Informationsmarktverzerrung durch Fundamentalismus am Beispiel der USA

Kapitel 1: Einführung

2. Handelnde Personen I: Politiker

von Margarete Payer

mailto: payer@payer.de

Zitierweise / cite as:

Payer, Margarete <1942 - >: Informationsmarktverzerrung durch Fundamentalismus am Beispiel der USA. -- Kapitel 1: Einführung. -- 2. Handelnde Personen I: Politiker. -- Fassung vom 2005-05-27. -- URL: http://www.payer.de/fundamentalismus/fundamentalismus012.htm

Erstmals publiziert: 2005-03-22

Überarbeitungen: 2005-05-27 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-19 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-06 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-04-02 [Ergänzungen]; 2005-03-28 [Ergänzungen]

Anlass: Lehrveranstaltung an der Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart, Sommersemester 2005

Copyright: Dieser Text steht der Allgemeinheit zur Verfügung. Eine Verwertung in Publikationen, die über übliche Zitate hinausgeht, bedarf der ausdrücklichen Genehmigung des Verfassers.

Diese Inhalt ist unter einer Creative Commons-Lizenz lizenziert.

Dieser Text ist Teil der Abteilung  Länder und Kulturen von Tüpfli's Global Village Library

Übersicht

• 01. Mottos
• 02. Die 50 einflussreichsten Christen in Amerika (2002)
• 03. Blue und red states 1960 und 2004
• 1. Exekutive
  • 1.1. George W. Bush, Präsident
  • 1.2. Karl Rove, Assistant to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser
  • 1.3. Tim Goeglein, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison
  • 1.4. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
  • 1.5. John Ashcroft, Attorney General 2000 - 2004
• 2. Legislative
  • 2.1. Rick Santorum, Senator
  • 2.2. Alan Keyes, Politiker der Republikaner
• 3. Judikative
  • 3.1. Roy Moore, Richter

Selbstverständlich erhebt die Auswahl der Personen keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit. Die behandelten Personen sind wegen ihrer überragenden Bedeutung oder als typische Beispiele gewählt.

01. Mottos

Abb.: Jesus votes Republican - satirischer Button
[Bildquelle: http://www.cafepress.com/thewhitehouse.12475604. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-12] 

02. Die 50 einflussreichsten Christen in Amerika (2002)

Die Leser des Church Executive Magazin wählten folgende 50 Personen als einflussreichste Christen der USA:

[1] George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States Formerly the Governor of Texas, this compassionate conservative has grown in popularity since 9/11. His decision to go after terrorists at all costs has recently caused an uproar, but he has also proposed bold initiatives to ensure churches can play a role in the betterment of this country. His establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives had a rough start, but President Bush is working to ensure its success.He is always willing to share his testimony after being saved at age 40. He is also very open with his faith, unlike his many predecessors. [2] John Ashcroft, Attorney General of the United States Attorney General Ashcroft has been the center of controversy since his appointment in 2001. This son of an Assemblies of God minister has not been bashful about discussing his religious beliefs. However, he has not allowed those beliefs to dictate his enforcement of the nation's laws, much like his opponents thought they would.He leads an area and department that typically has been predominated by secular individuals. For many years God was purposely left out of decisions at the Justice Department. [3] Tim Lahaye and [4] Jerry Jenkins, Authors, Left Behind Series Dr. Tim LaHaye was the man who dreamt of fictionalizing an account of the Rapture and the Tribulation, which lead to the wildly popular Left Behind Series. This author, minister, counselor, television commentator, and speaker is the founder and president of Tim LaHaye Ministries and the founder of PreTrib Research Center.Thanks to the smashing success of the Left Behind Series, Jerry Jenkins is no longer the "most famous writer no one's ever heard of." Instead, he has become a leading contemporary evangelical writer with six books on the New York Times best seller's list.This popular fictional account of Revelation has caused many non-believers to search for answers. Some may think this ranking is too high, but the influence of their work during the last two years has been extraordinary. [5] Sandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice O'Connor made headlines when she shattered the glass ceiling by being named the first woman to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981. She is considered to be a thoughtful jurist - one who thinks through cases thoroughly, letting her mind, rather than her heart, lead her decisions.She is the deciding vote in many Supreme Court cases. She will not strike down Roe v. Wade, but she was key to upholding government aid to religious organizations in the Cleveland school voucher case. [6] Wilton Gregory, Catholic Bishop The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory was elected as the first African-American President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2001. His role on the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse has brought him much attention in the past year, causing many to believe that Gregory still has so much more to accomplish.He is a telegenic African-American who has put a 21st century face on the Catholic Church in America. His profile was raised by his handling of the sexual abuse cases. Some look to him as the future leader of the Catholic Church in the U.S. [7] Billy Graham, Evangelist Considered one of the greatest pastors of our time, Billy Graham has been leading revivals and crusades since the 1930s, successfully packing huge event halls even to this day. He is scaling back his own duties, but his two children have become a leading force in the American Christian arena.While his age and health are limiting his work, he is still a powerful force in American Christianity. [8] Rick Warren, Pastor, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA Rick Warren, who started Saddleback Church in his home, now leads the fastest growing Baptist church in history, with more than 16,000 people in attendance each weekend. While he is best known for his Purpose-Driven model for church health and Pastors.com, Warren made waves in 2002 with his case against the IRS regarding the clergy housing allowance.He has been the most influential person in advancing church growth during the past 10 years. His controversial housing allowance challenge only increased his impact on the American church. [9] Bill Hybels, Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL Bill Hybels has developed his own standards for church growth, taking into account the reasons people were unchurched - they did not want to make time, or they felt "guilty" when they left services - and appealing to them in a different, edgier way. His model for church growth has taken on a new resurgence, making this Chicago-based pastor an extremely busy man.He is still competing with Rick Warren for the title of "father of the megachurch in America." As a pastor of a growing church, you either learn from Saddleback or Willow Creek. [10] Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 2002 In the years since he served as president, Jimmy Carter has devoted his time and resources to sharing with the world the work that is most important to him. Rather than spending time analyzing the current political climate on a regular basis, Carter volunteers with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, lending a famous face to not-so-popular causes. It is his desire to help those less fortunate that resulted in his winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.He is always willing to share his faith with others, which shows in the strides he has made through humanitarian work. [11] Jim Towey, Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives As an appointee of President Bush, he wields much influence as leader of the president's plan to fund community-based programs in churches. [12] Lisa Beamer, Author She used the tragedy of 9/11 to share her faith and that of her family. God's message is prominent in all of her appearances. [13] Kurt Warner, NFL Football Player His public faith is tested when team losses and injuries mount. He takes some hits from the secular media, but he is a great role model in professional sports. [14] Cal Thomas, Syndicated Columnist As a "token" Christian columnist, he is still able to get his point (and faith) across each day in the mainstream press. [15] Ralph Reed, Political Consultant The stunning wins by the Georgia GOP in the November elections prove him to be a political force for the future. [16] James Dobson, Founder and President, Focus on the Family His media empire continues to keep him on the front pages. [17] Charles (Chuck) Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship Ministries This Watergate figure has become a beacon of strength, and he shows that life-changing events can happen through Christ. [18] J.C. Watts, Congressman While his influence remains to be seen as he leaves Congress, he has been a great role model for the African-American community. [19] Ed Cole, Deceased, Evangelist He was the true father of the Promise Keepers movement. While he passed away in September 2002, his legacy lives on. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Promise Keepers canre-establish itself.   [20] John Maxwell, Pastor and Motivational Speaker While most megachurch pastors have great motivational speaking skills, he has been successful in taking his principles to the secular world, as well. [21] Marvin Olasky, Editor, World Magazine It won't ever be Newsweek or Time, but he keeps advancing World as a Christian complement to those publications. [22] Paul Crouch, Televangelist The TBN empire is facing some new challenges, but he continues to forge ahead. Cable networksand low-power TV stations nationwide hum withthe sound of TBN broadcasts. [23] Thomas Kincaid, Artist This Painter of Light spreads the Gospel through his pop-art paintings. Disdained by the critics, his works are accepted by the masses. [24] & [25] Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, Missionaries Thanks to them, missionaries are finally receiving positive press in the mainstream media. It took a lot of guts to work in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. [26] & [27] Tommy and Matthew Barnett, Pastors, Phoenix First Assembly of God and Dream Center, Los Angeles Father Tommy continues to lead one of the largest Assemblies of God churches. Rather than staying home in comfort in Arizona, son Matthew has helped develop a significant inner-city ministry in Los Angeles. [28] T.D. Jakes, Pastor, The Potter's House, Dallas He moved his church to Dallas, and it immediately became a church to be reckoned with. He's another strong figure in the African-American community. [29] C. Truett Cathy, Founder, Chick-Fil-A His decision to close his restaurants on Sundays is a surprise to the business world at large, but it's one way he can show his faith. The chain continues to be run on Christian principles and succeeds. [30] Anne Graham Lotz, Author and President, AnGel Ministries While issues of women in the pulpit continue to surround her, she is arguably the heir to the Graham legacy. She may be more influential than her brother. [31] Franklin Graham, President and CEO, Samaritan's Purse and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association While he is successor to his father, he is still developing his own voice. [32] Bill Bright, Founder, Campus Crusade for Christ He established one of the most successful evangelistic movements in the world, which resulted in more than 4 billion exposures to the Gospel. [33] Richard Hammar. Attorney Most Americans will not recognize this name. However, his "Tax Law and Clergy Guide" is required reading for members of all faiths. Most churches in America operate based on Hammar's interpretation of the law. [34] Jack Hayford, Pastor, Church on the WayEven in semi-retirement, his influence is felt in church leadership and worship. [35 & 36] Chuck Smith and Don McClure, Founder, Calvary Chapel Movement McClure is considered Smith's heir-apparent. The ministry is strong, but transition lies ahead. [37] John Hagee, Pastor, Cornerstone Church and Founder, John Hagee Ministries, San Antonio, He's a Texas preacher with a national following and good relationships with politicians. He is also a strong supporter of Israel. His end-times prophecy takes on greater meaning with the current conflicts in the Middle East. [38] Alan Keyes, Presidential Candidate Keyes' influence has diminished since his failed presidential bid and cancelled talk show. Still, he has set the groundwork for national recognition in the future. He could significantly move up this list in coming years or fall from it entirely. [39] Bishop Charles E. Blake, Pastor, West Angeles Church of God in Christ He is one of the leading African-American preachers in the United States, and he has also developed power in the political and entertainment arenas. [40] Lyle Schaller, Church Growth Specialist, Naperville, IL Twenty years ago he would have made the top 10. His research into church growth is still cited and used frequently today. [41] Max Lucado, Author, Radio Host and Pastor, Oak Hills Church of Christ, San Antonio This self-described "Texas tough-guy," who offers psychological self-help from the Christian perspective, has become a leader in helping people overcome the doubts, insecurities and burdens they bear everyday. [42] Bruce Wilkinson. Author, Prayer of Jabez His writings have become a best-seller and have had an influence on secular society. You may disagree with the specifics, but the influence on America is there. [43] Pat Robertson, Evangelist He's not as influential as he was when he was advancing the Christian Coalition on a regular basis. Will that change with the GOP in control the Senate? [44] Chuck Swindoll, Pastor, Stonebriar Community Church, Frisco, TX, and Host, "Insight for Living" He was successful in starting a Texas megachurch from scratch three years ago. He is one of many who have succeeded with a new venture at an age when most Americans have already retired. [45] Kirbyjon Caldwell, Pastor, Windsor Village UMC, Houston He is a leader in demonstrating the economic power of the African-American Church. His model in Houston has set the benchmark for a number of community-based church-business initiatives. [46] & [47] Larry Stockstill and Ted Haggard, Pastors, Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, LA, and New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO Stockstill and Haggard both were pioneers in the "cell" church movement, whereby today's modern megachurch exists as a support base for a variety of smaller churches or "cells" within it. Haggard also was one of the leading founders of the World Prayer Institute in Colorado Springs. [48] George Barna, Pastor and Pollster He would have ranked higher on this list a few years ago - his polls used to be required reading for every pastor in America. However, questions have arisen lately regarding the methodology of his polling and the results obtained. [49] Ron Blue, Financial Consultant, Ron Blue and Company, Atlanta, GA He has made a significant mark as an investment manager for Christians, using Christian-based principles in his advising. [50] Willie George, Pastor, Church on the Move, Tulsa, OK He is not in the media like his more visible counter-parts listed above, but his ministry models for children and teens have made perhaps a greater impact on the American church than many of the more well-known televangelists. " [Quelle: http://www.churchexecutive.com/2003/01/The_50_most_influential_Christians_in_America.asp. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-06]

03. Blue und red states 1960 und 2004

Blue states = Staaten, die bei der Präsidentenwahl mehrheitlich demokratisch wählen

Red states = Staaten, die bei der Präsidentenwahl mehrheitlich republikanisch wählen

Abb.: Blue und red states 1960 (Kennedy gegen Nixon)

Abb.: Blue und red states 2004 (G. W. Bush gegen Kerry)

