Basic Training

This chapter is taken straight from my notes about a Christian Coalition of California Training School.

These sessions are similar in almost every way to the countless sales meetings and motivational seminars being held every week in conference rooms all over the country.  A roomful of trainees gets together with a group of instructors and they go to work.  In the more usual situations, the instructors lecture on goal-setting and techniques for achieving those goals, and the end result is a better trained, more highly motivated sales force.  In the case of the Coalition, however, the goal is to take over local churches, school boards, and other offices, and the techniques have nothing to do with the traits usually associated with Christianity.

Guy Rogers was our main speaker at this training session.  He is comfortable in his role, and as he straddles a chair, in his red suspenders and shirt sleeves, he radiates the kind of energy that suggests he is just bursting with good news. One of his slogans is, "If you learn the rules of the game, you can win the game."  Guy Rogers undoubtedly thinks he can teach his new recruits to win the game.

The main thrust of the training is to be aggressive.   Whatever we do for the Coalition we are to do it in a way that sweeps aside any arguments and rolls right over any resistance.  Another of Guy Rogers' messages is,

"The purpose is to get what you want."

His first subject was the use of computers for effective networking, and setting up phone trees for efficient communication.  A major strength of the movement is their ability to mobilize huge numbers of people at the grass roots level, and this is accomplished by an excellent system of communications which allows the organization to transmit information very rapidly from strategic centers around the country out to the furthest reaches of the network.  This rapid response capability has served the Coalition well on many occasions, some of which I will refer to later on.

Another specialty of the Religious Right is their skill at manipulating radio call-in shows and TV programs.  The technique is simple, but it requires the concerted effort of a well-organized group working together.  It consists of flooding the station with calls and tying up the phone lines so that only one point of view is heard.  Guy Rogers says,

"One call could get lost or put off, but with so many on the line, someone must get through and be put on the air."

When we stop and think that large numbers of people nationwide, who think of themselves as Christians, are actually being trained and organized to accomplish this kind of censorship, we begin to get some idea of what we are up against.

to Guy Rogers again:

"Bombard opponents.  Pain, everyone understands ... it's a universal language ... pain gets them when all else fails.   Tying up their phone lines and fax wires brings pain, having a boycott of businesses, hitting them in their pocketbooks, this is pain, and it works."

Yes, it works, but for whom?

The Coalition is scornful of the media in general.   The movement views most purveyors of information as entirely too democratic and, as such, completely incompatible with their covert methods.  They are, however, extremely sensitive to any kind of adverse publicity, and will go to great lengths to protect their public image.  Guy Rogers taught us how to organize a 'Coalition For Media Accountability,' at the local and national level.  He also instructed us on how to handle a situation when the press is hostile.

"Organize the local pastors," he said.

"Especially include a Rabbi and a Catholic priest, to come in a body for a press conference that would result in a headline such as: 'Local Clergy Takes Offense At Religious Bias."'

I assume it is unnecessary to underscore the cynical manipulation at work here. 'The purpose is to get what you want.'

Rogers lectured to us on the ideal way to conduct a meeting, using as an example the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International.   He told us that the Christian Coalition has 900 chapters in 50 states, with a total membership of one million people.  The group's goal is to create two new chapters a week, as outlined in their two-year expansion plan.  This organization is fueled by a truly amazing high-octane ambition.  It is regrettable that this passion is for the greater glory of a dangerous man and his single-minded minions, rather than for the benefit of mankind.

Rogers then settled into his lecture on using churches to promote the Coalition's agenda.  Each church that is to be targeted is to have a Liaison, someone who is either a Coalition representative who joins the church, or an existing church member who is recruited by the Coalition.  As outlined above by Will Harris, the first step is to contact the pastor and try to convince him to allow the Coalition to gain a foothold in his church.  If the pastor resists, then he is to be pressured.  If, for example, the pastor objects on traditional grounds,

"We've never done that before,"

then the Coalition's Liaison is to respond with something like,

"You are right, but this is today, and you must balance the tried and true with openness and change. This is the only way the church progresses and is effective in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

The Liaison will keep up the pressure on any pastor who doesn't embrace the cause, suggesting in many subtle ways that he is not a true man of God if he does not see the need for some political guidance in his ministry.  At the same time, the Liaison will seek out individuals within the congregation who are sympathetic to the Coalition's philosophy, and enlist their assistance in creating a group of parishioners who actively agitate for the church to become more political.  This group can now exert even more pressure on their pastor, and ultimately they can make him agree to their demands, or they can have him replaced.  Either way, the path is now clear for the Coalition to have its way.  They will bring in literature to be distributed to the entire congregation, they will provide information to be included in newsletters, and eventually they will arrange for political candidates to visit the church and speak at times which, in the past, were set aside exclusively for worship.

