THEISTWATCH FOR AUGUST 18, 1995
Contents:
United States--RELIGIOUS AGENDA MAY THREATEN GOP WHITE HOUSE BID
United States--GANGSTA RAP CRITIC IS TARGET OF LAWSUIT
United States--FIRST LADY ASKED TO SAY AWAY FROM BEIJING CONFERENCE
World--THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS
Texas--AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
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RELIGIOUS AGENDA MAY THREATEN GOP WHITE HOUSE BID
by Conrad Goeringer
Election day is still more than a year away, but
you'd never know it listening to some major Republican
strategists. One GOP pollster is sufficiently optimistic
that he told USA TODAY, "This is our election to lose."
Another party official working on behalf of Sen. Richard
Lugar of Indiana echoed that sentiment, but added that
when it came to losing, "Sad to say, we may be capable."
One reason for the party's optimism is the sheer
scale of its 1994 congressional victory; it was the
"greatest midterm majority sweep of the 20th century"
declared GOP Chairman Haley Barbour, and it saw the
Republicans grab control of both the U.S. House and Senate
for the first time in four decades. There's more fueling
this optimism; polls show that nomination front-runner
Sen. Bob Dole leads President Clinton in a number of
polls, albeit by close margins. Any Republican who
receives the party nod for a White House run can also
boast of the efforts the GOP made in keeping its "Contract
With America," moving toward a balanced budget, lowering
taxes, and "getting tough" on crime issues.
The electoral map looks good for the Republicans,
too. Seven states which gave Clinton 52 of his electoral
votes last time may prove difficult to win in 1996. They
are: Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Montana,
Nevada and New Hampshire. Republicans may succeed in
running a "values" campaign to erode Clinton's public
image and emphasize instead the GOP stand on behalf of
"family values." Clinton will have to win California,
Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois, maybe Ohio. It can be
done, experts say, but it is very difficult.
And there's the Whitewater affair. Clinton may be
hurt by the congressional investigation, especially if
there are surprises. He's suffered an "image problem" due
to government actions at Waco and the shoot-out with the
Branch Davidians. Attorney General Janet Reno can take
only part of this hit, and the Justice Department is also
going to face PR problems over the announced settlement of
$3.1 million in the case of separatist Randy Weaver, whose
wife and son were killed in an attack by federal agents.
This "painful chapter in law-enforcement
history," along with the Waco disaster, has reinforced
perceptions that the government is "out of control."
But there are plenty of obstacles and hazards in any
GOP cakewalk into the White House in 1996. Most
Republicans would like to run a campaign focusing on
economic issues and place minimal attention on the moral
and religious agenda raised by groups such as the
Christian Coalition. While the Coalition has not announced
support for any one candidate, the organization is still a
group with which to be reckoned. It distributed tens of millions
of "voters guides" in the 1994 election, and exercises
control or significant influence in many state GOP
organizations.
Some observers think that the extreme stands on
welfare, abortion, censorship, gays and school prayer may
be racing ahead of voters' political appetites. "What
Republicans have going for them is people think they're
headed in the right direction," political analyst Charles
Cook recently told USA TODAY. "What they have to be
concerned about is people worrying they're going too far."
Both frontrunner Dole and challenger Senator Phil
Gramm of Texas have been working hard to shore up their
credentials as both economic and religious conservatives.
Dole masterminded the defeat of Clinton's nominee for the
post of U.S. Surgeon General, and he seems to have
captured a "bandwagon" effect with his attacks on
permissive violence and sex in Hollywood films, television
and music lyrics.
Clinton is in the awkward position of what
strategists term "triangulation." He has to stay to the
left of conservative Republicans, yet maintain a more
moderate stance than many of his fellow Democrats,
especially on issues such as spending and taxes. He has to
capture some of the "family values"
rhetoric as well; his guidelines about the role of
religion in schools, along with his "out of the blue"
campaign against teenage smoking, may be an effort in that
direction.
Republicans also have to worry about "dark horse"
candidate Pat Buchanan. The 56-year-old political
commentator lost 33 straight primaries to President George
Bush in 1992, but still managed to ignite the "culture war"
theme on which he is still capitalizing. Observers are
amazed at Buchanan's energy and enthusiasm and some of the
fighting spirit is beginning to rub off on his supporters
while the candidate runs a surprisingly vital campaign on
a slim $3 million budget. Buchanan is tapping into to
anti-NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
sentiment, with a call for an automatic 10 percent tariff
on all Japanese goods. Even a respectable show in the New
Hampshire primary could spell troubles in other states for
the Dole campaign. Buchanan's energetic candidacy also is
forcing the other runners in the pack, especially Dole and
Gramm, to "prove" their social conservatism and pick a
vice presidential running mate with similar conservative
credentials. That goes against the "big tent" philosophy
of party chairman Barbour.