1. Exekutive

"Born Again Christians Were a Significant Factor in President Bush’s Re-Election November 9, 2004 (Ventura, CA) - Most of President Bush’s supporters did at least two things during the first week of November: they voted to re-elect the President and they went to church. The acclaimed “values voters” turned out in huge numbers on Election Day to support the incumbent and thereby prevent a replay of the 2000 cliffhanger outcome. Had it not been for the unusually high turnout among voters driven by religious convictions, the results might have been different, according to a new nationwide survey by The Barna Group. Christians Push Bush Over the Top Overall, born again Christians supported President George W. Bush by a 62% to 38% margin. In contrast, non-born again voters supported Senator John Kerry by an almost identical 59% to 39% division. The difference was in the rates of turnout of each segment. Although the born again population constitutes just 38% of the national population, it represented 53% of the vote cast in the election. If the born again public had shown up proportional to its population size, Senator Kerry would have won the election by the same three-point margin of victory enjoyed by Mr. Bush. Evangelicals not only turned out in large numbers; they also gave Mr. Bush an overwhelming endorsement. Although they are just 7% of the voting-aged population, evangelicals constituted 11% of the voters and chose President Bush by an 85% to 15% margin. Non-evangelical born again Christians, who cast a substantial 42% of all votes, sided with the incumbent by a 56% to 44% outcome. The combination of those two Christian voting blocs produced a 62% majority among all born again voters. Protestants and Catholics Shift Allegiance In the 2000 election, Catholics were more likely to side with Al Gore than with George W. Bush, with 49% voting for the Democrat Gore and 44% selecting the Republican Bush as their favored candidate. In this year’s race, however, the Catholic vote was evenly split. This indicates that President Bush did not hold on to all of the Catholic support he generated during the campaign, but he was able to increase his Catholic constituency enough to ensure the win this time around. Protestant voters, on the other hand, increased their support for the President from a slim 51% to 47% tally in 2000 to a more comfortable 57% to 42% landslide in 2004. Turnout among Protestants was significant, rising from 56% of the vote total in 2000 to 62% of the turnout in 2004. In comparison, the percentage of the total votes that were cast by Catholics remained unchanged (24%). Ethnic Believers Move Toward Bush One of the most significant shifts since the 2000 election related to the preferences of ethnic voters. Traditionally aligned with Democratic presidential candidates, African Americans remained firmly associated with that party, supplying the challenger a whopping 87% to 13% mandate. However, a key comparison is the shift over the past four years among born again blacks. In 2000, this segment rallied behind Mr. Gore by a 92% to 7% margin. In the current election, the margin of preference was reduced to 85% to 15%. That reflects a doubling of the percentage of the black born again vote delivered to Mr. Bush. Similarly, tastes have changed among Hispanic voters. Although Hispanics gave Al Gore a 2-to-1 margin of preference in 2000, they were less enthusiastic about Senator Kerry’s candidacy in 2004, giving him a 53% to 45% vote of confidence this year. However, when born again Hispanics are examined, President Bush was the favored candidate by a 56% to 44% differential. Among all Hispanic voters who made it to the polls, those who were born again constituted 5% of the total vote and 48% of the Hispanic voters. That is an unexpectedly high turnout among the born again segment since only four out of ten Hispanics are born again. White born again voters, however, were the ethnic group that gave the President the biggest lift. In total, 72% of this segment backed the Republican candidate while only 27% supported the Democratic challenger. Nearly four out of every ten votes counted (39%) came from a white born again adult. Bush Wins Born Agains of All Ages As expected, young adults voted heavily for Senator Kerry. Voters under 30 awarded him 60% of their votes. However, when the entire Baby Bust generation is studied – that is, people of ages from 21 to 39 – President Bush received a slight majority (51%, compared to Senator Kerry’s 48%). The Texan also won among Baby Boomers (55% to 44%) and among Elders (i.e., people 59 or older, 51% versus 48%). Faith was a factor even across generations. Among born again Busters, Mr. Bush defeated Mr. Kerry 62% to 38%. The difference was even more robust among born again Boomers (Bush 68% to Kerry 32%), and slightly larger than the 59% to 40% margin won among born again Elders. Religious Convictions Emerge Other indicators of religious conviction demonstrated President Bush’s appeal to the Christian community. For instance, 61% of the people who regularly attend religious services voted for him, compared to just 30% of the vote among unchurched adults. Similarly, those who described themselves as “committed Christians” chose the incumbent by a 60% to 39% margin; those who said they were “deeply spiritual” preferred the President by a 58% to 41% gap; and voters who said they were “concerned about the moral condition of the nation” registered a 55% Bush vote. Adults who have an “active faith” – that is, in the past week they had attended a church service, prayed to God, and read the Bible outside of church – also provided the President with a 2-to-1 margin of preference (67% to 33%)." [Quelle: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=174. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-11]

1.1. George W. Bush, Präsident

Abb.: Präsident George W. Bush und seine Frau Laura Bush im Gebet bei der Einweihungszeremonie des Oklahoma City National Memorial. -- 2001-02-19 [Bildquelle: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/images/20010219-a.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01] 

Im Bestseller "The Faith of George W. Bush" schreibt der Autor,  Stephen Mansfield, zur Bedeutung von George W. Busch als religiöser Präsident:

"There is another likely pillar of George W. Bush's legacy that; surprisingly it is not too early in his presidency to consider seriously This is the matter of his religious faith and his attempts to integrate faith as a whole into American public policy It is here that we come to one of the most unique characteristics of the Bush presidency and very possibly to one of the most defining issues of our time. George W. Bush entered the presidency sounding an unapologetically religious tone. On his very first day in office, he called for a day of prayer and cut federal spending on abortion. He speaks of being called to the presidency of a God who rules in the affairs of men, and of the United States owing her origin to Providence. Americans have had opportunity to know more about the president's conversion, prayer life, what Bible he reads, what devotional he uses, and who his spiritual influences are than they have ever known of any other president. In no previous administration has the White House hosted so many weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings, and never have religious leaders been more gratefully welcomed. He has shared Scripture with the prime minister of England, discussed the cross with the president of Russia, knelt in prayer with the president of Macedonia, and told the leader of Turkey that the two would do well together because they both believe in "the Almighty". Moreover, President Bush has attempted to use faith and faith-based institutions to solve the nation's problems in a way that is new in recent American memory and may bring, particularly if he is allowed a second term, a transformation of American social policy Bush's personal journey of faith is a winding road, not unusual in an age of baby-boomer spirituality. He attended Episcopal and Presbyterian churches until he married and through his wife's influence became a Methodist. The seeds of faith were planted, and he experienced what he calls "stirrings," but there was no single moment of spiritual awakening. Then came business failures, seasons of excessive drinking, and a marriage that began showing signs of strain. As midlife approached, he took the now-famous walk on a Maine beach with Billy Graham, who asked him if he was "right with God." He was not, and he knew it, but his time with Graham made him aware of his need. Bush joined a businessmen's Bible study in Midland, and before long his friends noted something different about him. Asked who his favorite philosopher was during his presidential campaign, he quickly answered with the phrase that told the story: "Christ, because He changed my heart." Yet, Bush's Christ rules the world as well as the heart. He is, as Bush attests in his autobiography1, the author of a "divine plan that supersedes all human plans."As the president-elect said in his inaugural address, it is God "who fills time and eternity with His purpose." The individual is obligated to this purpose, as is the state. And how does government fulfill the purpose of God? The answer from Bush is unclear, but the implication—one that unsettles those who desire to preserve a broad separation of church and state — is that institutions of faith "have an honored place in our plans and in our laws." If the presidency is a "bully pulpit" as Teddy Roosevelt claimed, no one in recent memory has pounded that pulpit for religion's role in government quite like the forty-third president." [Quelle: Mansfield, Stephen <1958 - >: The faith of George W. Bush. -- 1st trade pbk. ed.  -- New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2004.  -- 200 S. ; 23 cm.  -- ISBN 1585423092. -- S. xiv -- xvi. -- Dieses Buch ist ein Standardwerk der Fundamlentalisten]

¹ Die erwähnte Autobiographie Bush's ist

Abb.: Umschlagtitel

Bush, George W. (George Walker) <1946 - >: A charge to keep. -- 1st ed.  -- New York : Morrow, ©1999. -- xvi, 253 S. : Ill. ; 25 cm. -- ISBN 0688174418. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}

Den Titel dieses Buchs wählte Bush von eine seiner methodistischen Lieblingshymnen: Charles Wesley (1707 - 1788): A charge to keep I have (1762), Melodie (1832): Lowell Mason (1792 - 1872). Diesen Hymnus hatte er auch für seinen Inauguralgottesdienst gewählt:

A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, A never-dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky. To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill: O may it all my powers engage To do my Master’s will! Arm me with jealous care, As in Thy sight to live; And O Thy servant, Lord, prepare A strict account to give! Help me to watch and pray, And on Thyself rely, Assured, if I my trust betray, I shall for ever die.

[Quelle der midi-Datei: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/h/chargkeep.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01}

Der Inhalt dieser Hymne geht auf Matthew Henry's  (1662-1714) oft nachgedruckten Kommentar zu Leviticus 8,35 ["35  Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded." King James version] zurück:

"We have every one of us a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, needful duty to be done, our generation to serve; and it must be our daily care to keep this charge, for it is the charge of the Lord our Master, who will shortly call us account about it, and it is our utmost peril if we neglect it. Keep it “that ye die not”; it is death, eternal death, to betray the trust that we are charged with; by the consideration of this we must be kept in awe." [Quelle: Henry, Matthew <1662 - 1714>: Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. -- 1708-1710. --Zitiert nach: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/h/chargkeep.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

Abb.: A charge to keep / von W.H.D. (Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev)  Koerner (1878 - 1938)

"Several weeks later, Joe and Jan O'Neill called. They owned a beautiful oil painting by W. H. D. Koerner entitled A Charge to Keep. It had been a wedding present from Joe's dad. The painting was inspired by the hymn that had been sung at my inaugural service, and Joe and Jan wanted to loan it to me if it would fit in my state office [als Governor of Texas]. It fit perfectly on the wall directly across from my desk, and it hangs there today. In April, I sent a memo about the painting to my "hardworking staff members." "I thought I would share with you a recent bit of Texas history which epitomizes our mission," I said. "When you come into my office, please take a look at the beautiful painting of a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. This is us. What adds complete life to the painting for me is the message of Charles Wesley that we serve One greater than ourselves. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your service to our State. God bless Texas!" The hymn has been an inspiration for me and for members of my staff. "A Charge to Keep" calls us to our highest and best. It speaks of purpose and direction. In many hymnals, it is associated with a Bible verse, 1 Corinthians 4:2: "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."" [Quelle: Bush, George W. (George Walker) <1946 - >: A charge to keep. -- 1st ed.  -- New York : Morrow, ©1999. -- xvi, 253 S. : Ill. ; 25 cm. -- ISBN 0688174418. -- S. 45. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]

Eine gute Quellensammlung zu George W. Bush's Äußerungen zu Religion und Politik ist:

Bush, George W.  (George Walker) <1946 - >: George W. Bush on God and country / edited by Thomas M. Freiling. -- Fairfax, Va. : Allegiance Press, ©2004. -- 266 S. ; 22 cm. -- ISBN 1-591-60918-6. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}

Abb.: Umschlagtitel

"Not since Abraham Lincoln has a sitting President addressed spiritual issues as frequently as President George W Bush, When the country sunk into uncertainty and disbelief over attacks abroad and at home, President Bush spoke to the hearts of the American people with faith and conviction. This remarkable compilation gives you portions of every address Bush has given in public life about faith in God, prayer, his commitment to life and freedom, patriotism, and his resolve to combat evil in the world. This remarkable collection is featured on the national television program, George W. Bush: Faith in the White House, and includes portions of what the President has said about God, prayer, Christianity, morality, freedom, evil, war, and more. Current Events" [Quelle. Rückenumschlag]

Abb.: Rückenumschlag <Ausschnitt>

Buschs religiöse Hörigkeit ist selektiv:

"Bush often cloaks his "faith-based" approach to governance in rhetoric about how religion has been wrongly banished from the public square, the idea, in the president's words, that "we're still fighting old attitudes, habits, and rules, that discriminate against religious groups for no good purpose." But he isn't really interested in faith in general. The president didn't flick an eyelash when the National Council of Churches and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed his war on Iraq. He didn't listen when the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the Patriot Act. When the Union for Reform Judaism announced that an antigay marriage amendment would "defile the constitution," the president took no notice. Nor did Bush respond to a joint call, signed by fifty prominent Christian leaders, including Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals and Jim Wallis of Call to Renewal, for policies that promote "quality health care, decent housing, and a living income" for the poor. His is not an embrace of spirituality or ethics broadly speaking, or of faith as an important voice among many in the national debate. It is, instead, an embrace of right-wing Christian fundamentalism." [Quelle: Kaplan, Esther: With God on their side : how Christian fundamentalists trampled science, policy, and democracy in George W. Bush's White House. -- New York, NY [u.a.] : New Press, 2004. -- XII, 322 S. ; 20 cm. -- ISBN 1-565-84920-5. -- S. 4.-- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]

Übrigens:

"Sorgen über den Präsidenten Bush Die methodistische Kirche in Deutschland will sich stärker zu gesellschaftlichen und politischen Fragen äußern. „Wir tragen eine Verantwortung, die wir mehr wahrnehmen müssen", sagt die neue Bischöfin der Evangelisch-methodistischen Kirche, Rosemarie Wenner (49). Die Frankfurter Theologin wurde auf der Zentralkonferenz gewählt. Sie löst Walter Klaiber ab, der die Methodisten 16 Jahre lang leitete und in den Ruhestand geht. Mit einem Friedens- und Sozialwort werde ihre Kirche sich positionieren, sagt Wenner. „Es macht uns Sorge, dass die USA unter Führung eines Präsidenten, der zu unserer Kirche gehört, Lösungen gegen den Terror sucht, die im Gegensatz zu den Überzeugungen unserer Kirche stehen", betont Klaiber. Über Bush werde intensiv diskutiert." [epd. -- 2005-03]

Ein Beispiel, wie Bush seine Politik "hinüberbringt": seine Erläuterung des "Compassionate Conservatism" in einer Rede im Präsidentschafts-Wahlkampf 1999:

