From: Watch97@aol.com Date: Sat, 2 Nov 1996 09:25:12 -0500 Subject: CC "VOTER GUIDE" WATCH #6 CHRISTIAN COALITION "VOTER GUIDE" WATCH #6 -- From a PA "c.c.watcher" (11/1) -- The following was sent to the Lancaster (PA) Newspapers. WARNING: DECEPTIVE VOTERS GUIDES The Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom and The National Interfaith Alliance challenge the Christian Coalition Voter Guides For Immediate Release Contact: Laura Montgomery Rutt November 1, 1996 717-581-1029 In Lancaster, Pennsylvania and across the nation, religious and community leaders are issuing a warning to voters concerning the supposedly "pro-family" voter guides issued by the Christian Coalition and other like-minded organizations at the last minute the Sunday before the elections. The Interfaith Alliance believes that the Christian Coalition's voter guides appear to favor one candidate over another with information which is neither fair nor accurate, using them to promote their political agenda, rather than educate voters to the candidates' stands on important issues. The Interfaith Alliance is a faith based non-partisan organization which has 109 chapters in 35 states, drawing its membership from 45 different faith communities. The Interfaith Alliance is dedicated to promoting values, strengthening families and building communities. Voter guides are required by law to be non-partisan, but the Christian Coalition guides appear to favor far right ultra-conservative candidates over less conservative ones with distorted and misleading information. According to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, this is done by selecting 6 - 10 issues for publication from a large list of surveyed items which highlights points of disagreement with the candidates they oppose, making the candidates appear polarized on all the issues. For example, if both candidates oppose abortion, that issue will not be mentioned in the voter's guides. And if an opposing candidate supports the National Endowment of the Arts, that candidate is listed as supporting "taxpayer funded obscene art", even if they voted to limit how these funds could be used. These distortions have led to an ongoing investigation by the Federal Election Commission. In the GOP primary in Lancaster County this spring, voter guides similar to those distributed by the Christian Coalition, were handed to unsuspecting people who were told that the highlighted candidates were the "Christians" that were running for delegate, state committee, and Congress. What they were not told was that there were several other Republican Christians on the ballot who were not highlighted because all their views did not fall in lock step with the right-wing conservative GOP which has taken control of the local republican party. "Unsuspecting people look at the voter guides distributed by the Christian Coalition and like-minded organizations, and falsely believe that using the word Christian gives them credibility" stated Laura Montgomery Rutt, local political activist and Director of The Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom. "What we object to is the implication that the Christian Coalition speaks for all Christians, and that the Christian Coalition is a religious organization. It does not speak for all Christians, and it is not a religious organization, but a political one, pure and simple." The Christian Coalition's political tactics, which are also employed by local religious/political organizations, have also come under the scrutiny of the IRS. The Coalition is operating provisionally as a 501(c)(4), which means they pay NO taxes on the millions of dollars sent to them each year. It also means that involvement in electoral politics must NOT be their primary purpose. Critics maintain that this is the only reason for their existence. Deb Hayes, Republican Committee Person and former candidate for the Republican National Convention, has seen first hand the dealings of the far right conservative GOP in Lancaster. The recent controversy and dissention surrounding the adoption of the "Pro-Family" Resolution by the Elizabethtown Area School Board, which was written by Concerned Women For America, a far right Christian women's organization which espouses the views of the Christian Coalition is such a case. Hayes states, "The right wing conservatives on the school board were put there by naive voters who weren't aware of their hidden agenda and by people who didn't vote. That's why it is important you know where a candidate stands on the issues you are most interested in for all offices, from county committee representative to President of the United States." Unfortunately, The Christian Coalitions voter guides, as well as similar local publications, will not help voters discern where candidates stand on many of the important issues facing our county and our country. According to the Interfaith Alliance, the Christian Coalition leaders have publicly opposed the Family and Medical Leave Act and raising the Minimum Wage. The Christian Coalition has supported legislation which included cuts in student loans, cuts in medicaid and medicare, and higher taxes for families making under $28,000 by cutting the Earned Income Tax Credit. Most of these issues will NOT be addressed by the voter's guides as part of their "pro-family" agenda which are distributed through many of the area churches. Because these churches are under even stricter 501(c)(3) IRS Guidelines than the Christian Coalition, churches may not engage in any form of partisan electoral politics. It is possible that churches distributing these partisan guides to elect the most conservative Republicans to office, will find themselves no longer tax exempt. Roll Call, a weekly political newspaper reported last April that the IRS is already investigating 30 charities for inappropriate politicking. If the IRS rules that the voter guides are partisan, churches can NOT distribute them without breaking the law, and they will risk losing their tax exempt status . The Interfaith Alliance and The Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom believe that all issues should be addressed as part of any political discussion, and we seek to provide that voice. Retired minister and Lancaster native, Rev. Abram Sangrey states, "The goals of the Interfaith Alliance provide a correspondence to my 45 year's lifetime, abbreviated, diversified, ecumenical, Church ministry and Christian Service; and affirm convincingly my continuing reliance upon divine guidance." (*end*) (For more information or to subscribe to the complete, unique and timely reportage/commentary of The "c.c.watch" Electronic News Service, call 305/751-5001. We track and report on the activities of Pat Robertson, his many enterprises [especially the Christian Coalition], and his fellow travelers...and then we disseminate information that the public might never otherwise receive.)