http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/2/1/144449/3616

Conventional Wisdom Watch: Getting it Wrong about the Religious Right
by Frederick Clarkson
Fri Feb 01, 2008 at 02:44:49 PM EST TALK TO ACTION

I have noted from time to time on this site, when pundits of various
sorts get basic facts wrong, and engage in skewed analysis about the
religious right.
Political scientist Laura Olsen has an an interesting take on the
Huckabee campaign over at the Neiman Foundation web site today, February
1st. One of the most interesting aspects is a glaring inaccuracy:


"...none of the old lions of the Religious Right endorsed Huckabee. In
perhaps the oddest development of all, Robertson himself endorsed the
pro-choice, thrice-married Giuliani.
None of the old lions of the religious right have endorsed Huckabee except,
that is, for televangelists James Robison and Ken Copeland, Don Wildmon head
of the American Family Associaton, Jerry Falwell Jr., (current president of
Liberty University and other of his late father's enterprises,) Rick
Scarborough head of Vision America; David Barton head of WallBuilders; Tim
and Beverly LaHaye -- and well, almost all of the "old lions" of the
Religious right --- except for the handful that went to other candidates;
and James Dobson and his minions that remain uncommitted. Dobson,
incidentally, has only endorsed a presidential candidate once -- and that
was George Bush's uncontested 2004 reelection campaign. His lack of an
endorsement, and general crankiness about presidential candidates, is
utterly normal.

Some leaders of Focus on the Family state political affiliates, however,
have endorsed Huckabee, including Michael Heath, head of the Christian Civic
League of Maine, Jerry Cox, President of Arkansas Family Council, and Karen
Testerman, Director of Cornerstone Policy Research, in New Hampshire. There
may very well be more.

Some of these, and many more were announced in a Huckabee campaign press
release last year. These are things that could be learned with only a few
minutes of Googling and poking around the Huckabee campaign site.

As it happens, religious right leaders such as Rick Scarborough and Tim
LaHaye have been active trying to help Huck overcome his financial
disadvantages in the race through a series of private fundraisers and
campaign events.

Coincidentally, Americans United for Separation of Church and State just
yesterday announced:


The Internal Revenue Service should investigate two prominent tax-exempt
Religious Right groups that produced biased voter guides for the
presidential election, according to Americans United for Separation of
Church and State.
In complaints filed today with the IRS, Americans United charged that
voter guides produced by the American Family Association and WallBuilders
are clearly designed to promote Republican presidential candidate Mike
Huckabee.
The guides, posted on the groups' Web sites, list the Republican
candidates and their alleged stands on a range of issues, such as support
for a human life amendment, "traditional marriage," "business freedom" and
"moral education" and opposition to "gay pride." Only Huckabee is assigned a
"yes" stance on all of the issues.

AU Executive Director Barry Lynn said:

"I am particularly outraged that these voter guides indicate that they are
suitable for use in churches and other tax-exempt organizations,"..."In
fact, they are not. Any church that distributes these biased guides is
risking its tax exemption and casting aside its integrity."
So. Let the record show that those are organizations headed by Don Wildmon
and David Barton, respectively: Long time national Religious Right leaders
who have endorsed Mike Huckabee; and are in the news because of their
campaign-related activities on his behalf.

Let's also be clear that while religious right leaders have been backing
different horses in the presidential primary this is noting new. Religious
Right leaders have always been divided in contested presidential primaries.
But this year, Mike Huckabee has the lion's share of the endorsements from
the old lions of the religious right. How much good it does him, remains to
be seen.