"THE DUTY OF HOPE Indianapolis, Indiana July 22, 1999 It is a pleasure to be with you—among people transforming this city with good will and good works. The Front Porch Alliance is the way things ought to be. People on the front lines of community renewal should work together. And government should take your side. Mayor Goldsmith, my thanks to you. You have set an example of innovative, compassionate government. And that example has become a model for the nation. Everywhere I've gone in this campaign—from farms in Iowa to Latino communities in California—I've carried one message. Our country must be prosperous. But prosperity must have a purpose. The purpose of prosperity is to make sure the American dream touches every willing heart. The purpose of prosperity is to leave no one out—to leave no one behind. We are a wealthy nation. But we must also be rich in ideals—rich in justice and compassion and family love and moral courage. I am an economic conservative. I believe we should cut taxes to stimulate economic growth. Yet I know that economic growth is not the solution to every problem. A rising tide lifts many boats—but not all. Many prosper in a bull market—but not everyone. The invisible hand works many miracles. But it cannot touch the human heart. The American Dream is so vivid—but too many feel: The dream is not meant for me. Children abandoned by fathers. Children captured by addiction and condemned to schools that do not teach and will not change. Young mothers without self-respect or education or the supporting love of a husband. These needs are found everywhere, in cities and suburbs and small towns. But the places where these problems are concentrated—from North Central Philadelphia to South Central Los Angeles—have become the ruins of communities. Places where despair is the easy path, and hope the narrow gate. For many people, this other society of addiction and abandonment and stolen childhood is a distant land, another world. But it is America. And these are not strangers, they are citizens, Americans, our brothers and sisters. In their hopes, we find our duties. In their hardship, we must find our calling—to serve others, relying on the goodness of America and the boundless grace of God. The reality here is simple. Often when a life is broken, it can only be rebuilt by another caring, concerned human being. Someone whose actions say, "I love you, I believe in you, I'm in your corner." This is compassion with a human face and a human voice. It is not an isolated act—it is a personal relationship. And it works. The mentors in Big Brothers/Big Sisters—spending only a few hours a week with a child—cut first-time drug use by 50 percent and violent behavior by a third. The success of this fine program proves the obvious: in solving the problems of our day, there is no substitute for unconditional love and personal contact. I was struck by the story of a gang initiation in Michigan. A 15-year-old boy was forced to stand and take two minutes of vicious beating from other members without fighting back. At the end, he was required to stand up and embrace his attackers. When asked why he submitted to this torture, he answered, "I knew this was going to hurt really bad, but I felt that if I could take it for just a couple of minutes, I'd be surrounded by people who loved me." Imagine a young life that empty, so desperately in need of real love. And multiply it by millions. This crisis of the spirit creates an expanding circle of responsibility. Individuals are responsible to love our neighbors as we want to be loved ourselves. Parents must understand that being a good mom or dad becomes their highest goal in life. Congregations and community groups must fight for children and neighborhoods, creating what Pope John Paul II calls, "a hospitable society, a welcoming culture." A president has responsibilities as well. A president can speak without apology for the values that defeat violence and help overcome poverty. A president can speak for abstinence and accountability and the power of faith. In the past, presidents have declared wars on poverty and promised to create a great society. But these grand gestures and honorable aims were frustrated. They have become a warning, not an example. We found that government can spend money, but it can't put hope in our hearts or a sense of purpose in our lives. This is done by churches and synagogues and mosques and charities that warm the cold of life. A quiet river of goodness and kindness that cuts through stone. Real change in our culture comes from the bottom up, not the top down. It gathers the momentum of a million committed hearts. So today I want to propose a different role for government. A fresh start. A bold new approach. In every instance where my administration sees a responsibility to help people, we will look first to faith-based organizations, charities and community groups that have shown their ability to save and change lives. We will make a determined attack on need, by promoting the compassionate acts of others. We will rally the armies of compassion in our communities to fight a very different war against poverty and hopelessness, a daily battle waged house to house and heart by heart. This will not be the failed compassion of towering, distant bureaucracies. On the contrary, it will be government that serves those who are serving their neighbors. It will be government that directs help to the inspired and the effective. It will be government that both knows its limits and shows its heart. And it will be government truly by the people and for the people. We will take this path, first and foremost, because private and religious groups are effective. Because they have clear advantages over government. Sometimes the idea of compassion is dismissed as soft or sentimental. But those who believe this have not visited these programs. Compassion is not one of the easy virtues. At InnerChange—a faith-based program run by Prison Fellowship inside a Texas prison—inmates are up at 5 a.m. and fill their days with work and study rather than soap operas. At Teen Challenge—a national drug treatment program—one official says, "We have a rule: If you don't work, you don't eat." This is demanding love—at times, a severe mercy. These institutions, at their best, treat people as moral individuals, with responsibilities and duties, not as wards or clients or dependents or numbers. Self-control and character and goal-setting give direction and dignity to all our lives. We must renew these values to restore our country. Many of these organizations share something else in common: A belief in the transforming power of faith. A belief that no one is finally a failure or a victim, because everyone is the child of a loving and merciful God—a God who counts our tears and lifts our head. The goal of these faith-based groups is not just to provide services, it is to change lives. And lives are changed. Addicts become examples. Reckless men become loving fathers. Prisoners become spiritual leaders—sometimes more mature and inspiring than many of us can ever hope to be. In Texas, there is a young man named James Peterson, who'd embezzled his way into a prison term. But when he was offered parole, he turned it down, to finish the InnerChange course, which teaches inmates to rely on faith to transform their lives. As James put it, "There is nothing I want more than to be back in the outside world with my daughter Lucy, [but] I realized that this was an opportunity to become a living [witness] for my brothers [in prison] and to the world. I want to stay in prison to complete the transformation [God] has begun in me." One example, but a miracle that is common. Sometimes our greatest need is not for more laws. It is for more conscience. Sometimes our greatest hope is not found in reform. It is found in redemption. We should promote these private and faith-based efforts because they work. But we should also promote them because their challenges are often greater than their resources. Sometimes the armies of compassion are outnumbered and outflanked and outgunned. Visit Mission Arlington in Texas on a day they offer free dentistry, and people are often lined up at 3 or 4 in the morning. Or consider that only 3 percent of America's 13.6 million at-risk children now have mentors. These groups are widespread, but their scale, in some cases, is not sufficient. It is not enough for conservatives like me to praise these efforts. It is not enough to call for volunteerism. Without more support and resources—both private and public—we are asking them to make bricks without straw. So today I am announcing a series of proposals. And they are guided by some basic principles. Resources should be devolved, not just to states, but to charities and neighborhood healers. We will never ask an organization to compromise its core values and spiritual mission to get the help it needs. We will keep a commitment to pluralism—not discriminating for or against Methodists or Mormons or Muslims, or good people of no faith at all. We will ensure that participation in faith-based programs is truly voluntary—that there are secular alternatives. And we will recognize there are some things the government should be doing—like Medicaid for poor children. Government cannot be replaced by charities—but it can welcome them as partners, not resent them as rivals. Where do we start? Our nation is so prosperous that we can meet our current priorities and still take on new battles. We will strengthen Social Security and Medicare. We will fortify the military. We will cut taxes in a way that creates high-paying jobs. Yet there is another priority. In my first year in office, we will dedicate about $8 billion—an amount equal to 10 percent of the non-Social Security surplus—to provide new tax incentives for giving, and to support charities and other private institutions that save and change lives. We will prove, in word and deed, that our prosperity has a purpose. My administration will act in three broad areas: First, we will encourage an outpouring of giving in America. Americans are generous with their time and money. But we can foster that generosity even further—creating fertile ground for the growth of charities. Right now approximately 70 percent of all tax filers cannot claim the charitable tax deduction, because they do not itemize. We will give people who don't itemize the same treatment and incentive as people who do, rewarding and encouraging giving by everyone in our society, not just the wealthy. We will provide for charity tax credits—credits which will allow individuals to give a part of what they owe in state taxes directly to private and religious institutions fighting poverty in their own communities. Individuals will choose who conducts this war on poverty—and their support won't be filtered through layers of government officials.   Second, we will involve the armies of compassion in some specific areas of need, to demonstrate how our new approach will work. Here is an example. America has tripled its prison population in the last 15 years. That is a necessary and effective role of government—protecting our communities from predators. But it has left a problem—an estimated 1.3 million children who have one or both parents in prison. These are forgotten children—almost six times more likely to go to prison themselves—and they should not be punished for the sins of their fathers. It is not only appropriate, it is urgent, to give grants to ministries and mentoring programs targeting these children and their families for help and support. My administration will start bringing help and hope to these other, innocent victims of crime. As well, we will encourage and expand the role of charities in after-school programs. Everyone agrees there is a problem in these empty, unsupervised hours after school. But those hours should not only be filled with sports and play, they should include lessons in responsibility and character. So we will invite the Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA and local churches and synagogues to be a central part of after-school programs. We will encourage private and religious charities to be more involved in drug treatment and maternity group homes. We will bring programs like InnerChange to four federal prisons, to test if its early promise is fulfilled. And we will set up a compassion capital fund, to identify good ideas transforming neighborhoods and lives and provide seed money to support them—helping to expand the scale of effective programs.   Third, we will change the laws and regulations that hamper the cooperation of government and private institutions. In 1995, Texas officials tried to close down faith-based drug treatment programs because they didn't fit the regulations. When challenged that these programs were effective, one official responded, "We're not interested in results, we're interested in complying with the law." We solved that problem in Texas. If I am president, federal workers in every department of my administration will know that we value effectiveness above red tape and regulation. We will allow private and religious groups to compete to provide services in every federal, state and local social program. We will promote alternative licensing procedures, so effective efforts won't be buried by regulation. And we will create an advocate position—reporting directly to the president—to ensure that charities are not secularized or slighted. I visit churches and charities serving their neighbors nearly everywhere I go in this country. And nothing is more exciting or encouraging. Every day they prove that our worst problems are not hopeless or endless. Every day they perform miracles of renewal. Wherever we can, we must expand their role and reach, without changing them or corrupting them. It is the next, bold step of welfare reform. To take that step, our nation must get beyond two narrow mind-sets. The first is that government provides the only real compassion. A belief that what is done by caring people through church and charity is secondary and marginal. Some Washington politicians call these efforts "crumbs of compassion." These aren't "crumbs" to people whose lives are changed, they are the hope of renewal and salvation. These are not the "crumbs of compassion," they are the bread of life. And they are the strength and soul of America. There is another destructive mind-set: the idea that if government would only get out of our way, all our problems would be solved. An approach with no higher goal, no nobler purpose, than "leave us alone." Yet this is not who we are as Americans. We have always found our better selves in sympathy and generosity—both in our lives and in our laws. Americans will never write the epitaph of idealism. It emerges from our nature as a people, with a vision of the common good beyond profit and loss. Our national character shines in our compassion. We are a nation of rugged individuals. But we are also the country of the second chance—tied together by bonds of friendship and community and solidarity. We are a nation of high purpose and restless reform—of child labor laws and emancipation and suffrage and civil rights. We are a nation that defeated fascism, elevated millions of the elderly out of poverty and humbled an evil empire. I know the reputation of our government has been tainted by scandal and cynicism. But the American government is not the enemy of the American people. At times it is wasteful and grasping. But we must correct it, not disdain it. Government must be carefully limited—but strong and active and respected within those bounds. It must act in the common good—and that good is not common until it is shared by those in need. In this campaign, I bring a message to my own party. We must apply our conservative and free-market ideas to the job of helping real human beings—because any ideology, no matter how right in theory, is sterile and empty without that goal. There must be a kindness in our justice. There must be a mercy in our judgment. There must be a love behind our zeal. This is where my campaign is headed. We will carry a message of hope and renewal to every community in this country. We will tell every American, "The dream is for you." Tell forgotten children in failed schools, "The dream is for you." Tell families, from the barrios of LA to the Rio Grande Valley: "El sueno americano espara ti." Tell men and women in our decaying cities, "The dream is for you." Tell confused young people, starved of ideals, "The dream is for you." As Americans, this is our creed and our calling. We stumble and splinter when we forget that goal. We unite and prosper when we remember it. No great calling is ever easy, and no work of man is ever perfect. But we can, in our imperfect way, rise now and again to the example of St. Francis—where there is hatred, sowing love; where there is darkness, shedding light; where there is despair, bringing hope." [Quelle: : Olasky, Marvin N. <1950 - >: Compassionate conservatism : what it is, what it does, and how it can transform America. -- New York : Free Press, ©2000. --  xiii, 226 S. ; 22 cm.  -- ISBN: 0743201310. -- S. 215 -226. -- {Wenn Sie HIER klicken, können Sie dieses Buch bei amazon.de bestellen}]

Abb.: "Compassion in Action": President George W. Bush discusses the progress and accomplishments of the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, June 1, 2004.
[Bildquelle: Weißes Haus]

"President Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiative Our country is blessed with a long tradition of and honorable commitment to assisting individuals, families, and communities who have not fully shared in America's prosperity. But despite efforts by the Federal and State governments to battle social distress, too many of our neighbors still suffer from poverty and despair. In every corner of America, people of all ages and walks of life are calling out for help. Approximately 13 million children under the age of 18 - almost a fifth of America's young people - go hungry or are at risk of being hungry Close to 2 million children have a parent in prison Last year, 22 million Americans had substance dependence or abuse problems There are 42 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS and close to 900,000 of these people live in the United States For years, faith-based and community groups have been assisting these people and others in need. They have transformed lives with their compassion and are America's unsung heroes - healing our country's ills one heart and one act of kindness at a time. Unfortunately, the Federal government has often not been a willing partner to these faith-based and community groups. Instead, it has put in place complicated rules and regulations that hinder these groups from competing for Federal funds on an equal footing with other, larger charities. President Bush wants to change this. He believes that all groups - faith-based or secular, large or small - should compete on a level playing field, so long as they obey all legal requirements. That is the reason for the President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative and why it is one of his top domestic priorities. White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives One of President Bush's first official acts as President was to create the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The Office was tasked at its inception with leading a "determined attack on need" by strengthening and expanding the role of faith-based and community organizations in addressing the nation's social problems. The President envisions a faith-friendly public square where faith-based organizations can compete equally with other groups to provide government or privately-funded services.   President Bush also created Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in seven cabinet departments - the United States Departments of Justice, Agriculture, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education and the Agency for International Development - to promote the Initiative. The mission of the White House Office and the ten Centers is to empower faith-based and other community organizations to apply for Federal social service grants. The White House does not administer any grant programs or participate in funding decisions. Likewise, the Centers supply information and training to faith-based and community organizations, but they do not make the decisions about which groups will be funded. The agencies make those decisions through procedures established by each grant program, generally involving a competitive process. No grant funding is set aside for faith-based organizations. Instead, the Faith-Based and Community Initiative creates a level-playing field for faith-based as well as other community organizations so that they can work with the government to meet the needs of America's communities. Activities of the White House Office Working legislatively to encourage the good works of faith-based and community organizations and give them the fullest opportunity permitted by law to compete for Federal funding Identifying and eliminating improper Federal barriers to the full participation of faith-based and community-serving programs in the provision of social services Encouraging greater corporate and philanthropic support for faith-based and community organizations through public education and outreach activities Priority Areas The White House Office strives to support organizations that serve people in need, particularly those that serve the following populations: At-risk youth Ex-offenders Homeless and hungry Substance abusers Those with HIV/AIDS Welfare-to-work families White House Conferences on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives The White House Conferences on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives provide participants with information about the Federal funding process, available funding opportunities, the requirements that come with the receipt of Federal funds, and cutting-edge practices from other organizations. The White House is hosting the Conferences with support from the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education and the Agency for International Development. Resources for Grassroots Groups Seeking Federal Funds Every year, the Federal government spends billions of dollars for health and human service programs. There are thousands of faith-based and community organizations across the country that receive Federal funds. Although the use of government money by faith-based and community organizations is not new, there are many small grassroots organizations that still have questions about the Federal funding process. They wonder, "How can we find out about Federal funding opportunities?" They ask, "If we get money from the Federal government, what legal requirements will we have to follow?" The White House Office and the seven Agency Centers can help. Internet Resources - The White House Office has put together a list of close to 200 Federal programs that your organization may be interested in. You can use this list, which is available at www.fbci.gov, as a starting point for learning more about specific programs. The Agency Centers' websites contain more information about specific initiatives and programs administered by their Departments. Legal Guidance - The White House Office website also offers some guidelines on the legal requirements that can come along with Federal funding. These "dos and don'ts" answer some of the questions that faith-based and community groups most frequently ask. Compassion Capital Fund - Assistance may also be available from one of over thirty organizations funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Compassion Capital Fund. These intermediary organizations have received grants to provide training, technical assistance, and sub-awards to a diverse range of faith-based and community organizations seeking to increase their ability to provide social services to those in need. Technical assistance activities are offered free of charge and focus on strategic planning; financial management; board development; fundraising; and outcome measurement.´" [Quelle: http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/mission.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-19]

1.2. Karl Rove, Assistant to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser

Vorbemerkung: Da amerikanische Politiker (und nicht nur amerikanische) Politik oft als Kunst der Massenmanipulation ansehen, sind die Propagandachefs eigentlich die wichtigsten Personen der Exekutive. Deswegen werden hier die beiden wichtigsten Propagandachefs von George W. Bush vorgestellt.

