Posted on 04/25/2002 6:46:00 PM PDT by anymouse
I was intrigued by the Chronicle's April 19 editorial declaring Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, to be a "fanatic" for what he said at a recent conference in Pearland. I was the organizer of the conference and heard DeLay's entire speech; the Chronicle's reporter and editorial board did not. So how did this "fanaticism" of DeLay's get exposed?
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, or AU, is a national group in Washington, D.C. -- a group notorious on Capitol Hill for its anti-religious bigotry, intolerance and demagoguery. Americans United opposed the National Day of Reconciliation, which Hillary Clinton supported and Rep. DeLay sponsored. This group is to the left of Hillary Clinton.
So Americans United sent someone surreptitiously to register as a participant at the church event for the purpose of finding a statement that could be publicized and attacked. They attended our 10-hour conference, found one statement they could remove from its context, and then began to market that statement to media across the country hoping to create a firestorm. This group actively sought assurances that their liberal organization would receive a positive plug in return for the "story" they were providing. Talk about a shameless public relations stunt.
Unfortunately, the Houston Chronicle was the paper that swallowed the bait; most others refused. Now Tom DeLay is a "fanatic" because a politically motivated, Democrat-affiliated group disingenuously attended a church conference to find a statement that it could distort and misportray into a smear campaign against DeLay.
And what was the essence of DeLay's "fanaticism"? In a question-and-answer period, he was asked what could be done with schools that teach things objectionable to the beliefs of both parents and students. The questioner specifically noted Baylor having demoted Dr. William Dembski because of his belief in intelligent design. DeLay broadened his response by citing examples of other large colleges that recently have begun practices to which many parents object. He indicated that the simplest solution was for parents and students to spend their hard-earned tens of thousands of dollars on a university education that does not attack their own personal values. For this, the Chronicle declares him to be a fanatic? Does the newspaper not believe in the free-enterprise system, free-market competition and parents and students having a choice in their own education?
Those attending the conference never expected that while practicing their freedom of religion and freedom of speech inside a church, they would find their beliefs, and that of their guest speaker, being attacked and labeled as fanatical. The people who asked these questions now feel violated and used by a fringe Democrat group that sneaked into a church and distorted their questions, and the answers to those questions, in an attempt to bemoan and ridicule their deeply held religious convictions.
And by the way, since The Chronicle persistently refers to DeLay's belief in divine creation as the proof of his "fanaticism," it is worth noting that CNN, Gallup and Fox have all conducted recent polls reporting that no less than 85 percent of the nation believes that God made "the heavens and the Earth," and that 66 percent of the nation thinks that this belief should be presented in the public education. So, for being among the 85 percent, DeLay is a fanatic? Evidently, the Chronicle must believe that anyone who disagrees with its own narrow beliefs (even if it is 85 percent of the nation) is a fanatic.
It is unfortunate when a news source that should be the strongest advocate of free speech so objects when that freedom is exercised by others holding a different view. So much for intellectual freedom and the open marketplace of ideas.
Howse is president of the American Family Policy Institute, in St. Paul, Minn. He can be e-mailed at Brannon@worldviewweekend.com.
Apparently the Houston Comical has a long running history of editorial bias against Rep. Tom Delay. Fortunately Rep. Delay usually attracts more voters than the Comical does readers. :)
Unbelievable what lengths these people will go to.
4/19/01 - FANATIC (staff editorial)
3/9/02 - DELAYED / Congressman likely will win, but city still loses (staff editorial)
2/7/02 - No room for favoritism at democracy's starting gates (staff editorial)
1/20/02 - C'mon, Tom, give up the Enron spoils (cragg hines)
1/13/02 - Chalk up one for DeLay - yes, DeLay (cragg hines)
12/22/01 - Majority Leader: What sort of public servant would choose Tom DeLay? (staff editorial)
12/13/01 - Armey, DeLay : Good news, bad news (cragg hines)
12/02/01 - RAIL STUDY / No longer any reason forban on federal funds (staff editorial)
11/7/01 - While we're at it, contract out DeLay (cragg hines)
8/19/01 - Why aren't Republicans ranting now? (cragg hines)
8/6/01 - Lessons for avoiding needless disaster (james howard gibbons)
7/22/01 - Thou shalt not cross Rep. Tom DeLay (jane ely)
7/15/01 - HOUSTON MOBILITY / Two kinds of leadership,one good, the other mean (staff editorial)
6/28/01 - Shortchanged: Why is one man blocking Houston's transit efforts? (staff editorial)
5/9/01 - CONGESTION / Study shows multipleanswers needed to avoid gridlock (staff editorial)
4/29/01 - HAMMERED HOME / DeLay exhales ... and the air is clouded (staff editorial)
4/25/01 - Hey GOP, transit funds not a weapon (jane ely)
4/23/01 - Texan prescriptions for a silent spring (james howard gibbons)
4/1/01 - Finance bill not `Hammered' out yet (jane ely)
3/1/01 - TRUTH ABOUT RAIL / Choice is stark:Move forward or keep dithering (staff editorial)
1/8/01 - Oil patch can't end U.S. import habit (james howard gibbons)
12/10/00 - Tom DeLay 's delectable self-delusion (cragg hines)
10/11/00 - Worth debate: Who made DeLay God? (jane ely)
10/11/00 - PASS ON DELAY / Congressman will win,but Houston loses (staff editorial)
10/6/01 - SINGLED OUT /Huge federal transportation bill punishes only Houston (staff editorial)
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