"Justice Sunday III� - The Fabricated “War on Christians�
Now that the holiday season has passed, the Right Wing’s inflammatory and divisive rhetoric about an alleged “war on Christmas� has begun to die away. But with the battle over the nomination of Samuel Alito just heating up, the Right’s underlying theme that the Christian faith is under attack is still going strong.
Just as they have twice in the past, the Family Research Council held a nation-wide telecast event dubbed “Justice Sunday� timed to coincide with issues of importance regarding the judiciary and judicial nominations.
The “theme� at the first “Justice Sunday� was that a handful of George Bush’s appellate court nominees were being targeted for filibusters not because they were considered extremist judges based on their records, but because they were “people of faith.� That first event was orchestrated to support - and to pressure - Republican Senators to use the so-called “nuclear option.� The “nuclear option� is a parliamentary maneuver threatened by GOP Senate leader Frist that would break Senate rules to force a fundamental change in the Senate’s operating principles with votes from as few as 50 senators, even though rule changes explicitly require a 2/3 vote. Right-wing religious leaders began making the claim that opposition to nominees was motivated by the faith of the nominee. “Justice Sunday� speakers and organizers went so far as to say that any senator or group opposed to extremist nominees was somehow trying to silence conservative Christians or deny them the right to participate in public life. When a last-minute agreement preserved the right to filibuster, those on the Right voiced their outrage.
“Justice Sunday II� coincided with the beginning of John Roberts’ confirmation hearings. Most of the speakers had unequivocally voiced their support for John Roberts, and the pro-Roberts message of “JSII� was made quite clear by the prominent display of his portrait as speakers discussed the need for “strict constructionists.� The overarching theme remained the same: that a so-called “activist� judiciary was trying to “silence� people of faith and that conservative Christians are somehow being persecuted, or treated as “second-class citizens.�
“Justice Sunday III� was held on January 8, the day before the start of Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. The message of this event, which was once again sponsored by the right-wing Family Research Council, was much the same. Opening the event, Tony Perkins of the FRC proclaimed that Christians must take a stand to protect “our religious liberties and freedoms,� which, he claimed, have come under attack from the federal courts. The message Tony Perkins has long been promoting is that the courts are the "last bastion of [an] anti-Christian and anti-American viewpoint."
The first speaker at “Justice Sunday III� was Senator Rick Santorum, who made his support for Samuel Alito the centerpiece of his remarks. Claiming that freedom is at risk because of “liberal activist judges on the Supreme Court� and other judges who are "destroying traditional morality, creating a new moral code and prohibiting any dissent," Santorum stated that in order to “restore this republic� it is imperative that they “elevate honorable jurists like Samuel Alito.� Santorum closed by saying that Democrats are poised to “drag these hearings into the gutter,� asking “are we going to stand by and allow the destruction … of the Constitution?� exhorting viewers to “join me to make sure the answer is ‘yes’ on Judge Sam Alito.�
Rev. Herbert Lusk, whose church hosted the event, took up the persecution theme, saying he has been called everything from an “Uncle Tom� to a “sell out� for joining forces with the likes of Tony Perkins and James Dobson. Lusk warned that the Christian foundations of our country are being tampered with and that Christians are facing “like we have never before this hostility against the people of God.� Lusk then warned his unnamed enemies that he would not go down without a fight “against the redefinition of marriage,� abortion, and “Christian-bashing,� telling them to “be careful how you fool with the church� because the church has buried a million critics and all those “we have not buried, we’re making funeral arrangements for them.�
James Dobson of Focus on the Family stated that the effort to get Alito confirmed is one of the “most important efforts that has occurred in recent history.� Saying that the country is living under judicial tyranny with the Supreme Court forcing its decisions upon the American people, Dobson highlighted issues on which the Court is supposedly undermining representative government: reading the Bible in school; prayer in public school; prayer at graduation and sporting events; saying “under God� in the Pledge of Allegiance; abortion. Dobson claimed that “representative government is being weakened, vilified, and indeed made illegal� but stated that there is “good news� in that President Bush has nominated an “outstanding judge� in Samuel Alito. Dobson said Alito has made it very clear that he will be an “originalist� who will not legislate from the bench and called on those watching the telecast to contact their senators and tell them “DO NOT FILIBUSTER� and to give Alito an up-or-down vote. If that happens, Dobson said, “We can put an end to judicial tyranny.�
Appearing in a short video clip, William Donohue of the Catholic League issued a call to evangelical arms, saying that “Catholics and evangelicals� understand what is at stake, saying “our culture is going south and unless we rescue it, we’re all going down together.� Donohue stated that “we have a war in this country between the secular supremacists who want to gut our society and out religious heritage� and those who seek to protect freedom of religion. Saying the “time for an alliance� between evangelicals, Catholics and Jews, “is now� Donohue warned “either they win or we win.� This is not Donohue’s first involvement with the “Justice Sunday� strategy. The day before he spoke at “Justice Sunday II,� Donohue openly admitted that he hoped to “intimidate� the Senate Judiciary Committee into confirming John Roberts to a seat on the Supreme Court.
Speaking of the Alito nomination Rev. Jerry Falwell, declared “What we have been working on for thirty years is coming to fruition now. Now we are looking at what we really started 30 years ago – a reconstruction of a court system gone awry…� Falwell praised President Bush for keeping his promise to nominate people in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, judges who "will stand for faith and family� and urged viewers to contact their senators, noting that President Bush has three years left in office and that there could be one or two more vacancies in that time. Should that happen, Falwell stated, “there could be a reconstruction of the US Supreme Court in our immediate life time.� In the meantime, the confirmation of Alito will be “one more step toward bringing America back to one nation under God.�
Brian Bosma, Indiana’s Speaker of the House, appeared via video discussing a recent federal court ruling that outlawed the practice of opening House sessions with sectarian prayer. Bosma complained that he is now prohibited from allowing prayers “that mention the name of Jesus Christ, or any reference to the second coming, or the resurrection, or the fact that Jesus is our redeemer!� Saying he intended to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court if necessary, Bosma said it is just one part of the “broader cultural war that we find ourselves in today against those who want to take every bit of religion out of our state, local, and federal government.�
Bishop Wellington Boone closed-out the event, claiming that it is “intellectual dishonesty not to think that our whole nation began with God and with prayer.� Alleging that those who might disagree “don’t have a clue� he went on to ask “how are a bunch of liberals who don’t have a clue going to shut us up?� Finally, Boone lashed out against allegations that the Right is intolerant, saying “we are bible-believing, bible-carrying people. You say ‘you’re trying to proselytize.’ Of course [we are]!� How else, he asked, are people “going to get people saved?�
It’s clear that the “Justice Sunday� organizers will continue to traffic in false charges of anti-religious bigotry and religious persecution against those who want to preserve the separation of church and state that protects all Americans’ religious liberty. This time around, they sought to tie it to the Alito hearings, but it is standard operating procedure for the Right and we will certainly be seeing it again.
Click Here to Read PFAW’s Coverage of Past “Justice Sunday� Events