Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:18:17 -0800 (PST) From: Rex Wockner Subject: RIGHT WING WATCH ONLINE, #1.2 From: People For the American Way Subject: RIGHT WING WATCH ONLINE, #1.2 Dear Friend, This is the second edition of Right Wing Watch Online, People For the American Way's every-few-weeks electronic newsletter on the Religious Right political movement. We monitor every aspect of the Religious Right's work, and maintain video and print libraries of the their television and radio broadcasts, direct mail, newsletters, books and more. The purpose of this newsletter is to share some of the highlights in relatively raw form, that is, we'll tell you what they're saying and doing in their various communications, and you can draw your own conclusions. Right Wing Watch Online is free, and we urge you to forward it to others. Instructions on how to subscribe are included at the end of this issue. --------------------------------------------------------- RIGHT WING WATCH ONLINE, #1.2 A. In the Mail 1) Christian Coalition -- anti-choice 2) Concerned Women for America -- anti-gay 3) Operation Rescue -- anti-choice 4) Alliance Defense Fund -- defunding the left 5) Madison Project -- "parental rights" B. On the Airwaves 1) Pat Robertson on the 700 Club -- anti-public schools 2) Gary Bauer -- impeaching judges 3) Bob Knight on Beverly LaHaye Live -- anti-gay C. On the Internet 1) Christian Coalition -- anti-choice 2) Concerned Women for America -- anti-gay 3) Family Research Council -- anti-gay 4) American Family Association -- anti-gay 5) Heritage Foundation -- new cable program ----------------------------------------------------- The various Religious Right groups have been treading familiar ground in recent weeks, attacking public education, bashing gays, working to restrict abortion rights, railing against the liberal judiciary and more. New initiatives of note include an attack on American Airlines for its marketing to the gay and lesbian community, and the next step in the Right's attack on the independent judiciary -- a call for impeachment of judges. A. IN THE MAIL 1) The Christian Coalition's March fundraising letter urges Christian Coalition members to turn up the volume in their campaign for a ban on late term abortions. At the same time, Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed made clear that he regards the current debate as a "first step" only. Wrote Reed, "BANNING PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS IS A GOOD FIRST STEP IN ENDING THE TRAGEDY OF ALL ABORTION." [emphasis in original] [Christian Coalition letter, 3/97] 2) Concerned Women for America's most recent fundraising letter asks members to contact their Members of Congress and to sign a petition opposing a civil rights measure that would extend civil rights protections to gays and lesbians in areas of employment and housing discrimination. According to CWA, passage of the bill would result in, "Your government spending tens of millions of your tax dollars suing decent citizens for the 'crime' of violating the civil rights of homosexuals." [CWA letter, 2/97] 3) "Using large graphic signs of children mutilated by abortion and loaded with literature filled with truth and hope, we will assault the gates of hell." That's how Operation Rescue's recent newsletter describes the group's new campaign aimed at high schools. They call it "God is Going Back to School." [Operation Rescue newsletter, 1/97] 4) Alliance Defense Fund, a Religious Right legal group, sent their activists a "Defunding the Left" Action Pak with their most recent fundraising letter. ADF is intent on ending funding for gay and lesbian support groups on college campuses, "where many of the ideas, attitudes, and conduct that are destroying our country originate." [ADF letter, 2/97] 5) The February/March newsletter for the Madison Project, a PAC headed by Religious Right activist Mike Farris, is pushing so-called parental rights legislation, which suffered defeats in Colorado and the U.S. Congress last year, and is racking up a similarly impressive string of defeats in this year's state legislative sessions. Farris describes the issue as a "long war" between "the elite and the home" and accuses opponents of lying about the dangerous effects of the broadly worded amendment. [Madison Project newsletter, February/March 1997] B. ON THE AIRWAVES 1) Pat Robertson used the February 28th edition of the 700 Club to trash public education and to urge elimination of the Department of Education. According to Robertson, "The educational establishment has just ruined our schools....The Education Department