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September 23, 2006

Christians with Values Told to Vote Republican

Christian leaders, activists and politicians have gathered in Washington, DC for the Values Voter Summit, a slick conference sponsored by the Family Research Council, Americans United to Preserve Marriage, the American Family Association, and Focus on the Family in an effort to shore up lagging Christian support for Republicans. The group is discussing abortion, school prayer, gay marriage, judicial reform, feminism, liberal media, the "millions of Muslims" who want us all dead, and "the role of the church in political issues" – and they even have a session on "exposing liberal groups." The conference is clearly Christian and Republican, and its name smacks of the ignorant belief that only Christian Republicans have "values."

Noteworthy speakers at the Values Voter Summit include Senator George Allen (R-VA) (of "macaca" fame), Gary Bauer, Bill Bennett, Brent Bozell, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Anne Coulter, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Newt Gingrich, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Sean Hannity, Katherine Harris, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Ron Luce (Founder of Teen Mania youth ministries), Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Tony Perkins, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Tony Snow, and Paul Weyrich. Notably absent are John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

To ensure the attending theocratic patriots don't miss the whole point of their get-together, the schedule for Friday began with an invocation (prayer), the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem. This morning's political discussions began with a session of "praise and worship." Emphasizing the point, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and former Virginia Attorney Generak Mark Earley spoke at a session entitled "Attorney General in the Culture War." Today's program features a session entitled, "In Defense of Mixing Church and State from Acts 16" (read at least one person's view on this subject here).

Press who have attended the events so far are reporting that attendees are being urged to set aside their frustrations with President Bush and turn out for Republican candidates (42% of white evangelicals disapprove of the job Bush is doing). Because only Republicans have values, don't you know. As James Dobson put it, "There is no choice, because the alternative is terrible." Pastors are being urged to press the social conservative agenda from the pulpit and ignore the threat of IRS investigations. Speakers are offering pastors advice on how far they can push the line without crossing it (of course, the individuals giving the advice are not attorneys – and as Americans United for Separation of Church and State points out, they are giving bad advice).

Attendees were treated to a sneak preview of the epic motion picture "One Night with the King," the Old Testament story of Esther, which will be released in theaters on Friday the 13th of October. Interestingly, the book of Esther, believed to be a true story by much of the Christian world, is actually a Hebrew modification of the ancient Egyptian astrological story of Ishtar and wasn't originally included in the Bible. True or not, its message of Providence and Divine rescue is sure to strike a chord in the hearts of a frightened populace - something which has not been overlooked by event planners.

Speakers are conflating the war on terrorism with family values, saying that we must protect our families and characterizing current world events as a war between Christianity and Islam. James Dobson told attendees, "millions of Muslims want to kill us," and went on to explain:

We have more than 100 members of the press here. I want to make it very, very clear that we are not saying, at least I'm not saying that all Muslims are violent, that all of them want to kill us, that all of them are terrorists. I want to tell you this. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world and a small percentage of a big number is a very big number. And out of 1.2 billion, the estimates I've seen are indicate that somewhere between 10 and 15 percent do buy into the notion that jihad calls for the killing of infidels.

In a nutshell, Christian voters are getting a very clear message from the non-profit, non-partisan sponsors of this Value Voter Summit: Set aside your disappointment over Republicans' lack of commitment to your "values" like gay marriage, abortion, and liberal media. Don't hold them accountable for breaking their promises to you. Because the Democrats are worse – much worse. And they won't protect you from the biggest threat of all – Muslims who want to kill you.

Posted by Becky at September 23, 2006 11:12 AM