Abb.: Karl Rove (public domain photo)

"Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950 in Denver, Colorado) is an American political consultant, and (as of 2004) U.S. President George W. Bush's Senior Advisor and chief political strategist. On February 8, 2005, Rove was appointed deputy chief of staff. Karl Rove began his political career with the College Republicans, which he chaired from 1973 to 1974. For the next few years, he worked in various Republican Party circles and assisted George H. W. Bush's 1980 vice-presidential campaign. In 1981, Rove founded a direct mail consulting firm, Karl Rove & Co., based out of Austin, Texas. This firm's first clients included Republican Governor Bill Clements and Democratic Congressman Phil Gramm, who later became a Republican. In 1993, Rove began advising George W. Bush's gubernatorial campaign. He continued, however, to operate his consulting business until 1999, when he sold the firm to focus his efforts on Bush's bid for the presidency. After Bush became the 43rd president, Karl Rove became a Senior Advisor to the President. Rove is generally considered one of the most influential advisors in the Bush administration, and he has earned a reputation as an aggressive campaigner. History Rove is known for his unconventional political tactics. In 1970 when he was a protege of Donald Segretti (a convicted Watergate conspirator), Rove snuck into the campaign office of Illinois Democrat Alan Dixon and stole some letterhead. He printed fliers on the letterhead promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing" and distributed the fliers at rock concerts and homeless shelters. Admitting to the incident much later, Rove said, "I was nineteen and I got involved in a political prank." [1] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/rove072399.htm), [2] (http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010305&c=2&s=dubose), [3] (http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/2/reich-r.html) After dropping out of the University of Utah in 1971, Rove started his political career as the executive director of the College Republican National Committee. He held this position until 1972 when he became the National Chairman of the College Republicans (1973-1974). As chairman, Rove had access to many powerful politicians and government officials during the Watergate scandal, including then CIA director George H. W. Bush. For the next few years, he worked in various Republican circles and assisted George H. W. Bush's 1980 vice-presidential campaign. Rove's greatest claim to fame at the time was that he had introduced Bush to Lee Atwater. A signature tactic of Rove was to attack an opponent on the opponent's strongest issue. In 1986, just before a crucial debate in the election for governor of Texas, Karl Rove announced that his office had been bugged by the Democrats. There was no proof, and it was later alleged he had bugged his own phone for the media coverage that the incident generated, but there was no proof of that, either, and no charges were ever filed. [4] (http://www.counterpunch.org/madsen1101.html) In 1993, according to the New York Times, John Ashcroft's campaign paid Karl Rove & Co. over $300,000 to aid his (eventually successful) Senate race. In 1999, the George W. Bush campaign effort paid Karl Rove & Co. $2.5 million for July through December. According to Rove, "About 30 percent of that is postage." In early 2000, during the Republican primary, Senator John McCain led George W. Bush in the race for the Republican presidential nomination and won several state primaries. A push poll was allegedly launched against McCain: telemarketers were allegedly hired to place calls throughout South Carolina asking potential voters, “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?” (McCain has an adopted daughter from Bangladesh). A reporter, Wayne Slater, suggested in print that Rove might be behind the whisper campaign. Rove denied any involvement. McCain's support subsequently dwindled, and Bush won the nomination. (There were other factors in that primary contest as well, including a long exchange of negative television advertisements between the two candidates.) After the presidential elections in November 2000, Karl Rove organized an emergency migration of Republican politicians and supporters to Florida to assist the Bush campaign during the recount. George W. Bush was inaugurated in January 2001. Rove accepted a position in the Bush administration as Senior Advisor to the President. In March 2001, Rove met with executives from Intel, successfully advocating a merger between a Dutch company and an Intel company supplier. Rove owned $100,000 in Intel stock at the time. In June 2001, Rove met with two pharmaceutical industry lobbyists. At the time, Rove held almost $250,000 in drug industry stocks. On 30 June 2001, Rove divested his stocks in 23 companies, which included more than $100,000 in each Enron, Boeing, General Electric, and Pfizer. On 30 June 2001, the White House admitted that Rove was involved in administration energy policy meetings, while at the same time holding stock in energy companies including Enron. On 10 April 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger met with Rove to discuss whether the actor should run for Governor of California in 2006. On 14 May 2003, during a meeting with South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, President George W. Bush brought only Rove and Condoleezza Rice. On 29 August 2003, retired ambassador Joseph C. Wilson named Rove as the White House official who leaked to the press the identity of a CIA operative as the wife of a prominent journalist and Bush administration critic. The White House denied the allegation. Rove's reputation for trickery is such that, in the wake of the controversy over the Killian documents during the 2004 campaign, it was suggested (by Representative Maurice Hinchey, among others) that Rove might have planted fake anti-Bush documents with CBS News, to deflect attention from Bush's avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War. [5] (http://www.pressconnects.com/today/opinion/stories/op022705s151013.shtml) Rove has denied that he had any involvement. [6] (http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040922-101433-4296r.htm) On 8 December 2004, Rove was named by Barbara Walters as the "Most Fascinating Person" of the year. Karl Rove's reputation is such that, among both his supporters and critics (though more often among his detractors), the phrase "Karl Rovian" has come to be used as a synonym for "Machiavellian"." [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rovian. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-03]

1.3. Tim Goeglein, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison

Abb.: Tim Goeglein (Bild der Pressestelle)

Tim Goeglein, 41, ist der Verbindungsmann von Präsident George W. Bush zu konservativen und religiösen Gruppierungen. Er erfüllt nach allgemeinem Urteil diese Funktion ausgezeichnet und ist somit eine Schlüsselperson für die religiöse Rechte. Die uneingeschränkte Unterstützung des Präsidenten durch christlich-fundamentalistische Gruppen betrachten politische Kommentatoren wesentlich als das Werk von Tim Goeglein.

Sein Prinzip: "One of the principal roles of public liaison is not only explaining policies that have been decided but to faithfully and accurately report into the White House bloodstream the views of conservatives."

1.4. Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State (Außenministerin)

Abb.: Condoleezza Rice bei der Vereidigung als Secretary of State. -- 2005-01-28 [Bildquelle: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/2005/41345.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

"Condoleezza Rice (* 14. November 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama) ist eine US-amerikanische Politikerin. Sie war seit dem 22. Januar 2001 Beraterin für nationale Sicherheit des US-Präsidenten. Am 16. November 2004 wurde sie als erste afroamerikanische Frau und zweite Frau überhaupt zur Außenministerin der USA für die zweite Amtsperiode der Präsidentschaft von George W. Bush bestellt. Die Politikerin wird innerhalb der bisherigen Bush-Regierung zu den "Hardlinern" (oder "Falken", engl. hawks) gezählt. Sie vertritt entschieden einen unilateralistischen Kurs der weltweiten Dominanz in der US-Außenpolitik und befürwortet die Strategie der preemptive strikes, also der vorbeugenden Präventivschläge gegen von den USA als "terroristisch" eingestufte Organisationen und rogue states ("Schurkenstaaten", siehe auch: Bush-Doktrin). Dies brachte der nach eigenem Bekunden - wie ihr Präsident - religiös inspirierten konservativen Republikanerin den Spitznamen "Stählerne Magnolie" ein. Condoleezza Rice ist alleinstehend. Seit dem 28. Januar 2005 ist sie die offizielle Nachfolgerin des zurückgetretenen US-Außenministers Colin Powell, vereidigt anlässlich der zweiten Inauguration Bushs. Leben Condoleezza Rice wurde als Tochter eines schwarzen Pastors in Birmingham, Alabama, geboren, als dort noch die Rassengesetze galten. Am 15. September 1963 zündeten weiße Rassisten vom Ku Klux Klan in der Baptistenkirche der 16. Straße Dynamitstangen. Vier Mädchen, darunter zwei Freundinnen von Rice starben. Familie Rice war auch mit der Familie Powell befreundet. Hier wuchs Condoleezza Rice auf und lernte Eiskunstlauf und Klavierspielen. Als ausgebildete Konzertpianistin tritt sie - allerdings selten - auch mit Größen des Musikgeschäfts auf. Mit 15 Jahren - sie hatte zwei Klassen übersprungen - ging sie an die Universität von Denver und machte 1974 ihren Bachelor-Abschluss in Politikwissenschaften cum laude. Sie war Mitglied der elitären Studentenverbindung Phi Beta Kappa. Ihr Interesse an der Außenpolitik resultierte aus der Begegnung mit ihrem akademischen Lehrer, dem aus der Tschechoslowakei stammenden Professor Josef Korbel, dem Vater der ehemaligen US-Außenministerin Madeleine Albright. 1975 folgte der Master-Abschluss an der Notre Dame Universität von South Bend, Indiana und 1981 die Promotion (Dr.Phil.) wiederum an der Universität von Denver. Von 1993 bis 1999 war Rice "Provost" (etwa: akademische Präsidentin, entspricht dem deutschen Probst) der Stanford-Universität. Sie war u.a. Mitglied im Direktorium des Ölkonzerns Chevron Corporation. Nach ihr wurde der Öltanker "Condoleezza Rice" benannt, der später stillschweigend in "Altair Voyager" umbenannt wurde. 1991 bis 1997 arbeitete sie für die Denkfabrik RAND Corporation. Weitere Stationen ihrer Karriere waren u.a. Tätigkeiten bei der Investment-Firma Charles Schwab Corporation, der William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, einer Stiftung des Hewlett-Packard-Mitbegründers und seiner Frau mit laut eigener Aussage sozialen und umweltschützenden Zielsetzungen, dem Versicherungskonzern Transamerica  sowie bei der Investment-Bank J. P. Morgan. Sie gehörte auch längere Zeit dem Board of Governors (Verwaltungsrat) des San Francisco Symphony Orchestra an, in dem immer noch die Ehefrau von Charles Schwab sitzt. Als Beraterin des Präsidenten George Bush sen. und seines Außenministers James Baker befürwortete sie 1990 die Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands, als diese bei anderen ehemaligen Siegermächten (Frankreich, allen voran Großbritannien) noch auf erhebliche Vorbehalte stieß. Zu dieser Zeit war die Fachfrau für die Beziehungen zur Sowjetunion, die hervorragend Russisch spricht, einfaches Mitglied des Nationalen Sicherheitsrates und verantwortlich für die Sowjetpolitik. In der Streitfrage zur Einschätzung des Zerfalls der Sowjetunion plädierten Condoleezza Rice und James Baker zunächst für einen Erhalt der Sowjetunion als staatliches Gebilde. Diesem Rat folgend rief George H. W. Bush u.a. die Ukraine auf, in der Sowjetunion zu bleiben, doch die Analyse erwies sich als unzutreffend und die Sowjetunion zerfiel. - 1995 verfasste Rice zusammen mit Philip D. Zelikow auch ein Buch zur deutschen Einheit mit dem Titel: "Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft" (In Deutschland erschienen unter dem Titel "Sternstunde der Diplomatie"). In der ersten Amtsperiode der Regierung Bush II (ab 2000) bewies sie sich als enge Verbündete und wohl wichtigste Beraterin ihres Präsidenten und machte sich anlässlich der transatlantischen Zerwürfnisse wegen des von den USA und einer "Koalition der Willigen" ohne Zustimmung des Weltsicherheitsrats begonnenen Irak-Krieges durch Sätze wie "Bestraft Frankreich, ignoriert Deutschland und verzeiht Russland" vor allem in Europa nicht überall Freunde. Ende März 2004 stand ihre Person erneut im Mittelpunkt, als das Weiße Haus verhindern wollte, dass sie vor einer Untersuchungskommission zu den Terroranschlägen vom 11. September 2001 aussagt. Am 30. März 2004 gab das Weiße Haus dem öffentlichen Druck nach und ließ eine Aussage zu. Rice nahm vor dem Senatsausschuss zu den schwerwiegenden Vorwürfen des ehemaligen Regierungsberaters Richard Clarke Stellung, der die Regierung bezichtigt hatte, Warnungen vor dem Terrornetzwerk Al-Qaida monatelang nicht ernst genug genommen zu haben." [Quelle: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

 

