The Family, Democrats, and the National Day of Prayer
Frederick Clarkson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 07:35:40 PM EST
May First is the National Day of Prayer - aka the Official National Day of Religious Supremacism.

The congressionally authorized event is held annually, and the franchise to host official, and often controversial Day- related events is held by Shirley Dobson, wife of James. The official National Day of Prayer Taskforce operates out of the HQ of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. The legislation authorizing also reveals the role of the secretive network known as The Family, in shaping our national culture and political conversation, as detailed in the forthcoming book by Jeff Sharlet, who gave me permission to reveal some important facts from the manuscript of The Family:  The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.  

President Harry S. Truman signed a bill in 1952 proclaiming the National Day of Prayer.  In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill stating that the official Day should be held annually on the first Thursday of May. A National Prayer Committee, in turn, created the National Day of Prayer Task Force, to coordinate events for the National Day of Prayer. It has been headed by Shirly Dobson (wife of James) from day one.

As it turns out, the 1988 bill was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH), a member of The Family, and currently one of the twelve member inner circle. The Senate version was sponsored by Family associate, Strom Thurmond (R-SC).

It was all so bi partisan.

Sharlet writes:

Hall... was brought into the Family in the 1980s by Jerry Regier, an ultra-right Reagan administration official in the Department of Health and Human Services who went on to work with James Dobson. Upon his conversion, Hall abandoned his liberal social views and became a vocal opponent of abortion and, eventually, same-sex marriage. He also championed a bill establishing a National Day of Prayer with an event at the White House organized with Dobson's wife, Shirely. But he didn't switch parties, and the Family would never ask him to.

Sharlet notes that

"By eschewing the politics of the moment--party loyalties and culture wards--Family cells cultivate an ethos of elite unity that allows long term political transformation, whereby political rivals aren't flipped but won over gradually through fellowship with former enemies, as in the case of former Representative Tony Hall."

Sharlet might well have said somethig similar about Sen. Hillary Clinton, who is a long term member of a Family prayer cell, but is apparently, not a full member of the group. That is not unusual, as many prominent people (mostly Republicans) are similarly involved, in ever-wider concentric circles of association beyond the few hundred "members" and the twelve member inner group.

This is one of the ways that the Religious Right makes inroads not only in national life and politics and public policy, but in the Democratic Party.

In this instance, Rep. Tony Hall helped to set up an official government event, which would be and still is, operated by the Dobsons.  Check out their web site.

The National Observance will take place Thursday, May 1st, in Washington D.C. from 12:00 noon - 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) and will be broadcast LIVE via webcast and through GOD TV, channel 365 on Direct TV and channel 138 on Sky Angel
.

This year, among the speakers at the official event in Washington, DC are
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Appeals Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown and U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC)    Similar events are taking place at the state level, complete with official proclamations from governors who signed their names and the state seal of approval to boilerplate language from the Dobsons. Jews on First! has an excellent web site dedicated to exposing the outrageous breach of church and state of the Dobsonite affairs, and calling for inclusive events.

The Interfaith Alliance wrote that the Dobsons have "hijacked" the event:

"Calling themselves the National Day of Prayer Task Force, they are excluding Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Buddhists and even mainline Christians from National Prayer Day events...

The National Day of Prayer Task Force requires volunteer coordinators to sign a pledge stating: "I commit that NDP activities I serve with will be conducted solely by Christians while those with differing beliefs are welcome to attend." The coordinators must also sign a statement of faith that includes the following language: "I believe that the Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of The Living God. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only One by which I can obtain salvation and have an ongoing relationship with God." This clearly aligns a government-sponsored event with a particular Christian denomination, in violation of the basic provisions of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

This is what happens when Democrats help to build the Religious Right. And one of the ways that Dems are pulled into the Religious Right to varying degrees, is The Family.




Display:
...is also participating in and sponsoring numerous NDP Task Force events.  All of the events referred to in an article today on Jason Leopold's new blog, The Public Record, are listed on the NDP Task Force website, which means that their organizers, which include active duty military chaplains and other military personnel, agreed to the discriminatory, exclusively fundamentalist Christian policies on the Task Force's application. Here's a link to Leopold's article:

http://pubrecord.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&a mp;id=16&Itemid=8

by Chris Rodda on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 08:12:21 PM EST


I don't know how to copy and send this image, but the wonderful blog Echidne of the Snakes has it--just scroll down to the post on the National Day of Prayer.

>http://www.echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com

 It has everything:  the holy, pure warrior kneeling with sword and shield.  (Just a little killing on behalf of the Prince of Peace.)

by mayfly on Thu May 01, 2008 at 09:44:54 PM EST


This is disgusting.  Here are the opening remarks of Bush this morning:

Shirley, thank you very much for being the Chairman of the National Day of Prayer. Glad you brought old Jim with you. (Laughter.) Dr. Zacharias, thank you for being the Honorary Chairman. I appreciate the members of my Cabinet who are here today, thank you all for coming. It's good to see members of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Appreciate you all taking time out of your busy schedule to come by. It's always good to be with you.

This has to be the last year this happens.  When a new president is installed and this disgrace of a man finally leaves the stage, his successor needs to be informed that the Dobsons cannot be allowed to get away with this de facto takeover of a national, non-partisan event.  

No more pandering.  If the Dobson's are in Washington next year, they should be there only as representatives of their own little cult and not for the whole of Christianity.   No "official" chairmen, no "official" themes, no "official" anything from them.

Bah!

by tacitus on Fri May 02, 2008 at 02:08:26 AM EST


On this National Day of Prayer, it is important to recognize the role of the secretive network known as The Family in shaping our national culture and political conversation.  cheap wedding bands for women As detailed in Jeff Sharlet's forthcoming book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, the congressionally authorized event is held annually and is hosted by Shirley Dobson, wife of James. The official National Day of Prayer Taskforce operates out of the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs. It is essential that we recognize and be aware of the power and influence The Family has in shaping our society.

by isabelladom on Mon Jan 23, 2023 at 12:17:02 AM EST


WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.