Suckering Goody Two Shoes

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Jan 31, 2000 | by John Elvin

George W. Bush, John McCain and Orrin Hatch, contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, are among candidates who have signed a declaration called the "Framework for Civility," a project of the Interfaith Alliance, a left-wing group launched in 1994 with $25,000 in seed money from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The Alliance is described in a study by investigators at Capital Research as promoting "a secular agenda of big government, while attacking religious conservatives who have decided to get involved in public policy." Coincident with the coup of gaining Republican signatories to its craftily camouflaged "framework," the Alliance blocked access to documents previously posted on the Internet which would aid researchers in assessing its true agenda. One remaining clue on the Website is the Alliance's stated aim -- to "stand up to the Christian Coalition and other radical right-wing groups and individuals who wrap themselves in the language and symbolism of religious faith."

The Alliance has asked religious leaders across the nation to devote one worship service per month to "promoting civility, mutual respect and cooperation in our increasingly diverse society." Prior to launching the "framework" campaign, the group's main focus had been on organizing rallies pushing "hate-crime" legislation to provide special protections for gays and lesbians.

Among its projects devoted to countering perceived "intolerance," the group recently sent 15,000 booklets on diversity in youthful sexual orientation to educators around the country. Prior to that it promoted a voter-education booklet designed to counter a similar effort by the Christian Coalition. The Alliance was joined by the AFL-CIO in pressuring religious leaders to promote its booklet as a replacement for the Christian Coalition literature.