The strategy is as effective as it is simple.   Most people, most ordinary Christians, see their church as the house of God, and their minds have long accepted that what they hear in church is the word of God.  The Christian Coalition is subtly positioning its message and its candidates, using the same subliminal techniques that have been used in "testimonial" advertising for years.  Just as an advertiser might use a celebrity to promote its product, the Christian Coalition is manipulating the churches to make it appear as though the Religious Right is endorsed by God.  It certainly is ingenious.  A devilishly clever scheme.

Speaking of the devil, the Coalition considers all its enemies to be his emissaries.  This no doubt helps them to be utterly ruthless when it comes to attacking anybody they feel might be a threat or a challenge.  Guy Rogers devotes part of his training sessions to suggested methods for researching opponents.  When he says 'researching,' he actually means 'digging up dirt.'  He explained how to form committees whose function is to look for any dirt, gossip, and possible scandal that can be used to permanently damage an opposing candidate or, in fact, anyone who disagrees with the Coalition's point of view.  Now, obviously they are not the first organization to operate in this way.  Politics has always been a dirty business.  But they claim to be non-political, and furthermore they pretend to be role models for a Christian way of life.

Speaking of candidates, Sara Hardman stated at this meeting that Senator Phil Gramm, of Texas, was,

"our choice for president in 1996."

Senator Gramm was scheduled to give a Christian Coalition Health Care briefing in Studio City, California, March 19, at 11 a.m., at The Sportsman Lodge.  He has scheduled four more of these briefings in other parts of the country.  Later in the year, Senator Gramm vacillated on, "The only thing they have to hang their hats on," - the abortion issue - and the Christian Coalition dropped him

As mentioned earlier, there is a considerable amount of paranoia within the Coalition, and actually within the Religious Right in general.   At every conference, reunion, or training meeting I ever attended, the subject of spies in our midst was always brought up.  Coalition leaders spoke darkly about traitors in the ranks, and everybody looked around and nodded at each other, some of them shaking their fists.  I always looked around too, but I never saw any.

Joe Farrar was another speaker at this training session.  He lectured on the ways in which Christians can form committees, which carry more weight than the average individual, and decide on certain subjects they feel strongly about. Earlier, Rogers had said,

"Take values we believe in and transfer them into public politics. This is attention-getting."

Farrar elaborated on that idea, and suggested that the committees should bypass the editors in their local newspapers and go straight to the publisher, who ultimately has more control.

Farrar went on to make some very strong statements.   He said that Vincent Foster (who was reported to have committed suicide during the initial investigations into the White water scandal) was actually murdered, and that Foster and Hillary Clinton had been having an affair.  He provided nothing to substantiate his claim. He also stated that,

"Bill Clinton will be out of office before his term expires, and we should be preparing one of our own candidates to take over."

All of those at the training session were required to fill out an attendance survey and questionnaire.  Sara Hardman explained that the main office in Virginia Beach would refund five dollars to the local office for each questionnaire returned, which would be of great help to the State and local chapters, which she claimed are under-funded.  This information would also - of course! - be added to the Coalition's ever-expanding data base.

The questionnaire asked for your name, home address, your wife's name Does she go to school? name and address of your employer ... your occupation your college degrees...your best skills, with choices including giving speeches, writing, art layout, organizing events, public relations ... and several other skills.

The questionnaire then asked what you are least able to do, to be chosen from the same list of skills.  You were also asked to number eight topics in order of their importance to you: Pro-life or anti-abortion, Education, Crime, New Age Religion, Homosexual and Lesbian Rights, Communism, the Economy, etc.

At the end of the questionnaire came the 'pitch',

"What will you do for the Coalition?"

There were several activities to choose from, each one prefaced by, "Will You": Will you organize a chapter; Serve as a church liaison; Arrange for literature distribution tables in churches; Lead voter registration drives, and so on.  It was clear that they expected a commitment from all attendees, and an agreement to pledge all to the cause.

