In an interview today that Thom Hartmann had with Jeff Sharlet, author of
The Family, they discussed the ominous rise of the evangelical movement in the Democratic Party and its perverse effects on the party platform.
The radical Stupak anti-abortion amendment that is attached to the House Affordable Health Care for America Act has spotlighted an underlying mechanism at work---the existence of an extreme right wing group of American politicians and religious leaders, anointing themselves as The Family, who are operating a shadowy religious agenda
from the House on C-Street in Washington, DC.
Paraphrasing from this interview:
The core beliefs of The Family are that the teachings of Christianity that we learned in bible school are just nice words for the masses.
They believe that there are "secret teachings" of Christianity, that are to be only in the hands of these secret elite, the members of The Family, and they are to have total control over all others who are regarded as the lesser among them. The Family is the new chosen few.
Catholicism is behind part of this, but we are overlooking the large and rapidly expanding role of evangelism in the beliefs and religious agenda of The Family.
To reiterate, Catholics aren't leading this charge.
Senator Tom Coburn (OK) is a roommate of Bart Stupak, and he has pushed inflammatory rhetoric for harming abortion providers in the past.
It is critical to understand that this is not just a right wing republican organization... we now have to grapple with a new and growing evangelical influence that is now infiltrating the Democratic Party. It has blindsided Pelosi and many others. Most critically important, will Democrats step up and recognize that this is a fight within our party?
Democrats Stupak, Skelton, Mcintyre, Tanner, Davis (TN), Boren, Shuler--- all of these voted for Stupak's anti-abortion amendment, and then, with Stupak as the exception, all voted against the main health care bill. These people cannot be trusted.
Increasing exposure of The Family, and with the spotlight now on the Stupak Amendment and the Ensign scandal this past summer, for example, hopefully, more people will step up and stop this very negative trend of evangelical zealotry increasing its influence in the Democratic Party.
Jeff Sharlet's groundbreaking book about
The Family is required reading.
Just as the infiltration of
evangelism in our military (including the
Air Force Academy) has created mounting concern, so should it concern members of the Democratic Party and all of us who are subject to the views of all elected officials in this country.
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