There is also the Perot factor. This past weekend,
Perot's "United We Stand" movement held its mammoth
convention and heard representatives from both major
parties plead for the organization's support. George Bush
may well have lost the 1992 election because of the Texas
billionaire's third-party ambush. While there is
considerable confusion over exactly what Perot and the
United We Stand movement actually endorses, it could
symbolize growing voter disgust with both Democrats and
Republicans.
Third party efforts could also come out of on-going
suspicion which many religious conservatives have with the
GOP. With House passage of the bulk of the Contract With
America, groups such as the Christian Coalition and Focus
on the Family are waiting for "payback time" enactment of
an extensive religious-social agenda. The House voted deep
cuts in social programs, including more restrictions on
abortion. One upcoming litmus test of political loyalty
for Republicans (and even Democrats) may be a "Religious
Equality Amendment." The Clinton administration has
already tried to defuse this issue; the U.S Department of
Education is currently mailing guidelines to the nation's
15,000 school districts which define the extent of
religious rights and free speech for students and
teachers. The guidelines reflect an agreement of nearly
three-dozen American religious groups which was signed and
issued two months ago as a Joint Statement. For religious
conservatives, however, the Statement and administration
guidelines do not go far enough; groups such as the
Christian Coalition want a specific
constitutional amendment supporting expanded religious
exercise and instruction in public schools. The amendment
could be the price GOP candidates such as Dole may have to
pay in exchange for religious conservative political
support and organization.
Despite their considerable political and financial
resources, however, Christian conservatives may not be
able to deliver sufficient votes to assure a GOP victory
in November, 1996 if voters sense that the "moral agenda"
on abortion, gays and other issues has "gone too far." A
third-party effort by Buchanan or a lesser-known candidate
supported by someone such as James Dobson of Focus on the
Family could end up hurting the GOP and re-electing
President Clinton.
Fourteen months until election day is a long time.
GOP strategists also worry that if that period is "a
reasonably placid time in the economy and the world," it
could work to Clinton's advantage. But in politics, and
the rest of life, anything can happen.
GANGSTA RAP CRITIC IS TARGET OF LAWSUIT
by Conrad F. Goeringer
What links anti-rap activist C. DeLores Tucker,
"Kultur"-guru William Bennett and Psychic Friends Network
schmoozer Dionne Warwick? It appears that all three are
players in a bizarre story involving attempts to pressure
Time Warner, Inc. to stop distribution and production of
controversial rap-music albums and a possible attempt to
persuade a leading rap producer to leave one record label
and renegotiate a multi-million dollar contract.
On Tuesday, August 15, Interscope Records filed suit
against Ms. Tucker in the Federal District Court in Los
Angeles. According to the New York Times, the suit alleges
that Tucker told producer Marion Knight that if he
"cleaned up his albums" and ended his association with
Interscope, she would broker a new deal on his behalf with
Time Warner. Knight claimed that Time Warner which owns 50
percent of Interscope would pay Knight $80 million to
break with the rap production company. Tucker's alleged
share of this deal has not been revealed. On August 15,
she acknowledged that she had met with Knight several
times and discussed establishing a new distribution
arrangement.
C. DeLores Tucker attracted headlines this past
summer when, as chairwoman of the National Congress of
Black Political Women, she formed a controversial alliance
with former Reagan Administration Education Secretary
William Bennett. Speaking under the auspices of the
Empower America group, the two demanded that media giant
Time Warner stop producing and promoting so-called "gansta
rap" lyrics which some find offensive and obscene.
Producer Marion Knight is chairman of the popular Death
Row Records label, which represents controversial rap
singers such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre; those albums
are distributed by Interscope.
Critics were quick to point out the dangers Tucker
and her organization risked in their "strange bedfellows"
alliance with Bennett. Bennett is the so-called "Kultur"-
guru of the conservative-religious right with his calls
for legislation on behalf of "family values" and his
emphasis on the role of religious ideology in American
society. Critics charged that Tucker and Bennett were also
promoting censorship and a "chilling effect," especially
since much rap music is filled with social and political
commentary.