As a final note in this chapter, I will include excerpts from my records of a special Christian Coalition meeting held in California on Friday, November 11, 1994.  These provide an expanded view of the Coalition's strategy for taking over churches and using them for political purposes.

This was a meeting for Officers of the Christian Coalition of Northern California. It was held in the Church on the Hill, an Assemblies of God church (room 303), at 2 1 0 Locust Street, in Vallejo, California.  In attendance were 41 representatives of Northern California chapters from towns such as Modesto, Stockton, Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Napa, Antelope, and others.

Sara Hardman came up from Los Angeles, and D.J.Gribbin, the National Field Director, flew in from Virginia Beach.  The purpose of this special meeting was to gloat over the Republican Conservative victories in both houses, and to work on strategies for staying in power. "We cannot become complacent," lectured Gribbin, "we must now keep the power."

The main point of the strategy was to lavish encouragement on all conservative office-holders and reinforce their efforts with letters, phone calls, and taxes to them, and to send letters endorsing them to the Editors of appropriate journals.  Delegations should be formed to visit conservative legislators when they are home on a break, to tell them personally what a fine job they are doing and make them fully aware of the support they are receiving from the Christian Coalition.   The goal is always to fill every office with a member of the Religious Right, and thereby have control of the government.

Gribbin illustrated the organization like this:

National

I

State

I

Chapters

Churches Liaisons- Neighborhood Precinct Captains

"We must first increase our number of Church Liaisons,"

he said.

"This is how we take over an area. We need at least one in every church. We need to make each church aware of political issues. But don't go first to the pastor."

Gribbin then quickly issued a disclaimer, saying,

"Now, I'm not saying to go behind the pastor's back, but he's so busy and all, wait till later to talk with him. Go first to the leaders, the deacons and so on. Then, as you progress, give out the Pastor Packets to show that the pastors not only can legally talk about politics, but, as true Christian leaders, they are obligated to."

The Pastor Packets are documents, prepared by the Coalition, intended to help convince ministers that cooperating with the Religious Right is in no way incompatible with their spiritual responsibilities to their congregation.

Gribbin continued,

"The goal is a voter registration drive in the church. This is number one. Now, the most effective way to begin identifying people in the church and in the community is to start a petition. It can be a petition on anything: against government intrusion in church affairs, for example, or government funding of abortions. There are many, many issues around which a petition can be created. This gets people involved and shows you who agrees with you, especially within the church. This is important in order to build a group that can put pressure on the pastor."

"Again, this all leads up to voter registration,"

emphasized Gribbin.

"It is also important to work on the church bulletin. The goal is to have a regular insert from the Christian Coalition. We have a fax line that sends out these inserts to be circulated to the churches. Those of you with a fax number, please give that to me. Next, you are to appoint and train neighborhood Captains to take over an area. Each one is to be in charge of a precinct."

Sara Hardman interrupted at this point, to say that a whole precinct may be more than many inexperienced people could handle, and that an assignment of that magnitude might be too overwhelming. She suggested instead allocating a four-block area to each Captain, which would still produce the desired results.

Gribbin approved her suggestion, but still insisted that the Captain must literally take over the neighborhood, and must also work the phones to prospect for new members. The phone strategy consists of pretending to conduct a survey.

"However,"

he cautioned,

"it's better not to identify yourself over the phone as being the Christian Coalition. Invent a name, such as Citizens for a Better Government. Who could disagree with that? The survey will concentrate on questions such as, 'Do you think abortion should be legal?' Answers to questions on pro-life, education, taxes, and so on, will identify people who are sympathetic to the cause. Those who agree with you are then invited to a voter registration drive at a church, where they are given literature and, ideally, signed up as members."

Gribbin then made the following statement,

"Working with churches gives us a huge advantage since we, as churches, gather every week in a non-political setting."

He then said,

"Just in case this is being secretly taped, I want to make a disclaimer. We are a non-partisan group, so when I say 'Republican,' I really mean Republican and Democrat. Christian Coalition is non-partisan."

In his other remarks, Gribbin said,

"You should all organize a big push for school boards. This is where the power is. You should run for all public offices as well."

This from the National Field Director of the Christian Coalition, which stated quite categorically that it is not in any way a political organization, and enjoys a corresponding 501(c)3 tax exemption status.   (Since then, the Christian Coalition has been split into two components: One tax exempt and one totally political as the result of an adverse court decision)

GO TO CHAPTER THREE

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