Condoleezza Rice's Secret Weapon : How our National Security Adviser finds the strength to defend the free world / by B. Denise Hawkins <Auszüge>: "At 47, she is the stern but cautious driver behind America's foreign policy, the first female and the second African American (after Colin Powell) to serve as national security adviser to the president, and a committed Christian who unabashedly talks about her dependence on God. Being a "deeply religious person" has helped Rice rise to the challenge of serving a nation that has been shaken to its foundations by terrorism and international conflict. And that has meant turning frequently to prayer—and not the kind laced with a "laundry lists of requests." When she needs "guidance and strength of conviction," says Rice, she often reads Romans 51, "which essentially says, Glory also in tribulation, because tribulation breeds perseverance and perseverance patience, and with patience comes hope. And hope is never disappointed, because of faith in the glory of God." "When I'm concerned about something, I figure out a plan of action, and then I give it to God," she told Essence magazine earlier this year. "I just ask to be carried through it. God's never failed me yet." "Daniel Clendenin, another Rice acquaintance, who heads the graduate staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Stanford, says he admires Rice's courage and faith. "She is a woman of prayer," he says. "For the Rice family, education and faith in God were not only forms of personal enrichment but weapons for rising up and overcoming. From the days of slavery, Rice has said, her family seized education and used it as a tool of liberation. She speaks proudly of her "Granddaddy Rice," who died two years before her birth. One day John Rice, Sr., decided that he "needed to get book learning" and began looking for places where "a colored man could go to school." He ended up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1918 at Stillman College, a small, white-run seminary that trained black men as Presbyterian ministers. He was born Methodist and one of nine children of former house slaves but decided that becoming a Presbyterian was his ticket to an education and an influential social post that he could use to help others. It appears to have been a wise choice. Granddaddy Rice's family has been Presbyterian ever since. She calls herself "just an average Christian." But Condi Rice is as comfortable speaking publicly about her faith in God as she is about strategic arms reduction and routing out terrorism. As Stanford's first female, non-white, and (at 38) youngest provost, Rice found that her colleagues' skepticism about religious belief was at times challenging. But that was not a hindrance. In fact, she says defiantly, "I've been totally unflappable in my religious faith, and believe that it is the principal reason for all that I've been able to do. My faith in God is the most important thing. I never shied from telling people that I am a Christian, and I believe that's why I've been optimistic in my life." The Rev. Frank VanderZwan is a witness. "She never shrinks from her faith," gushes VanderZwan, an associate pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, which sits in the shadow of Stanford University. It is the church where Rice was an active member during her years in California. These days, when she is in town, Rice worships at National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. She admits that being a person who takes her faith seriously elicits some cynicism from her peers in academia and in the Beltway. "When you're a scholar, and immersed in standards of evidence and methods of proof, one learns to navigate with ease the world of academia that says, 'You can only believe what you can see,' " Rice has said. But at age 12, Rice says she learned a new paradigm. During a visit to her grandmother's house, Rice's Uncle Alto became gravely ill. While her parents and other relatives rushed about the house frantically trying to get him to the hospital, Rice's grandmother sat quietly "on the bed, arms folded. I said, 'Grandmother, aren't you worried about Alto?' And she said, 'God's will be done.'" Seeing her grandmother's quiet spirit convinced her that God was in control in the midst of crisis. Rice the intellectual isn't afraid to admit that there are times "when the burden is just too heavy." Still, the peace and love of God is real, she says. The clearest example of this came to her in 1985, when her mother died of breast cancer. (Her father died of heart disease in December 2000.) In the midst of her devastation, Rice recalls being filled with a strength that she says neither intellect nor reason could explain. She "understood for the first time in my life the peace that passes all understanding." Rice recounted these personal experiences for the congregation at Menlo Park Presbyterian five years ago when her pastor invited her to deliver the sermon at all five of the Sunday services. With her father seated in the second row from the back of the large sanctuary, Rice shared about her spiritual journey and the lessons on faith and perseverance that she received as a child. The wonders of God's world are being revealed every day, Rice told the congregation. "There is so much more to know." Unraveling those truths and making discoveries means that as Christians, "we should wrestle with our faith, questioning and trying to understand better our relationship with God." "And through it all, this woman of both charm and strength has been doing what she knows best—bathing her decisions in prayer and turning the ultimate outcome of things over to her God. "I have a very, very powerful faith in God," she has said. When Rice was leaving Stanford in 1999 to join the Bush campaign full time, one of her many farewell parties was a gathering of about 100 members of the university's African American community. During the event, Rice was moved to tears by a soloist's heartfelt performance of two of her favorite hymns, "I Need Thee Every Hour"2 and "His Eye Is on the Sparrow."3 A Christian Reader original article. B. Denise Hawkins is a writer living in the Washington, D.C. area. Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader) September/October 2002, Vol. 40, No. 5, Page 18 [Quelle: http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2002/005/1.18.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

¹ Der Brief des Paulus an die Römer 5

"1: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3: And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4: And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6: For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10: For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11: And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14: Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15: But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16: And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17: For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18: Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

1Nun wir denn sind gerecht geworden durch den Glauben, so haben wir Frieden mit Gott durch unsern HERRN Jesus Christus, 2durch welchen wir auch den Zugang haben im Glauben zu dieser Gnade, darin wir stehen, und rühmen uns der Hoffnung der zukünftigen Herrlichkeit, die Gott geben soll. 3Nicht allein aber das, sondern wir rühmen uns auch der Trübsale, dieweil wir wissen, daß Trübsal Geduld bringt; 4Geduld aber bringt Erfahrung; Erfahrung aber bringt Hoffnung; 5Hoffnung aber läßt nicht zu Schanden werden. Denn die Liebe Gottes ist ausgegossen in unser Herz durch den heiligen Geist, welcher uns gegeben ist. 6Denn auch Christus, da wir noch schwach waren nach der Zeit, ist für uns Gottlose gestorben. 7Nun stirbt kaum jemand um eines Gerechten willen; um des Guten willen dürfte vielleicht jemand sterben. 8Darum preiset Gott seine Liebe gegen uns, daß Christus für uns gestorben ist, da wir noch Sünder waren. 9So werden wir ja viel mehr durch ihn bewahrt werden vor dem Zorn, nachdem wir durch sein Blut gerecht geworden sind. 10Denn so wir Gott versöhnt sind durch den Tod seines Sohnes, da wir noch Feinde waren, viel mehr werden wir selig werden durch sein Leben, so wir nun versöhnt sind. 11Nicht allein aber das, sondern wir rühmen uns auch Gottes durch unsern HERRN Jesus Christus, durch welchen wir nun die Versöhnung empfangen haben. 12Derhalben, wie durch einen Menschen die Sünde ist gekommen in die Welt und der Tod durch die Sünde, und ist also der Tod zu allen Menschen durchgedrungen, dieweil sie alle gesündigt haben; 13denn die Sünde war wohl in der Welt bis auf das Gesetz; aber wo kein Gesetz ist, da achtet man der Sünde nicht. 14Doch herrschte der Tod von Adam an bis auf Moses auch über die, die nicht gesündigt haben mit gleicher Übertretung wie Adam, welcher ist ein Bild des, der zukünftig war. 15Aber nicht verhält sich's mit der Gabe wie mit der Sünde. Denn so an eines Sünde viele gestorben sind, so ist viel mehr Gottes Gnade und Gabe vielen reichlich widerfahren durch die Gnade des einen Menschen Jesus Christus. 16Und nicht ist die Gabe allein über eine Sünde, wie durch des einen Sünders eine Sünde alles Verderben. Denn das Urteil ist gekommen aus einer Sünde zur Verdammnis; die Gabe aber hilft auch aus vielen Sünden zur Gerechtigkeit. 17Denn so um des einen Sünde willen der Tod geherrscht hat durch den einen, viel mehr werden die, so da empfangen die Fülle der Gnade und der Gabe zur Gerechtigkeit, herrschen im Leben durch einen, Jesum Christum. 18Wie nun durch eines Sünde die Verdammnis über alle Menschen gekommen ist, so ist auch durch eines Gerechtigkeit die Rechtfertigung des Lebens über alle Menschen gekommen. 19Denn gleichwie durch eines Menschen Ungehorsam viele Sünder geworden sind, also auch durch eines Gehorsam werden viele Gerechte. 20Das Gesetz aber ist neben eingekommen, auf daß die Sünde mächtiger würde. Wo aber die Sünde mächtig geworden ist, da ist doch die Gnade viel mächtiger geworden, 21auf daß, gleichwie die Sünde geherrscht hat zum Tode, also auch herrsche die Gnade durch die Gerechtigkeit zum ewigen Leben durch Jesum Christum, unsern HERRN.

King James Bible 1611

Luther-Bibel 1912

² I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord. Text (1872): Annie S. Hawks (1836 - 1918), Melodie: Robert Lowry (1826 - 1899)

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford. Refrain: I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee; O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh. Refrain I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain. Refrain I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will; And Thy rich promises in me fulfill. Refrain I need Thee every hour, most Holy One; O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son. Refrain

[Quelle der midi-Datei: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/n/ineedteh.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

Hintergrund dieses Liedes:

"Annie Hawks wrote: One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” were ushered into my mind, the thought at once tak­ing full possess­ion of me. After writing the lyrics, Hawks gave them to her pastor, Robert Lowry, who added the tune and refrain. The hymn was first published at the National Baptist Sunday School Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1872. Some years later, after the death of her husband, Hawks wrote: I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of hu­manity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace." [Quelle: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/n/ineedteh.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

³  His Eye Is on the Sparrow. Text (1905): Civilla D. Martin (1866 - 1948); Melodie (1905): Charles H. Gabriel (1856 - 1932)

[Quelle der midi-Datei: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/i/hiseyeis.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

Hintergrund dieses Liedes:

"Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were so­journ­ing in El­mi­ra, New York. We con­tract­ed a deep friend­ship for a cou­ple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doo­lit­tle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doo­lit­tle had been bed­rid­den for nigh twen­ty years. Her hus­band was an in­cur­a­ble crip­ple who had to pro­pel him­self to and from his bus­i­ness in a wheel chair. De­spite their af­flict­ions, they lived hap­py Christ­ian lives, bring­ing in­spir­a­tion and com­fort to all who knew them. One day while we were vi­sit­ing with the Doo­lit­tles, my hus­band com­ment­ed on their bright hope­ful­ness and asked them for the se­cret of it. Mrs. Doo­lit­tle’s re­ply was sim­ple: “His eye is on the spar­row, and I know He watch­es me.” The beau­ty of this sim­ple ex­press­ion of bound­less faith gripped the hearts and fired the imag­in­a­tion of Dr. Mar­tin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Spar­row” was the out­come of that ex­per­i­ence. Civilla Martin The next day she mailed the po­em to Charles Gab­ri­el, who sup­plied the mu­sic. Sing­er Ethel Wa­ters so loved this song that she used its name as the ti­tle for her au­to­bi­og­raphy" [Quelle: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/i/hiseyeis.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

1.5. John Ashcroft, Attorney General (Justizminister) 2000 - 2004

Abb.: John Ashcroft [Bildquelle: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/.onix/images/imagebank/ashcroft_john_attorneygeneral.jpg. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

"John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) was the 79th Attorney General of the United States. He served in the first administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005. Early career Ashcroft was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was educated in Springfield, Missouri, and at Yale University, where he graduated in 1964. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1967, and briefly taught business law at Southwest Missouri State University. He began his career in Missouri government in 1973. He was Governor of Missouri from 1985 to 1993. In 1994 he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri, where he became a leading opponent of the Clinton Administration's Clipper encryption restrictions. He ran for reelection in 2000 against then-Governor Mel Carnahan, who died in an airplane crash about two weeks before the election. Due to Missouri state election laws, Carnahan's name could not be removed from the ballot, and his wife, Jean Carnahan, announced that she would serve in her husband's place should he be elected. Carnahan won the election with her late husband's name still on the ballot. Following his defeat, Ashcroft was nominated as U.S. Attorney General by president-elect George W. Bush in December 2000. Despite some contention from Democrats, Ashcroft was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 58-42. Ashcroft worships in the Assembly of God church. Whenever he was sworn in to any political office, he had himself anointed with oil. Attorney General Ashcroft is noted by his detractors for allegedly ordering that the partially nude statues of Liberty and Justice, which stand in a meeting room where he held press conferences, be covered with curtains. Ashcroft denied these allegations. It has also been said that this action was taken because he felt that reporters were photographing him alongside the statues to make fun of his church's opposition to pornography. Ashcroft is considered a leading member of the Christian right wing of the Republican Party and is one of the highest-ranked representatives of that group in the Bush Administration. Ashcroft's religious beliefs have led opponents, including Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), to question his ability to effectively enforce certain laws, especially those pertaining to abortion. Ashcroft maintained that he will enforce laws whether he agrees with them or not. In July 2002, Ashcroft proposed the creation of Operation TIPS, a domestic program in which workers and government employees would inform law enforcement agencies about suspicious behavior they encounter while performing their duties. The program was widely criticized in the media as an encroachment upon the First and Fourth Amendments, and the United States Postal Service balked at the program, refusing outright to participate. Ashcroft defended the program as a necessary component of the ongoing War on Terrorism, but the proposal was eventually abandoned. Ashcroft's positions on privacy, civil liberties and anti-terrorism measures made him an extremely controversial figure, and groups opposed to the Bush administration often used him as a shorthand reference for all the reasons they opposed him. Some of his most prominent critics were organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and pro-choice groups. Many liberal commentators claimed that Ashcroft used the threat of terrorism to further political goals; one prominent example was a news conference held in May of 2004, which critics claimed was an attempt to distract attention from a drop in the approval ratings of President Bush, who at the time was campaigning for re-election. [1] Ashcroft's opponents allege that he used the threat of terrorism as a justification for unnecessarily restricting civil liberties. Some of those opponents have pejoratively labeled his polices as "Ashcroftism." Publications such as workers.org refer to him as "Grand Inquisitor" Ashcroft[1] (http://www.workers.org/ww/2004/edit0226.php). In May 2004, Ashcroft entered the George Washington Medical Center with gallstone pancreatitis; surgeons removed his gallbladder (cholecystectomy) within a week. On November 9, 2004 Ashcroft resigned his post as Attorney General. Some believe his health was a factor in his decision, to be effective upon the Senate confirmation of his successor, expected to be White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales. His resignation letter claimed: "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." The letter was hand-written in order to maintain confidentiality. War on Drugs Ashcroft is an enthusiastic advocate of the War on Drugs. In 2003, he and the acting DEA Administrator, John B. Brown, announced a series of indictments resulting from two nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter. The investigations targeted businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly marijuana pipes and bongs, under a little-used statute (Title 21, Section 863(a) of the U.S. Code). Counterculture icon Tommy Chong was one of those charged, for his part in financing and promoting Chong Glass/Nice Dreams, a company started by his son Paris. Most of the 55 individuals charged as a result of the operations were sentenced to fines and home detentions; Chong, however, was sentenced to 9 months in a federal prison, forfeiture of $103,000, and a year of probation. While the DOJ denied that Chong was treated any differently from the other defendants, many felt that he was made an example of by the government. Ashcroft's tough-on-marijuana stance dates back to his tenure as a Senator, when he successfully pushed for stricter federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses. He continued this stance as the Governor of Missouri, favoring a drug control policy that focused law enforcement efforts on casual drug users. In 1992, while Ashcroft was Governor of Missouri, his nephews Alex and Adam Ashcroft and Alex's housemate Kevin Sheeley were arrested and charged with production and possession of marijuana. A raid uncovered 60 marijuana plants, with lighting, irrigation, and security systems, in a basement crawlspace. While the production of more than 50 plants usually results in a federal charge and mandatory jail time, 25-year-old Alex Ashcroft was prosecuted on a state charge and received 3 years of probation and 100 hours of community service. Kevin Sheeley was not convicted, and his record was sealed; Adam Ashcroft, who did not live in the house, was never prosecuted. Though Alex Ashcroft tested positive for marijuana in his first probation-mandated drug test, no further actions were taken against him. The parents of Alex and Adam have denied that the young men received a lenient treatment as a result of their connection to the governor. The former senator famously once boasted of his conservatism, saying that there are two things you find in the middle of the road: "a moderate and a dead skunk", adding that he did not wish to be either. Singer-songwriter Ashcroft composed a paean called "Let the Eagle Soar" which he sang at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in February 2002. The rendition was satirically featured in Michael Moore's 2004 movie Fahrenheit 9/11. The song was also sung at Bush's 2005 inauguration, though not by Ashcroft but by Guy Hovis." [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ashcroft. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]

