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 Association, 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 W. 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.