Posted on 05/12/2002 7:44:04 AM PDT by LarryLied
A POWERFUL network of right-wing Christian campaigners is attempting to infiltrate Scotland’s mainstream political parties.
Fundamentalists are trying to ensure that only candidates who back "family values" fight next year’s Holyrood election.
A Scotland on Sunday investigation has established that Christian Action Research and Education (Care), a UK charity with an annual income of £2.4m, has drawn up plans for as many of its members as possible to join mainstream political parties.
Last night it led MSPs to accuse the group of trying to "pervert democracy". Care was among the most vigorous opponents of the repeal of Section 28, which banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools.
The organisation aims to tackle what it regards as Scotland’s "permissive society", including government plans to give greater rights to homosexuals and quicky divorces.
Now it plans to escalate its activities by persuading members to join the Labour party, SNP, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in Scotland and influence their internal candidate selection procedures.
In a message written for its estimated 3,500 Scottish supporters, Care has urged activists to "consider joining a political party" to help "give a strong moral lead in the Scottish parliament".
Noting that selection procedures are now underway for parliamentary candidates, the internet appeal adds: "This provides an opportunity for Christians to influence this selection process by joining political parties and asking the potential candidates their views on a range of issues."
In another message, the group claims Britain’s political system presents Care "with huge opportunities to influence the governance of our society".
It suggests activists join with a friend "so that you can support each other in making a difference".
The message adds: "It is only by joining that we can help change policies. Membership enables you to vote on issues and be a part of policy formation, as well as taking part in the selection of candidates for elections."
The disclosures have appalled mainstream politicians in Scotland, amid fears that falling party membership levels could leave them vulnerable to infiltration.
Mike Russell, the SNP’s shadow education minister, said: "Clearly everyone has a legitimate role to play in politics but if the role is to try and take parties over for a single viewpoint it won’t succeed because parties are not like that.
"To try to do so strikes me as a perversion of democracy."
The Scottish Tories and Labour voiced similar fears and the development alarmed gay rights campaigners, mindful of Brentwood and Ongar where Martin Bell stood in last year’s election after claims that the local Conservative association had been infiltrated by an evangelical church.
Tim Hopkins, a spokesman for Scotland’s Equality Network, said: "My main concern is that if an organisation makes a point of trying to join small party branches there is a danger they will have a disproportionate effect."
Care enjoys access to Executive ministers. It has lobbied hard to ensure the morning after pill is not made more widely available to school children and has also resisted the lowering of the age of homosexual consent.
Last night a Care spokesman said its message to supporters was probably worded "quite crudely" but the charity was acting on concerns about politicians not representing the views of ordinary people in Scotland.
Adam Atkinson, the charity’s head of communications, said: "We are saying that, if you are wanting to bring about change in your community, then it makes sense to get involved in political parties."
Scotland on Sunday’s investigations established that in total over 100 MPs and MSPs, including Scottish ministers Peter Peacock, Malcolm Chisholm and Nicol Stephen, have been employing staff who also represent organisations with vested interests in government policy.
Peacock, the deputy finance minister, employs Hugh Raven, a professional lobbyist who has been getting paid tens of thousands of pounds to campaign for a Executive policy U-turn on organic farming.
The disclosure sparked opposition fears of unfair access to the Executive, and while Labour insisted there was nothing unfair about the practice Tricia Marwick, the SNP MSP and standards committee vice convener said Holyrood may now have to regulate non-commercial lobbyists.
Wow. Malefactors of great wealth. (Not!)
Regular Mussolinis, are't they? If this article is typical of how they think in Scotland, soon we're going to have to start offering Scottish Christians political asylum.
EEEEEk! Call the gendarmes! We can't have morality infecting the body politic! You know how those filthy Christians [spit] undermine the efforts of communism. To have something constructive and healthy worming its way into our political discourse could mean the end of self-promoting humanism! It's ... it's unTHINKable!
Well, yes, isn't this what people are supposed to do in a democracy? Why is it that anyone other than a Christian merely "joins" a political party, but Christians infiltrate?
Would the establishment Leftists prefer that Christians voluntarily dis-enfranchise themselves?
On second thought, never mind. The question answers itself.
Food for thought. If the above changes (noted in brackets) had been the actual printed text, would you still have been in support of the situation for reasons of democratic justification? Would you characterize the establishement Rightists as having been in favor of disenfranchising the Greenies? And if so would they be justified?
Interested to hear your response...
For a better example change "Christian" in this story to "Jew."
"Jews plot political infiltration" sounds rather bigoted, doesn't it?
Yeah, HELLO...
Can anyone deny and doubt the existance of the father of lies, Satan, and his minions are at work non-stop in subverting truth?
Also, how would your characterization of enivornmentalism make the original article any more biased toward the disenfranchisement of a particular group of citizens? Thanks.
"Environmentalists plot political infiltration"
"Jews plot political infiltration"
"Christians plot political infiltration"
I don't understand the difference in "bigotry" between these three. How do the last two imply a bigotry not contained in the first?
No difference, of course. The headline's infiltration (what to speak of plot) is pretty damned appalling.
Because infiltration suggests the editor's belief, IMO a nasty one: that Christians don't belong in Scottish politics, but are somehow managing to sneak in, and should be thwarted.
Mark
Christians plot as if the are subversives
political infiltration as if they are spies
A POWERFUL network threatening
of right-wing Christian campaigners the author is of, of course, in the center; he is not left-wing, not sirree.
is attempting to infiltrate same defamation reitreated
Scotland’s mainstream political parties.
Fundamentalists are trying to ensure that only candidates who back "family values" fight next year’s Holyrood election... Last night it led MSPs to accuse the group of trying to "pervert democracy".
Are you for family values? Well, then, your place is in prison: you pervert democracy.
And I thought that anti-religious oppression was bad in this country. This "post-Christian Europe," as they call themselves, is something else. This country is the last hope.
G-d bless and protect the United Stated of America.
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