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The GOP War Chest Malfunction

Groups react to the nightclub spending spree. Plus: some attack pro-life Democrats even as Christian leaders sign "Covenant for Civility."
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Political Advocacy Tracker is a roundup of what Christian activist organizations have been talking about over the last week.

The Republican National Committee spent nearly $2,000 at a strip club featuring women performing simulated lesbian and bondage sex shows.

Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America (CWA) immediately put out a statement calling the episode "outrageous."

"Please explain to women if and why you think it is appropriate to attach your organizations to pornographic enterprises? Did you really swill drinks, ogle young girls and plan party business at this kind of establishment?" Nance said.

Yesterday, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC), told members, "Don't give money to the RNC."

"If you want to put money into the political process, and I encourage you to do so, give directly to candidates who you know reflect your values," he said. "This latest incident is another indication to me that the RNC is completely tone-deaf to the values and concerns of a large number of people from whom they seek financial support."

In recent months, social conservatives have been at odds with the RNC leadership. Last fall, they were outraged when the RNC backed Dede Scozzafava, who favors abortion rights and same-sex marriage, in a special election in the NY 23rd District. (A Democrat won the election.)

Some conservatives responded to the New York loss by suggesting a purity pledge that candidates would need to agree to in order to receive support from the RNC. At its January meeting, the RNC rejected the pledge.

Earlier this month, the RNC hired Ted Olson to represent the GOP in a campaign finance case. Olson represented George W. Bush in the 2000 Supreme Court case, Bush v. Gore. He later served as solicitor general under Bush. However, he is currently fighting to overturn Proposition 8, which defined marriage in California as being between one man and one woman.

Fred Jackson of the American Family Association (AFA) said on Tuesday's AFA Report that the RNC paying for the strip club visit is a "black eye" that shows "a divide in values even inside the Republican party." For co-host Buster Wilson, the episode is a reminder that "politics is a very dirty business."

"We have to remember, and this is obviously not to excuse this kind of behavior, but when you get into the upper echelons of politics or business or sports or the entertainment industry there [are] a lot of unseemly and wicked things that go on," he said. "For Christians who want to get involved in politics, you better not be naïve. Because this kind of thing I'm sure is not unusual. It may be unusual that they tried to use RNC money, but I'm willing to bet that [there're] a lot of trips to these kinds of clubs amongst some portion, fraction, of Republicans and Democrats."

Pro-Life Democrats Under Attack

When Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) was in the Ohio state legislature, he received a score of zero from NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. When asked his view of abortion, Driehaus said he opposed abortion in all cases (including rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger). He also opposed any public support of abortion.

Since being elected to Congress in 2008, Driehaus has consistently backed pro-life efforts in the House. He was one of only 23 Democrats to sign a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi in defense of the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life provisions on appropriations bills. He was also one of 25 Democrats to sign a letter in September supporting the Stupak Amendment to the health care legislation. He voted to bar the District of Columbia from using local taxes to fund abortions.

Since his vote supporting health care legislation, however, the National Right to Life Political Action Committee has endorsed Republican Steve Chabot, who represented the district before his Driehaus defeated him in 2008.

Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life PAC, said Driehaus "bears responsibility for the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade. Pro-lifers in the first Congressional District will remember his health care vote in November."

Mike Adams of the AFA used to refer to Democrats as "the party of death." He stopped out of respect for pro-life Democrats. In response to Rep. Bart Stupak and other pro-life Democrats in the House supporting health care legislation, Adams is returning to his former language.

"For pro-life Dems there has to be a realization that they are simply no longer welcomed in the Party of Death," Adams said.

For Adams, the fight continues in the courts, but if that strategy fails, then he will not pay taxes if it means funding abortion.

"It is clear that you can only say 'no' so many times when dealing with legislative rapists," Adams said. "It is equally clear that the time for reasoned discourse has passed and the time for civil disobedience is drawing near. … I just cannot resign myself to complicity in the murder of the unborn."

A Little R-E-S-P-E-C-T

More than 100 leaders from churches and advocacy groups agreed to "lead by example" and treat each other with respect even when they have religious and political disagreements.

The "Covenant for Civility" included activists from the left, right, and middle of the ideological spectrum. The presidents of the National Association of Evangelicals, Bread for the World, World Vision, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, Prison Fellowship, Evangelicals for Social Action, Sojourners, and other groups signed the covenant. The document included endorsements from the leadership of churches as varied as the Assemblies of God, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, Christian and Missionary Alliance, and Coptic Orthodox Church. (David Neff, editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today Media Group, also signed the document.)