Ms. Tucker told the newsmedia, in announcing her
alliance with Bennett several weeks ago, that she and
other Black women "were sick and tired of being called
sluts, ho's [whores] and bitches."
The Interscope lawsuit, however, suggests that more
than just social principle may have been involved in the
pressures against Time Warner. In addition to promises of
big bucks ($80,000,000) to Knight, there is also the
bizarre involvement of Dionne Warwick. According to the
Times, the pop-singer was "acting as Ms. Tucker's
representative" in a proposed meeting with Knight.
One recent Warwick financial venture has been the
Psychic Friends Network, which promises a variety of
"readings" over the phone using psychics, tarot card
readers, astrologers, and dream interpreters. An hour of
such services can run up to $240. The service is run by
Inphomation, Inc. of Baltimore, and operates with a
"stable" of some 1,500 alleged psychics. Inphomation Inc.
was involved in a negotiated settlement last January with
the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, Division of
Consumer Affairs. The original complaint alleged that the
hotline run up extra time-toll charges with recordings
which list the "credentials" of alleged psychics, repeated
information, and used other devices to "drag out" the
length of time customers would spend using the service. In
the settlement, Inphomation agreed to credit or reimburse
accounts of certain customers, and institute new
procedures.
"Infomercial" style ads for the Network run an
estimated 300 times a week on cable systems throughout the
country. Critics have complained that these programs are
set up to appear like legitimate talk-shows complete with
a host and audience. Warwick has appeared in spots for her
Network, often schmoozing with clients who are delighted
and satisfied with the "accuracy" of the psychic forecasts
and the value of the advice offered. Skeptics believe that
psychic readings and related phenomena have no basis in
reality and that "psychic hotlines" merely provide good
guesses and homespun advice to clients.
C. DeLores Tucker told the N.Y. Times that "I welcome
my day in court with them," and immediately dropped
discussion of the specific charges by attacking
Interscope, insisting that the company "ought to be
ashamed of themselves for putting out such filthy
records." Meanwhile, the chairman of Time Warner's music
division, Michael J. Fuchs, said that he had agreed to a
meeting with Marion Knight only because Tucker had assured
him that Knight was going to "tone down" the lyrics on his
albums. Fuchs said that he knew nothing of a business
deal. He also added that "To me, this is like 'A Night At
The Opera,' and I'm waiting for Bill Bennett to enter as
Groucho Marx."
FIRST LADY ASKED TO STAY AWAY FROM BEIJING CONFERENCE
Upcoming UN Conference on Women draws fire from religious
right
by Conrad Goeringer
Will she or won't she?
That question is being asked a lot in Washington, as
pressure mounts to derail a plan for First Lady Hillary
Clinton to lead a delegation of American women to the UN
Conference on Women, slated next month in Beijing, China.
The New York Times and other media report that there
is "much hand-wringing among senior diplomatic officials
who are not sure she should go." Even administrative
insiders are pointing to China's abysmal record on human
rights and civil liberties, and the fact that it is still
holding a gentleman named Harry Wu, who happens to be a
U.S. citizen and an outspoken critic of China's domestic
policy.
Mrs. Clinton's participation in the Conference may be
a leverage point in arranging Harry Wu's timely release
from a People's Republic dungeon. The Chinese would be
wise to arrange this, for any number of reasons. Human
rights is turning out to be a major stumbling block in the
Chinese appetite for foreign investment which is
desperately needed to fuel the 20-30 percent growth rates
in the country's vast free trade and enterprise zones. And
China can't resist the post-modern twentieth century culture
for ever. Along with blue jeans, sports cars, and
microtechnology come problematic items such as fax
machines, computer networks, open discussion, and Western
liberalization. The Great Wall may have kept out foreign
armies for centuries, but it can't stop direct satellite
broadcasts and cellular phone transmissions. When China
takes possession of Hong Kong in 1999, the former Crown
colony may end up changing China more than China can alter
the face of Hong Kong.
But the women's summit remains a target of religious
neanderthals in the West, who even without the
unintentional help of the Chinese regime, seem to be
mounting an aggressive campaign to derail the conference.
Conservative Christians have been arm-twisting their
Congressional flunkies and allies for weeks to stop
American participation and funding. Focus on the Family
honcho James Dobson has labeled the meeting "the most
radical, atheistic and anti-family crusade in the history
of the world." Dobson, a Christian "family values," Bible
disciplinarian kind o' guy when it comes to raising kids,
has a slew of other phrases, too, in describing the
gathering. It represents, he says, "radical gender-
feminist ideology," is "Satan's trump card if I have ever
seen it," and exemplifies "breathtaking wickedness" in its
goals.