Sie werden beim Klicken verbunden mit: http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2002/02/25/ashcroft.sings.wbtv.med.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02

"Ashcroft's Faith Plays Visible Role at Justice / by Dan Eggen, Washington Post Staff Writer <Auszüge> Monday, May 14, 2001; Page A-1 The Bible study begins each day at 8 a.m. sharp, with Attorney General John D. Ashcroft presiding. A group of employees gathers at the Main Justice building in Washington, either in his personal office or a conference room, to study Scripture and join Ashcroft in prayer. Ashcroft held similar meetings each morning as a U.S. senator and sees the devotionals as a personal matter that has no bearing on his job as attorney general, according to aides. Spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said Ashcroft wants to "continue to exercise his constitutional right to express his religious faith." Any employee is welcome, but not required, to attend, his aides said. But within the massive Justice Department, with about 135,000 employees worldwide, some who do not share Ashcroft's Pentecostal Christian beliefs are discomfited by the daily prayer sessions — particularly because they are conducted by the nation's chief law enforcement officer, entrusted with enforcing a Constitution that calls for the separation of church and state. ... "It is against my religion to impose my religion on people," Ashcroft said in a recent speech. Several aides also said many of Ashcroft's top staffers -- including the chief of staff, the deputy chief of staff and the communications director -- have never attended the devotional meetings, nor have they been pressured to do so. They say that the sessions are open to all Justice employees, Christians or otherwise, and that one of the regular participants is an Orthodox Jew. ... The federal government's "Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace," issued in 1997 after bipartisan negotiations, say supervisors and department heads must be especially careful with religious activities or statements. .... Religious faith has always been central to the life and career of Ashcroft. As the son and grandson of Assemblies of God ministers, he went on to become a state attorney general, governor and U.S. senator from Missouri. Ashcroft considered a run for the presidency with support from leading Christian conservatives, and has regularly cited God and Scripture in speeches and policy statements. In 1998, Ashcroft said at a Christian Coalition event that "a robed elite have taken the wall of separation designed to protect the church and they have made it a wall of religious oppression." The next year, he told Bob Jones University graduates that America was founded on religious principles, and "we have no king but Jesus." That statement became the subject of some controversy at his confirmation hearings. The morning devotionals are not the only sign that Ashcroft approaches religion differently from his predecessor, Janet Reno, who ran a strictly secular office. At a Black History Month celebration in February, for example, Ashcroft prayed with a minister, who urged Justice employees to join in. The department also issued new style guidelines for correspondence carrying Ashcroft's signature. They forbid, among other things, the use of "pride," which the Bible calls a sin, and the phrase "no higher calling than public service." ... Ashcroft refers to his daily devotionals as RAMP meetings -- Read, Argue, Memorize and Pray. Attendance ranges from three to 30, including some from outside Justice, but centers on a regular core of a half-dozen Justice staffers with long-term ties to Ashcroft. All employees are invited to attend, but Tucker said no department-wide memorandum or invitation has been issued. Ashcroft hands each participant a devotional book from a stack he has used for years, Tucker said. The book highlights a Bible verse or passage for each date of the year, and the group spends the first minutes discussing its meaning, according to a participant. The group then moves on to a memorization, with the goal of committing to memory a psalm or Bible story through repeated readings. The session ends with a prayer, often including a reference to a relative or acquaintance who is ill or in need. The prayer is usually ecumenical, but at times has referred to Jesus or other Christian figures. Although sometimes led by Ashcroft, the prayer is more often recited by another volunteer. Shimon Stein, 24, a Justice program analyst who worked in Ashcroft's Senate office, is the only regular participant who is not a Christian. Stein, an Orthodox Jew, said he finds the meetings fascinating from a theological perspective and enjoys discussing matters of faith with the attorney general and his co-workers. "He's made every effort to make everyone and everything feel comfortable," said Stein, who was the only participant other than Ashcroft identified by Justice officials. "There is theological discussion and textual discussion.... Growing up in the circle I did, I didn't have a chance to study other religions, so it's very educational for me." Many members of Congress and their employees participate in Bible studies, prayer meetings and other religious gatherings. A Christian magazine, Charisma, recently estimated that about 30 Bible study and prayer groups regularly meet on Capitol Hill. President Bush is reported to set aside time each day to read the Bible. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), the defeated vice presidential candidate, does the same with the Talmud. Ashcroft's aides say his devotionals are similar expressions of personal faith. "These go on on the Hill all the time, and he's done this for years and years and years," Tucker said. "He's always done them in his office, and that's how he started his day." ©2001 The Washington Post Company" [Quelle: http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ashcroft.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-01]

Nachfolger von John Ashcroft ist seit 2005-02-03 Alberto R. Gonzales

2. Legislative

"Christian Coalition Rates the U.S. Senate, 2004 As portrayed in the graph below, the United States has become two very different nations reflected by the two political parties. These graphs are based on scorecards of the Christian Coalition for the 108th Senate. The Christian Coalition was founded by television preacher Pat Robertson and promotes the agenda of the theocratic right. The graph shows how often members of the U.S. Senate voted with or against Christian Coalition supported bills. Republicans are red, Democrats are blue. Forty-one out of fifty-one Republican Senators received scores of 100% from Christian Coalition, meaning they voted with Christian Coalition 100% of the time. Thirty-one out of forty-eight Democrats and one independent received scores of 0. One Democrat received a score of 100% -- Zell Miller, (D-GA) who was in the national spotlight when he spoke at the Republican convention. Occasionally, a Democrat comes from the theocratic right, but it is the exception. Now that Zell Miller has retired, he will become a regular contributor to the Fox News Channel, which has been dubbed "Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism." Only three Senate Republicans are in the 60% column. They are Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins from Maine. To see Senate scorecards produced by the League of Conservation Voters, a consortium of environmental organizations, compared to the scorecards produced by three organizations that promote the theocratic right -- the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council, and the Eagle Forum -- click here. (These tables were provided by Glenn Scherer, October, 2004.) Do you know these people? United States Senate Republican Leadership           Bill Frist, Tennessee Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania           Bob Bennet, Utah Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Texas Jon Kyl, Arizona George Allen, Virginia   They are the seven highest ranking Republican Senators in the U.S. Senate. Every one of them received a scorecard of 100% from Christian Coalition. That means they voted with Christian Coalition 100% of the time. They all received scores of 0 to 8% from the League of Conservation Voters -- a consortium of environmental groups. How were people representing such an extreme ideological point of view elected to the top positions in the Republican Party? The leaders of the Republican Party were chosen by their colleague." [Quelle: http://www.theocracywatch.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-15] Webpräsenzen: Bill Frist. -- http://frist.senate.gov/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17 Mitch McConnell. -- http://mcconnell.senate.gov/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17 Rick Santorum: siehe unten! Bob Bennet. -- http://bennett.senate.gov/. -- Zugriffam 2005-03-17 Kay Bailey Hutchinson. -- http://hutchison.senate.gov/. -- Zugriff am 200-03-17 Jon Kyl. -- http://kyl.senate.gov/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17 George Allen. -- http://allen.senate.gov/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17

2.1. Rick Santorum, Senator

Abb.: Rick Santorum bei Together for Life-Podium [Bildquelle: http://www.peopleforlife.org/podium.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]

Webpräsenz: http://santorum.senate.gov. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17

"Richard John "Rick" Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is a Republican U.S. Senator representing Pennsylvania. Among other responsibilities, he is the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the number three job in the party's leadership. Personal background Santorum was born in Winchester, Virginia. His father was an immigrant from Italy. Santorum received his B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1980 and M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. He was an administrative assistant to Pennsylvania State Senator J. Doyle Corman (1981–1986), director of the Pennsylvania State Senate local government committee (1981–1984), and director of the Pennsylvania State Senate Transportation Committee (1984–1986). His wife, Karen Garver Santorum, is the author of a book on etiquette. [1] (http://www.cbn.com/700club/features/randksantorum.asp) He and his wife have six children, Elizabeth Anne, Richard John ("Johnny"), Jr., Daniel James, Sarah Maria, Peter Kenneth, and Patrick Francis. Their son, Gabriel Michael, died in infancy. Karen wrote a book, Letters to Gabriel: The True Story of Gabriel Michael Santorum. [2] (http://www.booksforcatholics.com/listings/l0085.html) In 1986, he received a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Pittsburgh. In 1990, at age 32, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives defeating a seven-term Democratic incumbent; he served two terms (January 3, 1991–January 3, 1995). He was elected to the Senate in 1994, defeating the incumbent Democrat Harris Wofford, and was re-elected in 2000. Santorum has been active in welfare reform and government accountability. He is a pro-life conservative, favors legislation against abortion and homosexual acts, and believes that the U.S. Constitution allows states to enact such laws (contrary to the Supreme Court's current interpretation). In September of 2004, Santorum stated his intention to run for United States Senate Republican Whip in 2006. However, he lost by a one-vote margin. Legislation Santorum co-sponsored the National Museum of African American History and Culture bill, which passed the Senate unanimously. In 2001, Santorum tried unsuccessfully to insert language into the No Child Left Behind bill that would require that "a full range of views" on human origins be taught in classes. This Santorum Amendment attempted to relativize the teaching of biological evolution in U.S. public schools. The amendment would have required schools to discuss controversies surrounding scientific topics, and give the theory of evolution as an example; many people interpreted this to mean that alternative theories like intelligent design would have to be taught in schools. The Senate passed a weaker non-binding version of the amendment, which two Ohio Congressmen have invoked to suggest that the state should include "intelligent design" or creationism in its science standards. Santorum and John Kerry (D-MA) are the lead sponsors of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), which would require employers to accommodate the religious observances of their employees as long as providing such accommodations will not impose an "undue hardship" upon the employer. Thus, employers would be encouraged to afford employees flexible work shifts so that they may observe religious holy days and permit employees to wear religiously-required garb at work. Versions of the WRFA have been introduced in 1997, 2000, and 2003 but so far have failed to pass. Remarks about homosexuality Main article: Santorum controversy A sizeable controversy arose following Santorum's statements about homosexuality in an interview with the Associated Press taped on April 7, 2003 and published April 20, 2003. In response to a question on his position on how to prevent sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests, Santorum described homosexual acts as part of a class of deviant sexual behavior, including incest, polygamy, and zoophilia, which threaten society and the family. Furthermore Santorum stated that he believed consenting adults do not have a Constitutional right to privacy with respect to sexual acts. Santorum said that the priests were engaged in "a basic homosexual relationship" with "post-pubescent men", and went on to express that he had "a problem with homosexual acts", that the right to privacy "doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution", that "whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, where it's sodomy, all of those things, are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family," that sodomy laws properly exist to prevent acts which "undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family", and when asked "OK, without being too gory or graphic, so if somebody is homosexual, you would argue that they should not have sex?" his response ended "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be." Democratic politicians including the 2004 Democratic presidential candidates, gay rights advocates such as Dan Savage (details), and other liberal commentators condemned the statements, while Republican politicians, religious conservatives, and other conservative commentators supported Santorum and called the condemnations unfair. Some critics argued that Santorum's position may also affect heterosexuals, as Santorum said that he did not believe there is a Constitutional right to engage in private consensual sexual acts. Santorum did not back down from his remarks, stating that they were not intended to equate homosexuality with incest and adultery, but rather as a critique of the specific legal position that the right to privacy prevents the government from regulating consensual acts among adults, because he does not believe that there is a Constitutional right to privacy. Tuition controversy In November 2004, a controversy erupted over education costs for the Senator's children. Santorum's legal address is in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, but he lives most of the year at his home in Leesburg, Virginia near Washington, DC. Santorum's five older children received education through the Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School with 80% of tuition costs paid by the Penn Hills School District. At a meeting in November 2004, the Penn Hills School District announced that it did not believe Santorum met the qualifications for residency status since he and his family spend most of the year in Virginia. They demanded repayment of tuition costs totaling $100,000. Reporters visiting the house Santorum claimed as his noted that, as a two-bedroom, it seemed small for the large Santorum family. The door was answered by a man who refused to identify himself, and neighbors said two cars were regularly parked at the house. When checking at the township government offices, they discovered the building department had never issued a certificate of occupancy and thus no one could legally live in it. Supporters of the Senator claim that the controversy is politically motivated as the school board is controlled by Democrats and Erin Vecchio, the school board member who first publicly raised the issue, is the chair of the local Democratic Party. They also claim that since Santorum votes in Penn Hills and pays property and school taxes there, he is entitled to the same privileges as any other Penn Hills resident. After the controversy erupted, Santorum said he would make other arrangements for his children's education, but insists he does not owe the school board any back tuition. As of the end of 2004, the controversy has not been resolved. [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santorum. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]

