Subject: [AthofSV] FW: AU @ctivist :: Congressional Leaders' Promise to Push Religious Right Agenda

From: "Mark W. Thomas" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 16:02:16 -0800

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                  Americans United Blasts Congressional Leaders' Promise To
Push Religious Right Agenda
                  Wednesday, March 23, 2005
                  In Closed-Door Briefings, Frist, DeLay Cement Ties With
Religious Right On Schiavo Case, Judges, Abortion, Marriage, Church
Politicking, Ethics Complaints

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                  Press:
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--------------------------------------------------------------

                  AMERICANS UNITED BLASTS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS' PROMISE TO
PUSH RELIGIOUS RIGHT AGENDA

                  In Closed-Door Briefings, Frist, DeLay Cement Ties With
Religious Right On Schiavo Case, Judges, Abortion, Marriage, Church
Politicking, Ethics Complaints

                  Top congressional leaders have promised to push the
Religious Right agenda on judicial nominations, church politicking,
abortion, marriage and the Terri Schiavo case, according to Americans United
for Separation of Church and State.

                  Americans United today released audiotapes of closed-door
addresses by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay to a Family Research Council (FRC) gathering March 17-18 at
Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel. The pair talked about a range of political
issues, using the Schiavo case as a springboard.

                  "Religious Right leaders are determined to run all of our
lives, from the moment of conception through the end of life," said the Rev.
Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "And top congressional
leaders are conspiring behind closed doors in Washington to help them do it.
It's appalling.

                  "Frist and DeLay have wrapped sanctimonious language
around political posturing," said Lynn. "They are using Mrs. Schiavo's
personal tragedy in Florida to burnish their credentials with an
increasingly powerful component of the Republican Party. It's a sad, cynical
political ploy."

                  Mrs. Schiavo, a Florida woman, has been in a persistent
vegetative state for 15 years. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has fought a
long legal battle to remove her feeding tube. Religious Right forces and
their allies in Congress and Florida government have repeatedly tried to
intervene in the situation, despite medical advice and court decisions that
support Mr. Schiavo.

                  During the FRC meeting, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
(R-Tenn.) and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) assured attendees
that they would do what it takes to keep Schiavo connected to a feeding tube
and also would exert great power to push a whole host of issues central to
the Religious Right's agenda.

                  DeLay urged the gathering to contact lawmakers in both
chambers to support legislation that would allow churches to become much
more involved in partisan politicking.  The Texas Republican blasted current
federal tax law, which bars both secular and religious nonprofit groups from
endorsing political candidates.

                  "It forces Christians back into the church and that's what
is going on," DeLay claimed. "That's not what Christ asked us to do. We have
to fight back."

                  Beyond swearing allegiance to the Religious Right's
agenda, DeLay, who has faced increased attention for alleged ethics
violations, also bemoaned "personal attacks" against him and other
conservative leaders and said the Schiavo case would highlight those
attacks.

                  "One thing that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo, to
help elevate the visibility of what is going on in America," DeLay told the
crowd.

                  "This is exactly the issue that is going on in America, of
attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many
others," DeLay said. He
                  complained that "the other side" was leading the attack,
with a goal "to defeat the conservative movement."

                  According to DeLay, a "whole syndicate" of "do-gooder"
forces are arrayed against him in "a huge nationwide concerted effort to
destroy everything we believe in."

                  FRC President Tony Perkins assured DeLay of the group's
support and asked audience members to contact Republican lawmakers and
demand that they back the House majority leader.

                  Americans United's Lynn said, "It is dishonorable for Rep.
DeLay to use the Schiavo case and cloak himself in Christian piety in order
to evade accountability on ethics complaints."

                  Frist also told the FRC attendees that he was dedicated to
issues dear to their hearts.

                  "You stand up for our families, our children, you never
back down," Frist told the gathering via speakerphone. "That's why we are
winning these larger battles today. Together we are leading our nation
forward. We have a president, a House of Representatives, a Senate that
shares our values and the American people are on our side.

                  "In this Congress we are going to continue to work on the
issues that are important to you, to me and above all, America's future,"
Frist continued.

                  Those issues include, Frist maintained, the confirmation
of "good judges," protecting the "sanctity of marriage" and protecting "the
unborn." He said, "I'm also committed to ending the [Senate Democratic]
minority's filibuster [on judges] and restoring this 220 years or more of
Senate tradition and history."

                  Frist was particularly adamant about fighting for a
Federal Marriage Amendment, saying that, "We will take action to preserve
and protect and defend the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman."

                  Americans United's Lynn said the comments by DeLay and
Frist prove that Congress is beholden to the Religious Right's narrow vision
for America.

                  "I find it appalling that top leaders of Congress are
using the Schiavo tragedy to nurture their Religious Right base," Lynn said.
"I am confident that the American people do not want their personal lives
subjected to interference from Congress and their Religious Right allies."

                  Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group
based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates
Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding
religious freedom.

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                  Beth Corbin
                  National Field Director

                        Americans United
                        for Separation of Church and State
                        518 C Street, NE
                        Washington, DC 20002 202-466-3234 telephone
                        202-466-2587 fax
                        [email-masked]
                        [email-masked]

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