"Most of what Christianity stands for will be
challenged during this atheistic conference. Every good
and perfect gift from the hand of the Creator will be
mocked and vilified," Dobson told the Rocky Mountain News
recently.
There's more, he claims. The International Women's
Conference will "undermine the family, promote abortion,
teach immoral behavior to teen-agers, incite anger and
competition between men and women, advocate lesbian and
homosexual behavior, and vilify those with sincere faith."
It will also depict marriage as "the root of all evil for
women."
Conference organizers insist that the meeting
expected to attract some 50,000 delegates from around the
world won't be quite that ambitious. It WILL focus on
family planning, equality for women, and related health
issues.
But the U.N. Conference remains a bete noir for the
Christian Right and the Chinese government may be, without
knowing it, playing into the hands of our own homegrown
religious demagogues. Both House Speaker Newt Gingrich and
Senator Bob Dole have officially opposed American
participation and funding in the event. In the House, the
GOP tried unsuccessfully to block funds for the U.S.
delegation's travel expenses.
If she does go, Hillary Clinton's presence at the
conference could backfire. Even a brief stay which does
not entail meetings with Chinese officials could be
perceived as a sign of what the Times called "American
nonchalance about (China's) human rights record." Despite
their opposition to the conference, religious activists
will be sprinkled throughout the meetings. Focus on the
Family is sending five delegates, and even a small
religious presence could cause a stir over issues such as
abortion and birth control.
The "Harry Wu" card could be just what Republican
politicians and the religious right needs to dampen
American enthusiasm for the U.S. Women's gathering.
President Bill Clinton's campaign has adopted a
"triangulation" strategy of trying to keep the incumbent
left of the GOP, but more moderate than a number of fellow
Democrats. If religious conservative succeed in painting
the Women's Conference as an "anti-family" affair, and
link it to the controversial abortion issue, they may
ensure that Hillary Clinton stays home.
THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS
by Conrad Goeringer
Drive by an adult bookstore and see lines of
picketers outside, and most of us would yawn, then mutter
something like "damn religious nuts." What community
hasn't seen groups of "people of faith" and other self-
righteous zealots protesting bookstores, movie theaters,
playhouses, libraries and even television studios over
programs or materials they want the government to censor?
Nothing new here unless you visit the town of Mesquite,
Nevada.
Nevada is still "wide open" territory. Even with its
growing emphasis on theme-parks and "family
entertainment," casinos and other entertainment venues
provide plenty of action and fun for consenting adults.
Casinos are found in this little town, which is just
eighty miles north-east of Vegas. So is the Pure Pleasure
adult bookstore, which is where Mormons and other
religionists have "drawn a line in the sand" in their
battle for prudery, intolerance, and invasive snooping.
Seems that since Pure Pleasure opened its doors in
1993 to a growing number of customers, church activists
have been demonstrating literally day and night, around
the clock to shut the establishment down. Associated Press
recently interviewed mostly Mormon demonstrators, some of
whom even travel several hours from nearby LDS-dominated
Utah. The demonstrators do more than just exercise their
constitutional rights to picket they've assembled a thick
log filled with the license plate numbers of those who
have visited Pure Pleasure. What happens with this
information is not known.
Whatever one thinks about the ambiance or appeal of
adult bookstores and "peep show" movies, one has to admire
the determination of the owner who remains firm in his
conviction of staying open for business, especially in the
confrontational face of religious bullies.
Mormon church officials in Salt Lake City "reject
claims that the church is engaged in an organized effort
to close down the bookstore." Of course they would, at
least in so many words. Bet they also give plenty of
lipservice to the Bill of Rights and talk about "freedom,"
as long as it doesn't apply to individuals, movements, or
philosophies with which the LDS happens to disagree. The Mormon
spokesman added that "The church encourages its members to
do all they can to oppose pornography and other societal
ills."
***************
In Kashmir, militant Islamic fundamentalists appear
divided over the recent murder and beheading of a
Norwegian hostage by the Al Faran separatist movement.
Businesses, markets, schools and even government offices
shut down on August 16, while another day passed without
word on the fate of four other hostages.
Al Faran is demanding the release of fifteen of its
members currently held in Indian prisons. The group wants
to separate the state of Kashmir and establish an Islamic
Republic.
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