This is Part VI. Read:

Part I, "Tempting Faith: Bush's 'Faith Based' Initiative a Scam"

PART II, "Tempting Faith: Bush Betrays Christian Conservatives"

PART III, "Tempting Faith: Bush Admin: Christian Cons are "Nuts", "Ridiculous""

In Part IV, Kuo reveals the administration's deliberate and conscious discrimination of non-Christian and otherwise non-Bush-supportive groups.

Clearly this is the most egregious trespass (among many) to American values laid out in Kuo's book -- a clear desecration of the first amendment.

Kuo charges that "the White House's own rationale for pushing the faith-based initiative -- an effort to make it easier for churches and other sectarian organizations to receive federal social-service funding -- was bogus."

(More over the flip...)

This is Part III. Read:

Part I, "Tempting Faith: Bush's 'Faith Based' Initiative a Scam"

and PART II, "Tempting Faith: Bush Betrays Christian Conservatives"

In Part III, Kuo reveals the Administration's disdain for and mockery of Bush's conservative Christian base.

...the book includes charges that high-ranking White House officials referred to prominent conservative Christian leaders as "nuts" behind their backs,

[...]

"National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous,' 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy,'" Kuo wrote. He added that top political officials in White House aide Karl Rove's office referred to the leaders as "the nuts."

Read Also:

Part IV, "Tempting Faith: Bush Admin Admits Discriminating Against Non-Christians"

This is Part II. Read: Part I, "Tempting Faith: Bush's 'Faith Based' Initiative a Scam"

In Part II, Kuo reveals the knife that the administration brazenly inserted into the back of their alleged allies.

Olbermann: "Kuo cites one example after another of a White House that repeatedly uses Evangelical Christians for their votes while consistently giving them nothing in return."

Olbermann: So, how does the Bush White House keep the 'nuts' turning out at the polls? One way, regular conference calls with groups lead by Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Ted Haggard, and radio hosts like Michael Reagan. ... They did get some things from the Bush White House, like the National Day of Prayer. ... Or 'Little trinkets like cufflinks or pens or pads of paper were passed out like business cards. Christian leaders could give them to their congregations or donors or friends to show just how influential they were.'"

Olbermann: "When cufflinks were not enough, the White House played the Jesus card, reminding Christian leaders that 'He knew the president's faith' and begging for patience.

(More over the flip...)

Yet another ex-Bush White House official is coming clean on the flagrant dishonesty, shameless politicization, and arrogant self-absorption of the current administration.

This time it's David Kuo, the former number two person in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Kuo, a self-described conservative evangelical, offers the inside scoop on the administration's pursuit of Christian conservative votes even as they mocked them behind their backs.

The full story, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction (Still unreleased, his book is currently the #13 Best Seller at Amazon), will be released on October 16. But MSNBC's Keith Olberman was able to obtain a copy early and shared some of it's insights on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on October 11th.

(More over the flip...)

This week, like every week, the religious right is making news, and people are blogging about it. This is my more or less weekly round-up of interesting and significant blog posts on the subject.

We have posts about the Christian Coalition of Alabama being told to go straight to hell; Christian rightist idolotry in Texas; and lies by Focus on the Family in Missouri.

All this, and more!

I'm not sure what it is about gay marriage that brings out the worst in people, but it really does. Take this classy little series of ads from Focus on the Family. Basically, Dobson is going with the "Will someone please think of the children?" route. Here's the header from the PA version:

Why Doesn't Senator Specter Believe Every Child Needs A Mother And Father?

Nice, huh?

While Sen. Specter may claim otherwise, his actions on homosexual marriage speak clearly. The reality is that homosexual marriages intentionally create motherless families or fatherless families.

Of course, social conservatives have been telling us for years about the magical side effects of gay marriage; how the nuptials of two men or two women will cause straight marriages to collapse and turn upstanding citizens into depraved, animalistic sex fiends. Until today, however, I'd never realized that the gay agenda included the elimination of the mothers and fathers who'd survived the gay ripple effect.

 

Some  of you have asked me,  how I write my health care catastrophe diaries?

I explained that I get up in the morning and search. My job is to find and describe the outrage or the assault of the day. Some days there are so many, I have a hard time deciding among the worst.

Yesterday morning it was easy. The outrage of the day is smack on the cover of the New York Times Magazine.

And it's a bad one.

The cover story is called, Contra-Contraception you can read it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/...

Take a breath and read on.

According to the "Washington Wire", the Campaign to Defend the Constitution has "taken on three icons of the religious right: Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, and former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed."

The group "launched an online and TV campaign Wednesday...saying the three 'have a serious gambling problem' and citing ties to disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff who worked on behalf of Indian casino gaming."

In addition, they're placing a single ad in the New York Times.

Although the campaign was launched just yesterday, Political Cortex's own Frederick Clarkson has been the primary driver for this story from the beginning:

Way back in December of 2005, it was Fred who alerted us to "Lucky Louie" Sheldon and his implication in the Abramoff-related Gambling Scandal:

Canadians will elect a new government on January 23, and, unless trends change, the Conservatives will not only win a minority government, they are on the edge of a MAJORITY government.  The Conservative Party in Canada, led by Stephen Harper [who bears an uncanny resemblence to Spongebob] is much like the American Republican Party, heavily influenced by the so-called Christian Right.  

Even as gay and lesbian civil rights have dramaticaly progressed in the past few decades, there is no question that the religious right has mounted an organized and often, hate-infused backlash movement. The particular wedge issue for the religous right these days, is marriage equality.

Marriage equality promises to be one of the central issues of our time. I live in Massachusetts, where an antimarriage equality amendment will probably be on the ballot in 2008.  

It will change political life in my state forever.

Anti-gay politics is at the center of American life these days. Some argue that many Republican successes are predicated on the idea of "turning out the base" with this "wedge issue."  While it is not always clear that this tactic is as successful as some say, there is no question that it is taking place. Anti-gay politics is a staple of American life. So, who exactly is behind this?