Free Republic

Back in May 2000, I learned firsthand that James Dobson is a tough man to please. Dobson, the prominent Christian conservative who believes that his religious brethren have the God-given right to vet Republican presidential candidates, invited some political journalists to dine with him at his headquarters in Colorado Springs. As we silently forked our pasta salads, Dobson explained why he was so disappointed in frontrunner George W. Bush. Bush, apparently, was not sufficiently conservative, because he had not yet categorically renounced the idea of choosing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as his running mate. Ridge was a defender of abortion...

Like a cranky older child demanding the attention of his parents doting over their newer infant, the threat of some conservative leaders to seceed from the Republican Party is, at this point, more bombast than susbtance. Sources close to the evangelical leaders on the call are plain: the talk "was an attempt to signal that Giuliani is unacceptable," one of them says. The thinking inside social conservative circles this morning is that their leaders' desire to defer to James Dobson -- still the movement's cappo di tutti cappi -- led them to make a tactical blunder. Threatening Giuliani is not...

Prominent evangelical leaders who spent the summer hoping Fred Thompson would emerge as their favored Republican presidential contender are having doubts as he begins his long-teased campaign. For social conservatives dissatisfied with other GOP choices, the "Law & Order" actor and former Tennessee senator represents a Ronald Reagan-like figure, someone they hope will agree with them on issues and stands a chance of winning. But Thompson's less-than-clear stance on a federal gay marriage amendment and his delay in entering the race are partly responsible for a sudden shyness among leading evangelicals. "A month or two ago, I sensed there was...

Some good news this morning for Fred Thompson. Tony Perkins, head of the influential Family Research Council tells The Brody File that the latest news about how Thompson may have lobbied for a pro-choice group is really a non-story. If you're not familiar with the story, read the latest. Here's what he sent me through an email: "From what I've heard people are not biting on the story." They consider the source as well as the modus operandi, someone steps forward who is pro-life and is appealing to conservatives and he is attacked for being pro-abortion in an effort to...

When former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani underscored his support for a woman's "right to choose" in recent GOP presidential debates, he did more than clarify a political position. He rang the bell for a historic debate not just for his party but for the nation. Ever since Ronald Reagan embraced a prospective pro-life running mate in 1976 in the person of Sen. Richard Schweiker (R-Pa.), the party of Lincoln has positioned itself as a champion of human life in the womb. As the party rose to majority status for most of the following three decades, that embrace benefited...

Conservatives would bolt GOP over Rudy By: David Paul Kuhn June 11, 2007 04:57 PM EST A growing number of influential social conservatives are speaking out against Rudy Giuliani, with some threatening that they will take flight from the Republican Party in 2008 if the former New York mayor is the GOP nominee. Giuliani's support for abortion rights and gay rights has not to date prevented him from winning the support of a sizable number of socially conservative voters, according to polls. But the continued strength of his candidacy is causing alarm among leaders of conservative advocacy groups, many of...

"Americans will not give their blood and treasure to prop up new Islamic fundamentalist regimes. Religious freedom is not just 'an important element' of democracy; it is its cornerstone. Religious persecution leads inevitably to political tyranny. Five hundred years of history confirm this. Americans have not given their lives so that Christians can be put to death," Perkins said. Such sentiments are spreading through Christian radio stations, Web sites and blogs, stoked by traditional conservative institutions as National Review magazine. National Review Online quoted Chuck Colson, a former Nixon White House official, disgraced by Watergate and rehabilitated as a Christian...

Prominent leaders from the Christian right have warned Republicans they must do more to advance conservative values ahead of the US mid-term elections. Their message to Congress, controlled by Republicans, is "must do better". Support from about a quarter of Americans who describe themselves as evangelicals was a factor in President George W Bush's two election victories. The Republicans will need to keep them onboard if they are to retain control of Congress in November. At a news conference in Washington, some of America's most influential conservative leaders said the current perception among evangelical Christians was that the Republican majority...

Democrats--Over the Cliff? Ronald Reagan used to say he wouldn't go over the cliff with flags flying--just to prove a point. Those wise words seem wasted on Senate Democrats these days. Liberal advocacy groups are pulling out all the stops. Die in the ditch, jump off the cliff, throw a tantrum, how many ways can we describe their futile filibuster plans? Not all Democrats buy into this strategy. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) says that his party needs "to do a much better job in making the case [to Americans] on these issues." It will be interesting to see if Obama...

As local clergy prepared to celebrate the legacy of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend, some expressed dismay over the unlikely alliance between a King niece and a right-wing group. Last Sunday, the slain civil-rights leader’s niece Alveda King joined Jerry Falwell, Toney Perkins of the Family Research Council and other staunch conservatives at a Philadelphia rally in support of Supreme Court Nominee Judge Samuel Alito. Perkins is best known for having once paid former Ku Klux Klan head David Duke for his mailing list. Democrats had been sharply critical of Alito’s record on voting rights and...

