Religious Commentators Available to Debunk the 'Values Voters' Myth
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
This weekend, as leaders of the Religious Right rally with Republican politicians in Washington, DC at the “Values Voter Summit 2006,� Faith in Public Life and Sojourners offer religious leaders from the Voicing Faith Media Bureau and the Red Letter Christians to debunk the divisive myth that ‘values voters’ share monolithic views about moral priorities.
Clearly, there is a 'Values Gap' between many on the Religious Right and the rest of faithful America. In fact, data points to faithful American voters prioritizing poverty, the war on terrorism, global warming, genocide, civil rights, and access to health care as the great moral issues of our time. Rather than focusing on only the wedge issues that divide us, religious leaders are speaking out for the full spectrum of values that represent the faithful majority in our nation.
Media may call to arrange interviews with religious leaders from the Voicing Faith Media Bureau and the Red Letter Christians, including:
• Dr. Tony Campolo. Founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, Dr. Campolo is a much-sought after speaker, the author of 30 books, and a media commentator on religious, social and political matters.
• Rev. Dr. Jim Forbes. Senior minister of The Riverside Church in New York City, Dr. Forbes is a pastor, educator, administrator, community activist and interfaith leader, recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the 12 “most effective preachers� in the English-speaking world.
• Rabbi David Saperstein. The Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for the past 30 years, Saperstein represents the national Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the administration.
• Amy Sullivan. An editor of The Washington Monthly, Sullivan has emerged as one of the leading experts on politics and religion.
• Jim Wallis. President of Sojourners and Call to Renewal and author of God’s Politics: Why the Rights Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, Wallis is a speaker, author, activist and international Christian evangelical commentator on ethics and public life.
The perspectives from members of the Voicing Faith Media Bureau and the Red Letter Christians provide a stark contrast to the ‘values’ professed by several “Values Voter Summit� speakers.
Bill Bennett…
On crime prevention: “But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.� (Bill Bennett’s Morning on America, 09/28/05)
Ann Coulter…
On protecting the environment: "God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.’� (Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01)
On government surveillance: “I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East, and sending liberals to Guantanamo.� (Universal Press Syndicate, 12/21/05)
On Illegal Immigrants: "I'd build a wall. In fact, I'd hire illegal immigrants to build the wall. And throw out the illegals who are here. [...] It's cheap labor." (O'Reilly Factor, 04/14/06)
James Dobson…
On the Holocaust: “In World War II, the Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind.� (Focus on the Family radio, 08/03/05)
Likening Supreme Court justices to the Ku Klux Klan: “I heard a minister the other day talking about the great injustice and evil of the men in white robes, the Ku Klux Klan, that roamed the country in the South, and they did great wrong to civil rights and to morality. And now we have black-robed men, and that's what you're talking about.� (Focus on the Family radio, 04/11/05)
Jerry Falwell…
On women: “I listen to feminists and all these radical gals ... These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it, and they're mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They're sexist. They hate men; that's their problem.� (Working For Change, 11/15/04)
On the environment: “The media, Hollywood and liberal academia are also polluting minds with the message that we must curtail our use of energy and replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources like solar panels and windmills to stave off so-called global warming and its alleged disastrous consequences . . . Global warming, in my opinion, is a myth designed by America’s enemies with the evil intent to bankrupt this nation.� (Sermon, 03/05/06)
Newt Gingrich…
On comparing those who oppose the war in Iraq to those who enabled Hitler: “It’s not an insulting comment.� (Hannity & Colmes, 09/01/06)
Sean Hannity...
On the 9/11 widows: “[T]he point here is, is that they [the 9-11 widows] have taken a strong, a harsh line politically against the president, that they name-call on their side, and that now it's time to challenge them, based on what these issues are, because they've gotten a pass because of their positions." (Hannity & Colmes, 06/07/06)
CONTACT: Jessica Watson, 202.544.7921, press@faithinpubliclife.org or Jack Pannell, jpannell@sojo.net, 285-1899
