potter.

How do they get away with it?  Because most people aren’t paying close enough attention.

When You Hear…

When you hear that George W. Bush is holding a press conference to promote the Federal Marriage Amendment, when there is absolutely NO EVIDENCE that gay marriage threatens the institution of marriage, then that is Christian Extremists at work, pressuring legislators to drive this issue into the forefront.

When you hear that “Bush introduced ‘faith-based funding,’ reassured the nation that he was not going to fund proselytizing, and then managed over the course of several years to move that funding increasingly into the hands of organizations that do in fact actively promote their particular version of Christianity,” (1) then that is CEs at work.  A new book Tempting Faith, by David Kuo, a former staffmember in the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, details corruption and bias.  “The [faith-based] office  was literally a taxpayer-funded part of the Republican campaign machinery,” as Republican strategists staged grant training sessions in states with key elections.  Kuo also exposes bias, stating that many grant applications were denied solely on the basis that they were from non-Christian groups.  (http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=8621&JServSessionIdr007=kl2kdudi92.app5b)

When you hear that “so-called ‘patriot pastors’ are mobilizing to deliver one-sided messages [in the Ohio gubernatorial race] about social policy, secular laws, and even political candidates,” that is CEs at work.  Russell Johnson, senior pastor at Ohio’s Fairfield Christian Church says, “When it came time to find a leader, we found one, Ken Blackwell, who said yes, marriage is defined by the Bible as one man and a woman, and I will stand with you.”  (From a newsbrief, WCET.pbs.org regarding a NOW program.)

When you hear that a reception for Kenneth Blackwell was held by the Council for National Policy, which is an ultra-secretive coalition of far-right religious leaders and multi-millionaire business executives, then that is CEs at work. What few know is that CNP is known to include former Klansmen, homophobes, sexists, and militarists among others, and has counted Dobson, LaHaye, Falwell, Perkins, Schlafly, and Rushdoony among its members. George W. has met with them. 

When you hear Katherine Harris (GOP senate candidate for Florida) said “separation of church and state” is a “lie” and added, “If you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin,” (Houston Chronicle, 9/06) then that is CEs at work.

Another Way of Looking At It

My view of politicians is that they should listen to and represent the views of the people they serve, that they should consider all of the evidence before rendering decisions—not to blindly vote a religious agenda.  As Barack Obama so eloquently said, in a speech on June 28, 2006:

“Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”

I wrote to Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, asking him to oppose a bill which would restrict access to abortion, detailing the undo hardships the measure would place upon low-income women or those in rural areas or with serious health conditions.  He responded:

“I have consistently voted for pro-life issues, and my views on the sanctity of life remain the same.” 

Does that sound like someone who considers the impact upon real people, or one who votes a religious agenda?

Some of you are still skeptical, that the Christian Right has any REAL influence… 

Hijacking our Voting Booths

James Dobson and his group Focus on the Family are being accused of “electioneering”:  “Dobson and his Religious Right fellow travelers think they must restore America as a ‘Christian Nation’…where his narrow brand of Christianity controls every facet of our lives…”

“In a recent e-mail alert to supporters, Dobson’s FOF sought volunteers for a far-reaching, get-out-the evangelical-vote operation that targets eight states where there are hotly contested political races:  Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Minnesota, Montana, and Tennessee…The operatives [church coordinators] will be assigned to pressure evangelical churches into offering political sermons…”  (2, AU Blog)

“Organizers of the drive say they pay careful attention to the law—focusing on registering voters and discussion of values, not endorsing a specific candidate or party…In Ohio…3 million bulletins detailing voter registration procedures [are] to be placed in publications distributed by 15,000 churches. The group will also distribute voter guides listing candidates’ views on same-sex marriage, abortion, stem-cell research and other hot-button issues.”  (“Conservatives Put Faith in Church Voter Drives,” New York Times, 8/15/06)

“A Religious Right-sponsored ‘Values Voter Summit’…[a] supposedly non-partisan event…[is] sponsored jointly by political affiliates of Focus on the Family [James Dobson], the Family Research Council [Tony Perkins] and other Religious Right groups.  It features a line-up of GOP officeholders and presidential aspirants. No Democrats appear among the announced speakers…Dobson has been personally endorsing candidates and engaging in other partisan activities.  Most recently, he spoke in Pittsburgh at a ‘Stand for the Family Rally’ that political observers say was designed to boost embattled U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA).”  (2, AU Newsbrief, 9/22/06)

“Proponents of a constitutional ban on gay marriage in Virginia are tapping black churches, hosting luncheons for clergy, speaking before ministerial conventions, and adding staffers with connections among black ministers. The [Family] Foundation, a major force behind the proposed constitutional amendment, has targeted some 3,000 churches, about 20 percent of them headed by black or Latino pastors….Pastors are being buffeted with booklets and DVDs, church bulletin inserts and ‘pastor packets’ detailing what the amendment means and how to explain it to congregations.” (“In Gay Marriage Debate, Minority Clergy Enlisted in Battle,” by Dionne Walker, Associated Press, 9/2/06.)

Another Way of Looking At It

CEs have found a way to further their agenda: USE our churches to make political inroads.  Far from promoting a democratic process, they do not present balanced information; they show one side to issues like abortion, stem-cell research, and gay rights, neglecting to show the negative impact on real people, real families.  Unfortunately, their arguments are persuasive (as all propaganda is), and voters may not know the other side of the issue so that they can make an informed decision at the voting booth. 

CEs use fear tactics (like since life begins at the moment of conception, it is sinful to kill an embryo or terminate a pregnancy, or that marriage and thus families will cease to exist if we allow gay marriage) and misinformation (like that God condemns homosexuality, that homosexuals can choose to be straight, and that stem-cell research destroys life).  They use propaganda language, like “values voters,” to imply that if you don’t agree with their narrow view of morality, then YOU are not moral. 

But this is only the beginning…

Sincerely M.A.D.,

K. Canaday, Who Will NOT Be a Bystander

For More Information

(1)        The Left Hand of God; Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right, book by Rabbi Michael Lerner

(2)            Americans United for Separation of Church and State, www.au.org

(3)        Pro-Choice America, www.naral.org

(4)        Piety & Politics, by Reverend Barry Lynn.  “The rise of the Religious Right as a political force has placed the separation of church and state at grave risk.  Perhaps never before in American history has a liberty so important been so imperiled.  Piety & Politics offers a compelling analysis of both the gravity of the danger and the hypocrisy behind it that fanaticism is being practiced by the very people whose faith counsels tolerance.” —Kate Michelman, former president, NARAL Pro-Choice America

(5)            Frontline online info from “The Last Abortion Clinic,”  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/clinic/

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M.A.D. = Make A Difference. “When We Weren't Looking” is an informal newsletter.  Information is accurate to the best of my ability.  I am a freelance writer, Christian wife, and mother  who believes that Christianity is about Love, and Christian Extremists are promoting an agenda that is Anti-Christian. My mission: to provide tools for personal education on social and political issues;  to encourage involvement in the political process, including voting as well as contacting elected officials to let them know how you stand on an issue and how you would like them to vote on impending legislation.