1 Boring Old Man

Christian Right Agenda In Shambles After GOP Defeat

…But it has been a tough year:

The scandals have come one after another for the political party he and others in the Christian right consider theirs: Reps. Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.), who pleaded guilty to bribery last November; Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who pleaded guilty to corruption and conspiracy charges last month after accepting lavish gifts for favors; Jack Abramoff, the convicted fundraiser and briber who provided many of those gifts — and to whom Sheldon himself was linked through payments he received from an Abramoff client, an Internet gambling firm; and, perhaps most upsettingly for the author of “The Homosexual Agenda to Change America,” Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who was forced to resign his seat after the disclosure of his uninvited sexual communications with male congressional interns.

Then, as if things could not get worse, there was the disgrace of Sheldon’s own friend and colleague, Rev. Ted Haggard, the Colorado mega-church leader and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an even bigger pillar of Republican support on the Christian right. Sheldon disclosed that he and “a lot” of others knew about Haggard’s homosexuality “for awhile … but we weren’t sure just how to deal with it.”

Months before a male prostitute publicly revealed Haggard’s secret relationship with him, and the reverend’s drug use as well, “Ted and I had a discussion,” explained Sheldon, who said Haggard gave him a telltale signal then: “He said homosexuality is genetic. I said, no it isn’t. But I just knew he was covering up. They need to say that.”

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But then comes a couple of bombshells, told almost in passing. "A lot" of the Christian Right leaders knew about Haggard’s homosexuality. He adds, "but we weren’t sure how to deal with it." So, like Hastert and Reynolds in the case of Mark Foley, these Christian Right leaders did nothing with Haggard – in short, they covered it up with their silence. I suspect that what "we weren’t sure how to deal with it" meant was how to keep from being embarassed by it. What they knew was how "not to" deal with it. And, by the way, the Traditional Values Coalition advertises resources for people struggling with gender issues:

Contrary to what homosexual activist groups or homosexual-affirming psychological associations may suggest, there is hope for individuals who wish to break free from unwanted same-sex attractions, sexual compulsions, cross-dressing, or transsexual feelings.

The list below is not comprehensive yet many of these organizations provide their own lists of referral services state by state as well as international resources. We will continue to add to this list.

The good news is that no one is born homosexual or transsexual. These are mental conditions that can be treated through religious-based or psychological therapies.

They are so self-deluded, they can’t even listen when one of their own tells them how it really is. One of their own who ought to know about it from the inside…