was set up as a pay off, if I can use that term, to the teacher's union." [700 Club, 2/28/97] 2) In his daily radio commentary on March 13th, Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council, took on judicial "activism." He praised House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) for promising that he will begin to introduce articles of impeachment against activist federal judges. Bauer claims "[i]t's about time...Out of control judicial activism is one of the greatest threats to the American experiment in freedom and self-governance." [Bauer's daily "Washington Watch" radio commentary, 3/13/97] 3) Bob Knight of the Family Research Council appeared on the March 12th broadcast of Beverly LaHaye Live, a daily radio show produced by Concerned Women for America, to promote a campaign targeting American Airlines. A coalition of anti-gay activists, including CWA, Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, the Traditional Values Coalition and the Southern Baptist Commission sent a letter to American Airlines condemning them for marketing their airlines to gays and lesbians and warning them of the "effects of pandering to the pro-homosexual lobby." According to Knight: "When you subsidize out of wedlock relationships, heterosexual or homosexual, and say that it's normal and okay, you're really driving a dagger into the heart of marriage....You're also sending a wrong message to young people. There are a lot of kids who are now being tempted into homosexuality and as society broadens its tolerance of homosexuality that means more kids are going to be lured into it thinking, `well there's not really anything wrong with it.'" [Beverly LaHaye Live, 3/1297] C. ON THE INTERNET 1) The Christian Coalition followed up its direct mail piece on abortion by launching a grassroots campaign to pass the so-called Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. In a news release on its website, the Coalition said it plans to activate its phone banks, send direct mail, and broadcast radio ads in 100 congressional districts throughout 36 states. Says Ralph Reed, "We are absolutely confident that the partial-birth abortion ban will pass both houses of Congress by overwhelming margins." [http://www.cc.org] 2) Companies that provide domestic partner benefits are coming under increasing attack from right-wing groups. In addition to its activities condemning American Airlines, Concerned Women for America (CWA) recently issued a web alert telling members to send e-mail to United Airlines urging them to reject domestic partner benefits. United is currently seeking approval for a 25-year lease at the San Francisco International Airport. Since San Francisco has an ordinance requiring companies doing business with the city to provide domestic partner benefits, United has undertaken a two-year study to research the issue. CWA warns that "[as] the structure of the traditional family declines the work ethic declines also." [http://www.cwfa.org] 3) A Family Research Council (FRC) news release targets yet another company. For extending family benefits to domestic partners, Bank of America has become an "enemy of the family." In addition to attacking Bank of America, FRC is "urg[ing] other businesses, such as United Airlines, to challenge San Francisco's oppressive ordinance requiring businesses that trade with the city to provide 'partner benefits.'" [http://www.frc.org] 4) The American Family Association sent an e-mail alert trashing ABC for what it says is the network's "decision to finally make Ellen DeGeneres' character on her popular prime-time sitcom announce her lesbianism." The alert, headlined "ABC/DISNEY PUSHES HOMOSEXUALITY FULL-THROTTLE," quotes Tim Wildmon of AFA: "Disney and ABC have finally decided to scorn the moral sensibilities of millions of Americans. We will be publicizing the advertisers who are willing to push the homosexual agenda." [AFA Action Alert, 3/5/97] 5) And finally, the Heritage Foundation has found yet another new forum for its large cadre of experts and analysts. They now have a regular show on National Empowerment Television (NET) called "Talk of the Town." Journalist Cal Thomas is the host who talks to Heritage staff, government officials and journalists about key issues of the day. ------------------------ To subscribe to Right-Wing Watch Online, send mail to MAISER@PFAW.ORG with no subject and the following text in the body: SUB RWW To unsubscribe, follow the steps above, but use UNSUB RWW in the message body. ==================== People For the American Way | 2000 M Street #400 | Washington, DC 20036 (202) 467-4999 | www.pfaw.org