CHRISTIAN RIGHT. (A.k.a. “religious right”; c. 1999)
(From The Dissenter’s Dictionary, 1999)
The Christian Right, which, in recent years, has pushed hard to place its people on school boards, has had a small—and sometimes strange--role in SOCCCD politics.
1. For instance, Board Minority member Dave Lang owes his election victory in '96 to a splitting of the conservative vote between tax attorney Don Davis, who shared a slate with the union Old Guard's Fortune, Frogue, and Williams, and a Christian Coalition candidate, who is now long forgotten. But thanks anyway.
2. In '98, Joan Hueter, another member of the Board Minority, retired, owing to illness, and Board Majoritarian Teddi Lorch decided not to seek reelection. "Reformers" came up with candidates Pete Maddox, formerly of the Rancho Santiago board, and Leo Galcher, a long-time unionist. The Board/union Axis, however, offered up two Religious Right candidates: Don Wagner (of Irvine) and Nancy Padberg (of San Clemente). Both acknowledged an affiliation with the Education Alliance, whose agenda is largely indistinguishable from that of Pat Robertson's notorious Christian Coalition and other Religious Right organizations.
According to Jerry Sloan of the Institute for First Amendment Studies (a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing the political activities of the Religious Right), in late 1994, "Christian Reconstructionist idealogue" Howard F. Ahmanson backed a "pilot project" in Orange County that gave about $62,000 to 36 candidates through a PAC known as the "Education Alliance," run by Tustin businessman Mark Bucher. Education Alliance candidates, says Sloan, oppose multiculturalism and condom distribution in schools. Further, "they want to see evolution and creationism taught side by side."
In a 1995 article for IFAS, Sloan reported that "the Education Alliance hopes to expand its efforts state-wide by 1996 with the...goal of sponsoring an initiative to ban public employee unions from materially participating in elections for...trustee positions on school boards...."
Flash, now, to 1998, when Proposition 226--which indeed sought to block unions from participating in elections--appeared on the June ballot. The proposition's author? That would be Mark Bucher, leader (along with Frank Ury) of Wagner and Padberg's Education Alliance! According to national columnist George Will, writing in February of 1998, "the Campaign Reform Initiative [226]...would bar unions from spending any portion of any member's dues on political activity without the member's written consent...If passed, CRI almost certainly will radically reduce unions' political muscle, thereby substantially altering politics in the state...." (Times, 2/8/98). The initiative failed, barely.
Why, you may ask, would the Faculty Association (headed at the time by the Old Guard's Sherry Miller-White) spend tens of thousands of dollars of the union's money securing the victory of Education Alliance anti-unionists? Even Wagner couldn't explain it: "The teachers union [is supporting me]?...The CTA is overwhelmingly liberal. I would seriously doubt they would support a conservative Republican like me. I was generally pleased to get the support...but I think it's strange that it's the union" (Register, 10/31/98).
3. In early '98, Pam Bustamante, a former student of Mr. Frogue's and a vocal supporter of the Frogue Recall effort, agreed to meet with Scott Voight, local head of the Christian Coalition, to discuss her allegations concerning Frogue's remarks in class. (Bustamante and several other former students had signed affidavits alleging that Frogue denied the Holocaust and ridiculed minorities in class.) She was made to understand that the Christian Coalition had supported Frogue in the past and was "concerned" about her allegations.
When she showed up for the meeting at a local restaurant, she was more than a little surprised to find that Voight was accompanied by Frogue. Nevertheless, she entered the restaurant and they began to converse. Five minutes later, however, the group was joined by Board Majoritarian John Williams and district PR officer (and former union consultant) Pam Zanelli! Said Bustamante in an interview for the Irvine World News, 5/14/98: "I was feeling a little set up."
According to Voight: "Pam seems like a nice girl, she seems to believe that [Frogue] is an anti-Semite. I know Steve, he seems like a really good Christian...I'm not saying if he was or wasn't an anti-Semite. But if he was, he's not any longer."