Signatories agreed that the church should be a model of reconciliation. Yet, they confessed that they have "too often … reflected the political divisions of our culture rather than the unity we have in the body of Christ."

Charles Colson, who signed the covenant, told CNN, "We owe a certain responsibility to each other as believers. This doesn't mean I haven't challenged some people's theology. But the document says we're not going to challenge each other's motives or engage in ad hominem attacks."

Our 'First Gay President'?

Activist groups reacted strongly this week to Obama's appointment of Chai Feldblum as a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

"[I]t was argued during his two terms in office that Bill Clinton was 'our first black President' because of his supposed liberal policies that would benefit African-Americans," Tom McClusky of FRC Action wrote. "With that argument, shouldn't Barack Obama already be our 'first gay President'?"

Last weekend, President Obama made 15 recess appointments—a common practice over the past two decades, particularly when the president is facing opposition to his nominees.

As a commissioner of the EEOC, Feldblum would be one of five people overseeing the enforcement of job discrimination laws in the United States. Feldblum was not nominated to head the commission, as some have reported. She is best known for her work authoring the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a bill currently being considered in Congress that would prohibit discrimination based on disability, sexual orientation, or gender identification.

Neither The New York Times nor The Wall Street Journal discussed Feldblum as a controversial nominee when they reported on the recess appointments; unlike other nominees, no Senator has made a public hold on her nomination (a procedure by which one Senator can block a nomination), nor has there been a filibuster. But for some conservative advocacy groups, Feldblum's appointment was the number one news item.

Perkins of FRC said that Feldblum "believes that if the law doesn't suit her agenda, she can simply disregard it." Perkins said Feldblum believes that sexual freedom trumps religious liberty. "There seems to be little doubt, even in Ms. Feldblum's mind, about how she will rule in cases involving religious liberty that come before her," said Perkins.

Focus on the Family Action echoed this same concern that Feldblum would rule against religious liberty. The FRC listed more of its concerns on its blog and in a position paper.

Shari Rendall of CWA agreed that Feldblum would not be impartial and would side against religious freedom.

"She is way beyond what most Americans would consider mainstream," said Rendall. "Feldblum not only asserts that 'gay sex is morally good,' she also believes in polygamous relationships."

Stuart Shepard and Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family Action discussed many of Feldblum's statements as part of their weekly webcast. After discussing the many of Feldblum's positions and statements they find objectionable, Minnery and Shepard took time to praise Feldblum as a "highly qualified professor" who is "highly knowledgeable," "very intelligent," "highly placed," with "good credentials." Still, they objected to her appointment. "Her ideas are from the complete opposite side from where we would approach things," explained Shepard.

The Political Advocacy Tracker previously reported on Feldblum's nomination and hearing; we also reported on her statements on a FRC panel that gay people should have "their liberties recognized … but not at the cost of overly crushing the liberties of religious people."

Odds and Ends

• Conflict appears to be dying down between radio host Glenn Beck and Sojourners founder Jim Wallis. Beck has barely mentioned Wallis this week. Wallis wrote an op-ed for TheWashington Post where he said that the issue focused on the meaning of "social justice." Wallis wrote, "If Beck had, from the beginning, made an argument for small government and private charity, none of us would have responded to him."

• David Gushee of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good addressed where President Obama should direct his attention now that health insurance reform is law. "He needs to use his political capital to push forward serious entitlement reform and, as soon as possible, reduce dramatically our sacred cow of a military budget. … That will involve reconsideration of our role in the world. I hope he, and we, are ready for that."

• Mark Early of Prison Fellowship expressed his hope that the budget crunch in California will lead to prison reform, such as alternatives for prisoners who are not a danger to society. He criticized the idea of "prisons as a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of crime." Early said that Prison Fellowship believes in "the biblical idea of restorative justice, the kind of justice that not only punishes the offender but heals the wounds created by crime."

• Bryan Fischer of the AFA strongly disagreed with the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson, a Reagan appointee from Mississippi. The judge ruled that the constitutional rights of a lesbian high school student were violated when she was forbidden to attend the prom with a female date or wearing a tuxedo. Fischer said the student was treated fairly.

"She had exactly the same right to bring an opposite-sex date to the dance that every other student had. The same rule applied to her and to everyone else. You can't get any more equal than that," Fischer said. "The ACLU and homosexual activists are not after equal rights, since Constance already had that. No, they're after special rights, rights based exclusively on non-normative sexual expression."


Related Elsewhere:

Earlier Political Advocacy Trackers are available on our site.

Christianity Today also follows political developments on the politics blog.

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