Where was the heat, we wondered today, at The Church of the Nazarene in the Cincinnati exurbs of Westchester where Phil Burress introduced David Barton, GOP bigwig and founder of Wallbuilders, who is touring Ohio under the guise of discussing the role of religion in politics? Having been to several Patriot Pastor events over the past couple of years, it is evident that current events and disappointments are making it increasingly difficult to excite the Christo-crats. Don't tell Barton, but he really has no future as a public speaker. He talks faster than the human ear can follow so much of what he said, thankfully, is lost.
Sporting a black leather blazer and skinny pants ending in Texan-style shoes, Barton sped through most of an hour proving to the audience that the Founding Fathers intended this to be a Christian nation. When I say proving, I mean proving. He had, with him, original correspondence written between members of the Constitutional Congress. How cool is that???
If not for those nearby intermittently yelping out, "Praise God" we might have dozed off. About fifty minutes into Speedy's revisionist history lesson, he began to build the scene. Nothing new here . . . just another attempt to scare the minions with what will happen should they not vote. He reiterated Christian-friendly congressional victories he said were under-reported by the media, such as the passage of the Broadcast Decency Act, the Fetal Farming Ban, the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Act, Unlawful Internet Gambling, not to mention the appointments of Roberts, Alito, and the confirmation of 220 judges to lower courts.
What a surprise to see the big man, Ken Blackwell himself, slide in at the beginning of Barton's talk. After all, this couldn't be politicking, could it? In fact, Mr. Burress said exactly that: his organization is tax exempt and they never advocate for any candidate or party, only for values. Still, he was awfully proud to share his tale of how he and Kenny changed the course of history by getting the Marriage Amendment on the 2004 ballot in a miraculous 168 days, thus bringing out enough voters to tip Ohio over to Bush. How nice of Mr. B to stop by to see his old friend in this friendly venue. We were particularly happy because, as Ohio citizens, it has been next to impossible to go to a Blackwell rally, as he has made public appearances only on rare occasions: last week's Cincinnati rally with Sean Hannity and local shock jock, Bill Cunningham (to enjoy, go to www.kenblackwell.com)and the week before, KB's bus tour in Eastern Ohio with Larry Pratt, militia man.) Perhaps it's naive to think that voters should get a chance to question their gubernatorial candidates at some point during the campaign. Today, at least we were there to hear him, Bible in hand, toss out a little red meat to the hungry. Nothing special, but the audience was appreciative. I wonder if Ted Strickland was invited.
Sarcasm aside, Blackwell has self-destructed and may even know it. He seemed a little off his game . . . a bit down. Perhaps it's wishful thinking? I do know that it would be a gargantuan mistake to count our chickens yet, keeping in mind he remains Secretary of State during this changeover year to electronic voting machines . . . think Diebold.
What was truly disturbing were Barton's statistics about recent freshmen congressional classes. For example, since 2002, 34 out of 54, or 67% of new congressmen/women have proven themselves as Christian Values loyalists, as have 8 out of 10 new senators. Quiet gains such as these are what we should fear. The patent use of religion to change our laws continues to take place on a regular basis. It must no longer be acceptable to sit by while Theo-Cons tout religion and values to the masses as the world literally spins out of control.
Today's presentation ended with all sorts of handouts and the suggestion to visit www.OhioElectionCentral.com, a joint venture between Phil Burress's Citizens for Community Values and James Dobson's Focus on the Family. At this time, one million bulletin inserts with this information are being distributed in churches as this gang works furiously to stir the disenchanted with promises of heavens yet to unfold.
We were left with the reminder of how critical turnout is. Right now it is all that matters. We're doing our very best out here to engage people, knowing too well that ours is a state where thin blue margins magically turn red. Only large, irrefutable numbers will translate into how the people have really voted. That goes for all fifty states.