African American conservative evangelical says 'The GOP Needs Political Viagra'
Bill Berkowitz printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Mon Feb 25, 2008 at 05:03:04 PM EST
Christian conservative movement not 'on its deathbed,' says Bishop Harry Jackson

Despite the President Bush's record low approval ratings and the conservative movement's recent floundering, as of Sunday, February 24, three conservative books -- "An Inconvenient Book" by Glenn Beck and Kevin Balfe, "Real Change" by Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler, and "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg -- were on the New York Times best-seller list. In less than ten days, another conservative tome will be published: "Personal Faith, Public Policy" by Harry Jackson and Tony Perkins,  the head of the Washington, DC-based lobbying group, the Family Research Council.  

Jackson, the founder and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition and the author of a number of books including "The Warriors Heart: Rules of Engagement for the Spiritual War Zone," used his Monday, February 25 column Townhall.com column both to boost the sagging morale of the Religious Right, and to promote his forthcoming book.

In a piece titled "The GOP Needs Political Viagra," Jackson argued that: 1) despite the "lack of political passion and enthusiasm of the conservative movement," and despite the mainstream media's predilection for burying the Religious Right, the movement is not at death's door; and 2) the Religious Right is actually growing.

"Personal Faith, Public Policy," due out on March 4, provides, according to Jackson,  a clear "blue print for positive, visionary involvement in the political process."

"Personal Faith, Public Policy"

In a promotional blurb for the book, Christianbook.com writes: "Have Christian conservatives lost their political clout? Jackson and Perkins answer with a resounding 'No!' In fact, values voters are poised to make a comeback. Identifying vital issues people of faith must address, this call to action urges believers to work toward curing domestic poverty, protecting the environment, defending marriage and family, and more."

In his column, Jackson writes:

The GOP needs to tap into the energy of the faith community. In order to do this it has to create a faith friendly platform reflecting the greatest concerns facing evangelicals today. The movement has united around what it doesn't want more than an image of what it does want. It did not have a pre-agreed upon list of priorities or a mandate form evangelicals that the majority of evangelicals had agreed upon with regard to economics, the war, and host of other important topics. The evangelical Christian movement has operated more like a mob than an army. Therefore, the movement has often been unable to execute cultural initiatives requiring sophisticated coordination, focus, and timing.

According to Jackson, the book, endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention's Richard Land, longtime Religious Right activist and co-author of the "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic novels, Dr. Tim LaHaye, former Senator Bill Frist, conservative Congressman Mike Pence and a host of pastors and leaders around the nation, "addresses the following issues and a host of others including health care and the war:

  1. "The Value of Human Life"

  2. "Immigration"

  3. "Poverty and Justice"

  4. "Racial Reconciliation"

  5. "Religious Liberties"

  6. "Rebuilding the Family"

  7. "The Environment and Global Warming"

Harry Jackson to the stage  

While Tony Perkins has been a marquee name on the Religious Right for several years, Harry Jackson is relatively new to the political spotlight.

In August 2005, I wrote a piece for MediaTransparency.org titled "High Impact, Low Maintenance" which profiled Jackson:


...Over the past year, Jackson, who was the featured African American speaker at the "Justice Sunday II" rally, has become one of the religious right's go-to-guys.

One month before the [2004] presidential election, Bishop Jackson envisioned the future, and it had a second term for President George W. Bush writ large all over it. In a commentary posted on The Elijah List -- "Discover what God's Prophets and Prophetic People are Saying Daily" -- Jackson wrote that he "support[ed] George Bush" and he believed "that the Black vote will push him over the top."

Bishop Jackson said a "'stealth vote' of Blacks will turn things around for the President."

"In my view, God has been preparing the heart of President Bush to take a radical stand for social justice in his next term. This could be the beginning of the development of a 'kingdom agenda' instead of a limited 'conservative' versus 'liberal' approach to the woes of our society. The current political labels have led to bitter divisions that do not serve the nation's best interests."

Bishop Jackson traced his support for Bush to a January 2004 meeting with members of the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE). According to Jackson, ACPE, led by C. Peter Wagner, includes Lou Engle, Joseph Garlington, James Goll, Bill Hamon, Cindy Jacobs, Chuck Pierce, John and Paula Sanford, Dutch Sheets, Tommy Tenney, Barbara Yoder, and several others.

"We all felt that the election would be close and very bitter," Jackson wrote. "As a group, we stated that the