2.2. Alan Keyes, Politiker der Republikaner

Abb.: Alan Keyes mit Familie [Bildquelle: http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/pictures/family.htm. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02

Webpräsenz: http://www.renewamerica.us/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17

"Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat, considered one of the leading African Americans in the Republican Party. He served in the U.S. Foreign Service, appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and then became U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations under President Ronald Reagan. Keyes is notable for his unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Presidency in 1996 and 2000, and for the U.S. Senate in 1988, 1992, and 2004.   Early life and family Born in a naval hospital on Long Island in New York City, Keyes was the fifth child to Allison and Gerthina Keyes, a U.S. Army sergeant and a teacher. Due to his father's tours of duty, the Keyes family traveled frequently. Keyes lived in Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and overseas in Italy. After graduation from high school, Keyes attended Cornell University where he criticized local efforts in favor of the civil rights movement and opposed to the Vietnam War. Keyes received death threats and left the school. Invited to continue his studies at Harvard University, Keyes completed his B.A. degree in government affairs in 1972. He received his doctoral degree in government affairs in 1979, writing his dissertation on Alexander Hamilton and constitutional theory. Due to student deferments and a high draft number, Keyes was not drafted and avoided military service in Vietnam. His favorite professor at Cornell and Harvard was the conservative professor Allan Bloom. Keyes is married to Jocelyn Marcel Keyes, an Indian American, whom he met during his service in Bombay. The couple have three children — Francis, Maya, and Andrew. Keyes is a Roman Catholic. Maya Keyes deferred her entry to college by a year to campaign for her father's Senatorial bid in 2004, despite disagreeing with his political views. Rumors about her sexuality began to circulate in September 2004, creating a rift between her and her parents. In February 2005, after Maya Keyes agreed to speak at a rally sponsored by Equality Maryland, her parents threw her out of their home, refused to pay her college tuition fees and stopped speaking to her. At the rally she came out, describing herself as a "liberal queer". (The Washington Post (subscription required) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20005-2005Feb12.html), The Advocate (http://advocate.com/html/stories/932/932_mayakeyes.asp), CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/15/keyes.daughter.ap/index.html)) Diplomat Just a year before completing his doctoral studies, Keyes joined the United States Department of State as a protégé of UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. Keyes viewed Kirkpatrick as a mentor. In 1979, he was assigned to the consulate in Mumbai, India, where as a desk officer he met his wife Jocelyn. The following year, Keyes was sent to serve at the embassy in Zimbabwe. He settled in Washington, DC in 1981 as a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan reappointed Keyes to the United Nations with the full rank of ambassador. He remained in the United Nations until 1987. That year, Keyes vehemently defended the Reagan policy against the imposition of economic sanctions on South Africa as punishment for apartheid. This was an unpopular position within the African American community, and Keyes was derided by other Black leaders. Keyes resigned in protest over a disagreement in relative United Nations funding. Keyes today remains critical of some UN activities and policies. U.S. Senate campaigns in Maryland After resigning from his diplomatic post, Keyes sought election to the United States Senate representing Maryland in 1988. With only 38 percent of the vote, he lost to incumbent Democrat Paul Sarbanes. In 1991, Keyes briefly served as the interim president of the historically black Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. There Keyes sparked controversy when he ordered university trustees not to speak with journalists. The following year, he once again campaigned for Senate, losing to Democrat Barbara Mikulski with only 29 percent of the vote. Keyes was criticized when reports came out that he had paid himself a salary from campaign funds of approximately $8,500 each month, for a total of around $100,000. Presidential campaigns Keyes sought the Republican nomination in the 1996 Presidential election. United States Senate Majority Leader and World War II hero Bob Dole of Kansas won most primaries, caucuses and straw polls and faced Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton. Keyes again campaigned for the Republican nomination in the in the 2000 primaries. He stayed in the race after the early rounds and was invited to join the two remaining major candidates, John McCain and George W. Bush, in a number of nationally televised debates. Many viewers were more impressed by Keyes than McCain or Bush, and commentators on Fox News Channel and MSNBC went as far as declaring Keyes the winner of the debates. FOX News Channel analyst Dick Morris said, "Bush has no place to go but down. Keyes had an original message and it registered." Keyes' popularity grew in some polls, but with limited name recognition, campaign resources and support for his ideas, he constantly trailed both McCain and Bush throughout the race. However, Keyes built an increased national profile, especially among supporters of social conservatism and limited government. During the Iowa caucus, Michael Moore filled a truck with a portable mosh pit of teenagers with speakers blaring music by the band Rage Against the Machine. Moore offered the endorsement of his television show The Awful Truth to any candidate who would leap into the pit. Encouraged by his daughter and despite objections of his Secret Service detail, Keyes leaped into the pit to bodysurf and traded body slams with one of the teens. Keyes was later criticized by candidate Gary Bauer, who mistakenly called the band "The Machine Rages On," during a primary debate in Manchester, New Hampshire for the stunt. Keyes responded that the mosh pit "exemplifies the kind of trust in people that is the heart and soul of the Keyes campaign...and when you trust them, they will in fact hold you up, whether it's in terms of giving help to you when you're falling down or caring for their own children." [1] (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/8/story_857_1.html) Federal election documents and court records showed that Keyes owed $524,169 from his two presidential campaigns, as well as $381 in unpaid state income taxes in Maryland. All charges have been dismissed or settled in 2004 before accepting an invitation by the Illinois Republican Party to run for office in that state. Media and advocacy Keyes has done much and varied work as a media commentator and talk show personality. He hosted a syndicated radio show called America's Wake-Up Call: The Alan Keyes Show from Owings Mills, Maryland. He also launched various web-based organizations — notably Renew America [2] (http://www.renewamerica.us/) and the Declaration Foundation [3] (http://www.declaration.net/), both headquartered in Washington, DC. His show and websites champion conservative issues and causes including opposition to abortion, affirmative action, an increase in the minimum wage, and gay rights, and advocate the replacement of the income tax with a 20-23% national sales tax. Keyes also supports the death penalty, gun rights, school vouchers, stricter drug penalties, and dismantling the Department of Education. Unlike free-trade Republicans, Keyes advocates withdrawal from the NAFTA and GATT treaties. A devout Roman Catholic, Keyes does not believe in the separation of church and state and favors a view that the founding fathers of the United States intended the laws of the country to be based on principles of Christianity. For 23 weeks he hosted a television talk show, Alan Keyes is Making Sense, on the MSNBC cable news channel, but it failed with poor ratings. It was last broadcast on June 27, 2002. Keyes has repeatedly spoken in themes of race and racism, often accusing others of racism. In 1987 Keyes accused Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead of racially insulting him and then quit his post there. He has referred to George W. Bush as "Massa Bush" in the 2000 GOP presidential-primary debate and Bush's tax-cut plan as "a discussion between the masters of how well or ill they're going to treat the slaves." Keyes also accused the Republican National Committee of racism in 1992 when they did not give him a prime speaking spot at the Republican National Convention (the RNC later gave him 2 speaking spots). Keyes would again accuse the GOP of racism when they pulled their support for his trailing candidacy for the Senate. He regularly lambastes the media for racism and accused the media of "a blackout to keep the black out" during his 1992 candidacy. During a press conference, when the media was again accused of racial bias, a reporter reminded Keyes of media attention given to African-American Republican J.C. Watts and Keyes snapped back, "The very question is a racist question! You do to me what you did to my ancestors! You ignore my successes, just as you ignored my ancestors' successes!" [4] (http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/19552) U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois On August 1, 2004, the Illinois Republican Party under the leadership of Judy Baar Topinka notified Keyes of the party's interest in his candidacy for the United States Senate. Just days before, nominee Jack Ryan officially filed documents removing himself from the race against Democrat Barack Obama. Ryan's withdrawal was a result of fallout from the contents of a divorce suit made against him by his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. Keyes declined to give an answer and opted to consider the invitation with his family before making a decision. The prospect of a Keyes candidacy was leaked to the press on August 2. Democrats were quick to point out that Keyes placed a mere third place in the 2000 Illinois presidential primary election with nine percent of the vote. In the 1996 Illinois presidential primary election, Keyes placed fourth with four percent of the vote. Some observers contended that some of Keyes' positions could appeal to politically conservative voters in downstate Illinois. Republicans were quick to claim that Obama's support in the polls was "a mile wide and an inch deep," resulting mainly from name recognition after his speech at the Democrat convention, and that Keyes could generate the same name recognition in short order if enough funds were raised. GOP summit of August 3 On August 3, the Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party convened a seven-hour summit at the Union League Club in downtown Chicago to interview potential nominees for the race. Over a dozen prospects were represented with the exception of Keyes. Two of the most prominent potential candidates were Kane County businessman Jim Oberweis and White House advisor Andrea Barthwell. As the meeting adjourned, Topinka told a press conference that "We don't quite have white smoke yet, but we had a very spirited discussion." She announced that two finalists, Keyes and Barthwell, had been chosen. Neither had prior in-state political experience and Keyes was not an Illinois resident. Some Republicans objected strongly to a possible Barthwell candidacy, given a scandal in which she'd been accused of having "engaged in lewd and abusive behavior" against an employee. [5] (http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sen04.html). GOP summit of August 4 On the morning of August 4, talk radio stations were flooded by calls about the choices. Some expressed frustration that the second place victor in the March primary election, Jim Oberweis, did not receive the nomination; many were unsatisfied with Keyes and Barthwell. Others welcomed the decision and expressed enthusiasm for the candidates. A second meeting was scheduled at the Union League Club for August 4 at the request of Illinois party leaders interested in Keyes' possible nomination. Keyes flew from his Maryland home to Chicago to meet with the Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party. He was greeted at the club by crowds chanting his name and raising signs that read, "Pro-Life, Pro-Marriage." Keyes told the press, "Well, I have come in response to, I think, a very strong effort on the part of the leadership in the state of Illinois to take advantage of what is a priceless opportunity, a priceless opportunity for the state and for the country that arises from the fact that the Democrats have nominated somebody who is a radical idealogue but who is an articulate spokesman for the positions that have been characteristic of the Democratic platform." [6] (http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/04gop.html) In March 2000, Keyes had denounced Hillary Clinton for campaigning for a United States Senate seat from New York where she had only recently established residence, "I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent people there, so I certainly wouldn't imitate it." However, when asked about the discomfort of some Republicans of his lacking state residency Keyes noted that he still opposed such a move but explained that the party had asked him to run under unusual circumstances created by the original nominee's withdrawal, "I do not take it for granted that it's a good idea to parachute into a state and go into a Senate race, so I think it has to be something where I would be convinced that that's not only consonant with federalism as I understand it, but that it's in the best interest of the state and of the nation and that's what it would have to be." Right-wing pundit Robert Novak defended Keyes against allegations of carpetbagging on the television show Crossfire on August 9, 2003 by asserting that Hillary Clinton was merely an opportunist whereas Keyes is a principled conservative. Nomination Keyes spoke to the Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party for over ninety minutes behind closed doors. Upon the conclusion of the August 4 summit, they offered Keyes the nomination as their candidate against Barack Obama. Keyes decided to announce whether he would accept the nomination on August 8 after consulting with his family. Keyes said, "I'm deeply honored, of course, and also deeply challenged by the offer that they have made that I should be the nominee of the Republican Party for the Senate of the United States. I also believe that the deep and serious and intense committed deliberations that have been made by the leadership in this party deserve from me also a deep and serious and committed deliberation about what ought to be my response." [7] (http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sen05.html) Speaking about the state Democrats and his possible entrance into the race Keyes said, "I think they have thrown down a gauntlet of national challenge to the Republican Party of the state of Illinois." On August 8, after worship services, discussions and a reception with party leaders, Keyes formally accepted the nomination among thousands of supporters at a banquet hall, crowds spilling into the parking lot, in Arlington Heights. Keyes entered the hall to the sounds of the Chicago Bulls theme, and promised to wage "a battle like this nation has never seen." Keyes had an uphill battle, as Obama had broad popularity across the state and has been campaigning for several months in areas generally regarded as the Republican base. Keyes was also heavily criticized for running for Senate in Illinois, a state where he established legal residency in only after he was nominated. The Chicago Tribune sarcastically greeted him in an editorial, saying that "Mr. Keyes may have noticed a large body of water as he flew into O'Hare. That is called Lake Michigan." [8] (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0408060313aug06,1,4590778.story) Campaign Keyes's nomination marked the first U.S. Senate race where the candidates of both major parties were black (both also attended Harvard University). The Keyes family moved into a townhouse in the south Chicago suburb of Calumet City. Keyes immediately began to build his campaign, taking over the downtown Chicago North Clinton Avenue office of the Jack Ryan organization. Seventeenth Amendment During the first two weeks of the campaign, Keyes scheduled major national and local media interviews. His stances on several issues attracted widespread national media attention, in particular when he said that the 17th Constitutional Amendment, providing for the direct election of United States Senators, unfairly diminished the power of state legislatures. Abortion Keyes was also adamant in his characterization of abortion as a "genocide" of black Americans, citing statistics alluding to a decline in the black population of the United States across generations as a result of abortion. He also compared doctors who performed abortions and women who received them to terrorists of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and referred to Obama's stance on abortion to be "the slaveholder's position." [9] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/) In an interview at his campaign headquarters in Chicago after the convention, Keyes described Obama as a "hard-line, academic, Marxist-socialist" who "voted for infanticide." Keyes also opined that "Christ would not vote for Barack Obama, because Barack Obama has voted to behave in a way that it is inconceivable for Christ to have behaved." Homosexuality During the 2004 Republican National Convention, Keyes gave a radio interview where he said that those homosexuals who marry are guilty of "selfish hedonism." When asked if that description included Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, Keyes said, "Of course, she is. That goes by definition. Of course, she is." Keyes' remarks concerned the state party, drawing criticism from Chairwoman Topinka who called the comments "idiotic." Former Governor James R. Thompson had similar sentiments. In late September, rumors were published by freelance weblogs that caught the attention of newspapers alleging that Maya Keyes, daughter of the candidate, was a lesbian as indicated in a weblog allegedly written by her. The original source of the story noted that he found a link to a weblog [10] (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=xmisled0youthx) he believed to have been written by Maya Keyes through a private weblog published by Maya Keyes' friend and campaign aide Gerald Farinas. Keyes and his family neither confirmed or denied the accusations but however excoriated the press for what he called "scandal-mongering nonsense." When asked by the Chicago CBS affiliate of the issue Alan Keyes remarked, "You're asking me a personal question, right, in terms of what I'd say to a family member. And that has to be governed by my personal conscience, and my personal conscience is shaped by my faith, and my faith is very clear: That homosexual relationships are sinful and wrong, and I will not facilitate my children, whom I love, in going down a path that, according to my faith, leads to a kind of death that's worse than physical death. You don't love somebody if you become the facilitator of the destruction of their spiritual and moral life." To the Chicago NBC affiliate Alan Keyes said, "I consider the eternal salvation of my children to be the real aim of my parenting, not how they feel today, not how they look today, but whether or not they shall be pleasing and acceptable to God. You can bet I won't betray that truth for the sake of any ambition, any office, any election on the face of this Earth because I promise to you that the hearts of my children are far more important to me than anything I can achieve in this election or anything else the world has to offer me." At the end of January 2005, Maya posted [11] (http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=Xmisled0youthX&tab=weblogs&uid=196061776) on her blog that her parents had cast her out entirely, leaving her unable to pay rent or tuition. A San Francisco-based charity announced plans to pay for her schooling. In February 2005 Keyes appeared (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/13/politics/main673732.shtml) at a Maryland rally in support of equal marriage rights. Mandatory service During the Jim Ryan Symposium on Public Affairs on October 5, Keyes spoke before a crowd of approximately 300 students and faculty in the Dan and Ada Rice Center at Benedictine University. He offered his opinion that he favored requiring students to serve two-years of service to the country after high school — either in the community, diplomatically or militarily. He said, "I have always been in favor of universal service with exceptions." "Mortal sin" and "wicked and evil" comments On October 31, two days before the election, Keyes stated that voting for Obama was a "mortal sin" and that he held "the wicked and evil position" when asked about Obama's appearance at a Catholic church. Keyes's statements were made before a crowd of around 600 at Crusader Ministries International Church in Chicago. Keyes said: "From the point of view of the things I deeply believe in to be right and necessary, Barack Obama is wrong and taking the wicked and evil position on every single one of them. "And I would simply say to voters of faith and conscience—the Roman Catholics, the black Christians, the evangelicals—I don't see how anyone in good conscience can cast a vote for Barack Obama." "...On all the key issues of conscience, he stands for the position that has been identified by the Catholic Church as objectively evil...Catholics who vote for him make themselves part of that evil, just as the folks in Germany who voted for the party that eventually led to the Holocaust." [12] (http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-round01.html) Obama later told reporters that he had "no response to Mr. Keyes' apocalyptic, over-the-top statements...I think everyone's gotten accustomed to them." He also described Keyes's remarks as "histrionics," saying: "That's sort of his schtick, and I don't think it's playing particularly well here in Illinois, and I suspect that after Tuesday [Election Day] he'll be taking his show on the road...At least, he didn't call me the Antichrist."[13] (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/10065168.htm?1c) 2004 U.S. Senate Race Results The Keyes-Obama race was one of the first to be called on Election Day, which in 2004 was November 2. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the results were:   2004 Election Results Name Party Votes Percentage Barack Obama Democratic 3,524,702 70 Alan Keyes Republican 1,371,882 27 Albert J. Franzen Independent 79,481 2 Jerry Kohn Libertarian 67,914 1 Keyes refused to call and congratulate Obama, as is election custom. Two days after his crushing loss, in a radio interview Keyes conceded defeat but said he would never congratulate Obama, because he said the Democrat stood for "a culture evil enough to destroy the very soul and heart of my country." Quotes "I think that's a way of Providence telling us, 'I love you all; I'd like to give you a chance. Wake up! Would you please wake up?" - on why abortion is to blame for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon; Provo, Utah, May 7, 2004. "Colorblind means that when a colored person walks in, you suddenly go blind." - Keyes accuses the GOP of racism after it withheld financial support for his failing candidacy in 1992. "Homosexuals are not haunted by the prospect or possibility of procreation – because they're simply not capable of it. I think this is pretty obvious, isn't it?" "That means that an incestuous situation could easily arise in our society; it's more than likely to arise – not to mention every other kind of incestuous complication." - Keyes on lesbian couples having children through artificial insemination. "The right response of a chief executive in this state and in this nation, when faced with an order by a court that he conscientiously believes violates the Constitution he is sworn to respect, is to refuse their order!" "...the Second Amendment is really in the Constitution to give men like Bill Clinton something to think about when their ambition gets particularly overinflated." - Keyes giving a cryptic threat against President Clinton. "Alan Keyes's opinion of himself and the universe's opinion of him have fatally parted company." - Rick Brookhiser, National Review Online, 8 August 2004 (http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/04_08_08_corner-archive.asp#037646) "I thought the Keyes weakness is painfully obvious, but here goes: The job of a political candidate is to attract people to a party's political philosophy and bring victory to the party on Election Day. In two U.S. Senate races and two presidential campaigns, Alan Keyes has done the exact opposite: shown a great ability to stampede voters away from his candidacy like a herd of panicking animals fleeing a huge volcanic eruption. [...] When voters listen to a successful candidate they get a strong feeling that this person can do the job and make life better. When voters listen to Alan Keyes, they get the perception, 'wow, this guy is stone cold nuts' and they run home to hide their children. We Republicans are the free market party, so look to Keyes's prior history in elections and trust the market." - Mike Murphy, political consultant, The Weekly Standard (online), 11 August 2004 (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/472xvivu.asp) "On all the matters that touch upon the critical moral issues, Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the evil side." - Keyes denouncing more moderate GOP speakers like Schwarzenegger at the GOP Convention in 2004. "I've dealt with Keyes personally...His ego is too big for the Senate, Presidency, and probably God." -- Greg Blankenship, running an anti-Obama website. "A Keyes speech on the moral erosion of America is one of those transcendent experiences where you just have to be there. It's hard to explain how he touches the soul of an audience, and saying that he's 'silver-tongued' (as everyone does) only tarnishes the picture by inadequacy." -- David R. Boldt, writing in The Baltimore Sun, Nov. 29, 1995. "The first principle of a Keyes administration, it will apply in foreign policy, it will apply in domestic policy, it will apply everywhere. There is a God, and we are not him! I will not join the Clinton Democrats who worship government as their god! I will not join the Dole Republicans who worship power as their god! I will not join the Forbes Republicans who worship money as their god! I will stand where the founders of this nation stood, and I will give my respect and allegiance to the creator God who is the ground of justice and who is the ground of all our human rights!" --Alan Keyes, January 27, 1996 at the Louisiana Republican Convention. "While they complain about candidates pandering to special-interest groups, 217 years of this republic have shown that deep down people want candidates who strive to be all things to all men. People say they want office-seekers who are candid, frank, straightforward, genuine, who tell the truth even when it hurts. Who are on the up-and-up, guileless, unartful, undesigning, unequivocal. But nobody has won running on that platform, including Lincoln, FDR and Reagan, and you will be no exception. Voters elect only candidates who are deceptive, duplicitous, bluffers, cunning, crafty and Machiavellian. That's because voters want politicians like themselves. The media agrees. So why are you out of step? Thus, you've botched your campaign. You're going to lose by a landslide. I accuse you of being politically pure, clean, pristine, impeccable and untarnished. Your very presence embarrasses the system because you don't play by the historic rules." - Thomas Roeser to Keyes in the Chicago Sun Times." [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Keyes. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]

