If I hadn't taken a look at this myself, I'd swear what I'm about to tell you is a tinfoil hat moment. How I wish it were.
Tomorrow, Colorado CD4 becomes the not so proud recipient of the Generation Joshua entourage, an off-shoot of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). They are here to canvas for God (err, I mean, Representative Marilyn Musgrave).
Generation Joshua has put out the call and their agenda is clear, as noted in Colorado Confidential's report,
"Election Day is one week away and Generation Joshua Student Action Teams are prepared to elect pro-life and pro-homeschooling candidates. Our efforts could make the difference on Election Day and help shape the future of this country. Over 1,000 GenJ members will be in the field, divided into 12 teams ranging from 50 to over 100. This type of focused effort has been proven time and time again to tip the scales in close elections."
More below the fold.
The kids are working quite a schedule--12 hour days walking precincts, phone banking for GOTV, and waving signs to energize those last minute Republicans still on the fence about whether or not to vote for one of the most vile incumbents in Congress.
The political arm of HSLDA is picking up the tab; Musgrave's campaign will pay for all meals. (Make them take you somewhere nice for dinner--no McDonald's, kids. Hold your ground on this one. She's got the money, trust me.)
So just who is the HSLDA and where did a bunch of homeschooling teenagers get this level of advanced political training? And why do they care about Musgrave so much?
Perhaps it's because they know a true believer when they see one. Remember when Musgrave got endorsed by the KKK for her outstanding positions on gay marriage and home schooling? There's no such thing as coincidence with Musgrave and who she associates with.
The HSLDA shares her "world view". Their stance on gay marriage is listed on their website and declares, in no uncertain terms,
Same-sex marriage attacks the traditions of the family in western civilization. This is an attack on parental rights. This is a battle the homeschooling movement cannot afford to lose.
And they aren't real big on ending discrimination against women either.
The U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is an international treaty drafted by the U.N. and signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.
...On July 30, 2002 the Senate Foreign Relations committee passed CEDAW 12-7. The US Constitution requires a 2/3 majority of the US Senate for ratification of a treaty. The full Senate has yet to ratify CEDAW.
This treaty has sat in no-man's land, under Bush and a Republican controlled Congress for almost 4 1/2 years. Since 1999, according to HSLDA's public statement, they have been actively working to defeat this treaty, mostly because it undermines their belief in the paternal order in the family...well, that and the fact that they just plain hate the United Nations.
Obviously, these are not your average homeschoolers or your average homeschooling program. So just where do the HSLDA faithful go to hone their political skills to take on the voting public?
They train at the Patrick Henry College in Louden County, Virginia, founded by Michael Farris.
This is the same Michael Farris who founded HSLDA. The college offers leadership camps that include teaching Strategic Intelligence, Journalism, Debate and Fundamentals of Political Theory.
Make no mistake in what direction their leadership teencamps want to take public policy and what their goals are:
..."raising up leaders to "lead our nation and shape our culture..."...Teen Leadership Camps will be presented from a distinctly Christian, Bible-based worldview."
And hey, if you're a HSLDA member, you receive an additional $20 discount per camp. What a deal!
The Culture Kitchen has an excellent article that takes a deeper look at HSLDA, their efforts to build a "spiritual army" and some frightening insight into one of their current ongoing endeavors--
"a pact with the Army to at least tap into the allegedly ignored market of homeschoolers for Army recruits.
They are literally building much more than a spiritual army--
they are building an armed, religious force to change the very foundation of democracy in the United States, one vote at a time, into a theocracy. And they are sending in the troops to Colorado to do it.
Thankfully, we have State Representative Angie Paccione running as a sensible alternative to the insanity, whose ground efforts in GOTV have proven highly effective. The proof is in the polls. The Cook Report just moved this race into the "toss-up" category this week.
You can help us send Angie to Congress by spreading the word about this. Musgrave and her minions are determined to force all of us to share in their biblical world vision. Re-electing Musgrave to a third term impacts more than just us in Colorado Congressional District 4--it impacts you.