To Pray or Not to Pray... As the Indiana House of Representatives opens its 2006 session tomorrow, the first question facing lawmakers is to pray or not to pray in the name of Jesus. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge David Hamilton reaffirmed his November ruling that praying in the name of Jesus violated the high court's concoction of the "separation of church and state." The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Indiana branch of the ACLU. Several House members, Republican and Democrat, have said that if they are given the chance to open tomorrow's session...

Prominent conservatives tell HUMAN EVENTS they are troubled by the revelation that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts worked on behalf of Playboy Entertainment Group--the second time in one week information has come to light that Roberts helped a liberal cause. Last Thursday conservatives were hit with the news that Roberts, while a partner at Hogan & Hartson, did pro bono work for gay-rights advocates in the case Romer v. Evans, which challenged a Colorado voter-approved initiative on sexual orientation. Yesterday, HUMAN EVENTS documented Roberts’ similar involvement in a case involving Playboy and its challenge of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,...

Listen While You Freep! All programs are replayed for 23 hours and again on weekends so tune in when it’s convenient for YOU! Call In Number - 866-884-TALK (8255) Heating the EDGE of a New Media! > 1pm EST - The Right Hour - Bill Lind, director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism, will sit-in this week for the host of RIGHT HOUR, Paul M. Weyrich. Bill will continue his discussion of The Next Conservatism with Dan McCarthy, assistant editor of The American Conservative magazine. The twelve-part series, written by Weyrich and Lind, is available on many conservative Websites and...

Conservatives reacted cautiously to the news this week that federal Judge John G. Roberts Jr. helped a group of homosexual rights activists win a seminal victory 10 years ago before the Supreme Court. "Judge Roberts was an attorney with a large firm where helping colleagues when called upon was expected," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said yesterday after researching the matter. "I have verified that his involvement was limited to about five hours of participation in a moot court as he played the role of one of the high court's conservative members asking tough hypothetical questions of the attorneys...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist spoke by video to the first "Justice Sunday" evangelical rally in April, but he wasn't invited to address "Justice Sunday II," even though it's in his home state of Tennessee. Since the first rally, the potential 2008 presidential candidate has angered the events' organizers by stating his support for expanded human embryonic stem cell research. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was invited to speak at the Aug. 14 rally. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said Tuesday on the group's Web site that Frist's recently announced stem cell stance "reflects an unwise...

WASHINGTON — Since July 1, when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement, social conservatives have fretted that President Bush might name a moderate to fill her seat — a betrayal, they warned, of Bush's campaign promises and their unwavering support for his reelection. But those jitters turned to jubilation Tuesday night as leading conservatives praised appellate court Judge John G. Roberts Jr. as an ideological soul mate. "There's no question that President Bush is a promise keeper," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which is marshaling support among evangelicals for Bush's judicial nominees. The Rev. Louis...

It baffles me how some major corporations, whose success depends on the support of American families, show contempt for the values of such families. I am currently awaiting responses from two major corporations to letters I sent pointing out such inconsistencies. Wal-Mart, which has historically been responsive to pro-family concerns, continues to sell a Carmen Electra video promising a "striptease-inspired workout" that "introduces you to the striptease basics." Meanwhile, Kraft Foods has paid $25,000 to sponsor the "Gay Games" in Chicago this summer--an event known as much for after-hours sexual activity as for on-field athletic competition. And now, FRC has...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:July 1, 2005CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100 "I am confident that President Bush will name a replacement for Justice O'Connor who has the same judicial philosophy as Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas" ~Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council Washington, D.C. - Family Research Council thanks Justice O'Connor, the first woman on the United States Supreme Court, for her nearly twenty-four years of public service. "The Family Research Council often found itself on the opposite side of her most controversial decisions," said Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council. "This past week Justice O'Connor sided with judicial...

Employing essentially the same game plan they used to win referendums against same-sex marriage in 11 states last November, evangelical Christian groups said they plan to run a multimillion-dollar church-centered campaign to rouse support for a thoroughly conservative successor to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Conservative religious leaders said the campaign will target 20,000 pastors and congregations using Christian talk radio, satellite television broadcasts, direct-mail advertising and aggressive grass-roots organizing. "This is the moment that social conservatives have been awaiting for more than a decade -- a real chance to change the philosophical balance of the Supreme Court" and...

The small but grandiose building at the corner of Eighth and G Streets NW in Washington, tucked directly behind the National Portrait Gallery, holds its own in a city packed with monumental architecture. You step into the lobby and automatically look around for a plaque, figuring that with its dark wood paneling and marble columns, this must be the onetime home of Rutherford B. Hayes or some other historical personage heavy with Victorian-era dignity. As it turns out, the structure, with its architectural signals of tradition and power, was built in 1996 for its tenant: the Family Research Council, the...