Hypocrisy on Parade : Christian Right Leaders mired in Gambling Money Scandal: DefCon's new ad campaign
There's nothing like the smell of rank hypocrisy in the morning ! - especially when it comes in the form of a full page add in the NYT showcasing the little - umm - "problem" three leaders of the Christian right - Ralph Reed, James Dobson, and Lou Sheldon - have concerning GAMBLING money from Jack Abramoff.
Talk to Action writers have been pounding on the Ambramoff / Gambling Money / James Dobson-Ralph Reed-Lou Sheldon connection for weeks [ see especially : Greedy Reedy's Spin Cycle, and other stories by Jonathan Hutson ] Now, with DefCon's new ad campaign, they have help - and you can join in too !
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Writes Max Blumenthal:
As the Jack Abramoff scandal unfolds, it is becoming increasingly clear how extensively he collaborated with the Christian right to advance his casino schemes. Ralph Reed was paid no less than $4 million by Abramoff and his Indian casino clients to serve as a liasion to the Christian right. Reed managed to lasso Focus on the Family President James Dobson into a series of campaigns to stamp out competition to Abramoff's clients
Reed, Dobson, and Sheldon aren't the only leaders on the religious right caught up in the mess,
notes Frederick Clarkson:
Previously, Ralph Reed, the former executive director of the Christian Coalition, and now a political consultant, had been shown to have received money from gambling interests tied to Abramoff -- even as he was publicly working on anti-gambling issues for another client.
And now the anti-gambling Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition has been shown to have recieved money from gambling interests, along with Rabbi Daniel Lapin's, Seattle based Orthodox Jewish foundation, Toward Tradition. Lapin is frequently aligned with the Christian Right.
Now, this story is a powerful indictment of major elements of the Christian and Religious Right : Remember, James Dobson is currently one of the kingmakers of the Christian religious supremacist movement : that likely was the motivation for the recent Alito / Dobson love-in, but the media has largely failed, so far, to publicize the gambling money scandal : read on - you can help !
Writes Talk To Action author Jonathan Hutson
While Talk to Action has been highlighting religious leaders' involvement in the Abramoff corruption probe, and pointing out connections between Abramoff and dominionist leaders, the mainstream media has largely been asleep. What do we have to do to rouse the media hounds, draw them a picture?
[ image by Jonathan Hutson ]
Thankfully, Talk to Action is not alone in sounding the alarm: several investigative journalists have picked up the scent, and help is on the way from DefConCampaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon) launched an ad campaign on March 8, 2006, including a full-page ad in The New York Times that highlights what it calls hypocrisy over gambling by three religious right leaders -- Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition; Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition; and Dr. James Dobson, founder and head of Focus on the Family. DefCon's print and broadcast ads focus on connections between convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and these major figures of the religious right, all of whom have taken high-profile positions against gambling. Reed and Sheldon have received money that originated from Abramoff's gambling industry clients, who have in various ways benefitted from the actions of all three men. Defcon invites you to send a letter to these pious, pandering prophets, telling them to "practice what they preach."
Max Blumenthal adds his voice:
Well, HOW ABOUT IT ? !
Now, we can all choose to be horribly dismayed about George W. Bush's new "Theocratic Homeland Defense" edict, or we can actually choose to DO something about it :
TODAY !
NOW !
So without further delay, let's all get our butts over to Defcon to send a letter and help publicize this. I can guarantee that DefCon will keep a count of how many letters get sent. And, they'll publicize that.
Let's kick this sorry affair up the media charts so it gets the scrutiny it deserves. Americans - on the left and on the Christian right alike - deserve to see just how rank hypocrisy can get.
If you choose to recommend this diary - and it hits the charts - that could go a LONG way towards helping promote DefCon's campaign.
In advance, thanks for your support.