3. Judikative

Eine der langfristigsten politischen Einflussnahmen für einen US-Präsidenten ist die Besetzung der Richterstellen an den Bundesgerichten. Da diese Richter auf Lebenszeit gewählt werden, kann der Präsident die Gerichtsbarkeit weit über seine Amtszeit hinaus beeinflussen, wenn nicht gar bestimmen. Deswegen gehören die Kämpfe im Senat über die Besetzung von Bundesrichterstellen zu den härtesten. Die Fundamentalisten tun alles, um durch Lobbying zu erreichen, dass die Bundesgerichte mit Richtern besetzt werden, die gegn Abtreibung, gegen Homosexuellen-Ehe, für eine Aufweichung der strengen Grenzen zwischen Staat und Religion, für Schulgebet, für Kreationismus in Schulen usw. sind.

Zum fundamentalistischen Heroen wurde der Richter Roy Moore.

3.1. Roy Moore, Richter

Abb.: Roy Moore mit dem Denkmal "Die zehn Gebote" [Bildquelle: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1186682/posts. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]

Webpräsenz: http://www.morallaw.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-17

"Roy Stuart Moore (born February 11, 1947) "Ten Commandments" judge who, on 14 November 2003, was removed from his post as Chief Justice of Alabama by a unanimous decision of the nine member state Court of the Judiciary. The Court found that he had "willfully and publicly" flouted a court order to remove a monument from the rotunda of the state judicial building, placing himself in contempt of the federal court which had ordered the removal, thereby also breaking his oath of office. Early judicial career He was elected Circuit Judge, Place Number One of the (Alabama) Sixteenth Judicial Circuit in Gadsden, Alabama, in 1992. As Circuit Judge, Moore was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1995 for displaying a copy of the Ten Commandments in his court, and for opening court sessions with prayer. In at least one instance, Judge Moore asked a clergyman to lead the court's jury pool in prayer. Leveraging the controversy, Moore ran for the elected post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama on a campaign based on "restoring the moral foundation of law". He was elected Chief Justice in November 2000. Alabama has one of the larger Christian majorities in the United States. In the middle of the night of July 31, 2001, Moore installed a 5,300-pound granite monument to the Ten Commandments in the central rotunda of the Alabama state judicial building. The event was recorded and proceeds from the sale of the videotape were used to raise money for a charity he supported. Federal suit On Tuesday 30 October 2001, the ACLU of Alabama, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Southern Poverty Law Center were among groups which filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, asking that the monument be removed because it "sends a message to all who enter the State Judicial Building that the government encourages and endorses the practice of religion in general and Judeo-Christianity in particular". Evidence included testimony that lawyers of different religious beliefs had changed their work practices, including routinely avoiding visiting the court building to avoid passing by the monument, and testimony that the monument created a religious atmosphere which caused many people of religions honoring the Ten Commandments to use the area as a place for prayer. Moore argued that removing the monument would cause him to violate his oath of office, because, Moore claimed, the 10 Commandments are the moral basis of U.S. law. Judgement and appeal Federal U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled the monument an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the government, violating the so-called separation of church and state. The case was appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, the decision (PDF) (http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/ops/200216708.pdf) of which, in part, reads: The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court installed a two-and-onehalf ton monument to the Ten Commandments as the centerpiece of the rotunda in the Alabama State Judicial Building. He did so in order to remind all Alabama citizens of, among other things, his belief in the sovereignty of the Judeo-Christian God over both the state and the church. And he rejected a request to permit a monument displaying a historically significant speech in the same space on the grounds that "[t]he placement of a speech of any man alongside the revealed law of God would tend in consequence to diminish the very purpose of the Ten Commandments monument." … After taking office he hung a hand-carved, wooden plaque depicting the Ten Commandments behind the bench in his courtroom and routinely invited clergy to lead prayer at jury organizing sessions. … Every fourth grader in the state is brought on a tour of the building as part of a field trip to the state capital. No one who enters the building through the main entrance can miss the monument. It is in the rotunda, directly across from the main entrance, in front of a plate-glass window with a courtyard and waterfall behind it. After entering the building, members of the public must pass through the rotunda to access the public elevator or stairs, to enter the law library, or to use the public restrooms." Moore answered yes to these questions: [W]as your purpose in putting the Ten Commandments monument in the Supreme Court rotunda to acknowledge GOD’s law and GOD’s sovereignty? Do you agree that the monument, the Ten Commandments monument, reflects the sovereignty of GOD over the affairs of men? And the monument is also intended to acknowledge GOD’s overruling power over the affairs of men, would that be correct? [W]hen you say “GOD” you mean GOD of the Holy Scripture? The Appeals Court upheld the earlier decision and returned the matter to the lower court for enforcement, which was initiated with a court order requiring that the monument to be removed. Aftermath Moore refused to remove the monument and allowed the time limit for removal to expire. The state of Alabama faced fines of $5,000 a day, and he was unanimously overruled by the eight other members of the Alabama Supreme Court, who had the monument removed within an extended time limit provided for that purpose. Because of the monument's weight, worries that it might break through the floor if taken outside intact and a desire to avoid unnecessary confrontation with protesters outside the building, the monument was put into storage inside. Moore was then suspended as Chief Justice (with full pay) pending a hearing of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. The Court of the Judiciary is a panel of judges, lawyers and others appointed variously by judges, legal leaders, the governor and the lieutenant governor. On November 3, 2003 the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal against the court order to remove the monument. On Thursday November 13, 2003, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary unanimously removed an unrepentant Moore from the office of Chief Justice because, according to Court of the Judiciary Presiding Judge William Thompson, "[t]he chief justice placed himself above the law." In closing arguments, the Assistant Attorney General said Moore's defiance, left unchecked, "undercuts the entire workings of the judicial system" and "What message does that send to the public, to other litigants? The message it sends is: If you don't like a court order, you don't have to follow it." Moore was brought up as a possible candidate for the United States Constitution Party in the 2004 presidential election, but did not pursue their nomination. It is believed he may hold other future political aspirations. Monuments to Moore Moore's defense of his Ten Commandments monument has inspired an unusual roadside monument to Moore. Located along busy U.S. Highway 80 outside of Selma, Alabama, Moore-supporter Leonard Turner has installed a retired school bus completely covered on all sides with hand-painted slogans praising Moore and endorsing his candidacy for Governor of Alabama. (George W. Bush is also praised on the same bus.) The bus is illuminated by spotlights at night. [Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Moore. -- Zugriff am 2005-03-02]

Abb.: Christian Protest. -- Cartoon von Russmo. -- 2003-08-25
[Bildquelle: http://www.russmo.com/03_08_25.html. -- Zugriff am 2005-04-02]

Zu Kapitel 1.3: Handelnde Personen II: Journalisten und Lobbyisten