4. One of the complaints against philosophy instructor and Dissent editor Roy Bauer which occasioned the chancellor’s letter of reprimand to him in 1998 (see FIRST AMENDMENT) came from a notoriously paranoic IVC instructor who apparently viewed Dissent references to the Christian Coalition as somehow creating a "hostile work environment" for Christians. It now appears that, upon hearing of these complaints, the chancellor did not know who the "Christian Coalition" was. Here's the relevant portion of the chancellor's July ’99 deposition. (He is questioned by Bauer's attorney, Carol Sobel.):
(From The Dissenter’s Dictionary, 1999)
1. For instance, Board Minority member Dave Lang owes his election victory in '96 to a splitting of the conservative vote between tax attorney Don Davis, who shared a slate with the union Old Guard's Fortune, Frogue, and Williams, and a Christian Coalition candidate, who is now long forgotten. But thanks anyway.
2. In '98, Joan Hueter, another member of the Board Minority, retired, owing to illness, and Board Majoritarian Teddi Lorch decided not to seek reelection. "Reformers" came up with candidates Pete Maddox, formerly of the Rancho Santiago board, and Leo Galcher, a long-time unionist. The Board/union Axis, however, offered up two Religious Right candidates: Don Wagner (of Irvine) and Nancy Padberg (of San Clemente). Both acknowledged an affiliation with the Education Alliance, whose agenda is largely indistinguishable from that of Pat Robertson's notorious Christian Coalition and other Religious Right organizations.
According to Jerry Sloan of the Institute for First Amendment Studies (a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing the political activities of the Religious Right), in late 1994, "Christian Reconstructionist idealogue" Howard F. Ahmanson backed a "pilot project" in Orange County that gave about $62,000 to 36 candidates through a PAC known as the "Education Alliance," run by Tustin businessman Mark Bucher. Education Alliance candidates, says Sloan, oppose multiculturalism and condom distribution in schools. Further, "they want to see evolution and creationism taught side by side."
In a 1995 article for IFAS, Sloan reported that "the Education Alliance hopes to expand its efforts state-wide by 1996 with the...goal of sponsoring an initiative to ban public employee unions from materially participating in elections for...trustee positions on school boards...."
Flash, now, to 1998, when Proposition 226--which indeed sought to block unions from participating in elections--appeared on the June ballot. The proposition's author? That would be Mark Bucher, leader (along with Frank Ury) of Wagner and Padberg's Education Alliance! According to national columnist George Will, writing in February of 1998, "the Campaign Reform Initiative [226]...would bar unions from spending any portion of any member's dues on political activity without the member's written consent...If passed, CRI almost certainly will radically reduce unions' political muscle, thereby substantially altering politics in the state...." (Times, 2/8/98). The initiative failed, barely.
Why, you may ask, would the Faculty Association (headed at the time by the Old Guard's Sherry Miller-White) spend tens of thousands of dollars of the union's money securing the victory of Education Alliance anti-unionists? Even Wagner couldn't explain it: "The teachers union [is supporting me]?...The CTA is overwhelmingly liberal. I would seriously doubt they would support a conservative Republican like me. I was generally pleased to get the support...but I think it's strange that it's the union" (Register, 10/31/98).
3. In early '98, Pam Bustamante, a former student of Mr. Frogue's and a vocal supporter of the Frogue Recall effort, agreed to meet with Scott Voight, local head of the Christian Coalition, to discuss her allegations concerning Frogue's remarks in class. (Bustamante and several other former students had signed affidavits alleging that Frogue denied the Holocaust and ridiculed minorities in class.) She was made to understand that the Christian Coalition had supported Frogue in the past and was "concerned" about her allegations.
When she showed up for the meeting at a local restaurant, she was more than a little surprised to find that Voight was accompanied by Frogue. Nevertheless, she entered the restaurant and they began to converse. Five minutes later, however, the group was joined by Board Majoritarian John Williams and district PR officer (and former union consultant) Pam Zanelli! Said Bustamante in an interview for the Irvine World News, 5/14/98: "I was feeling a little set up."
According to Voight: "Pam seems like a nice girl, she seems to believe that [Frogue] is an anti-Semite. I know Steve, he seems like a really good Christian...I'm not saying if he was or wasn't an anti-Semite. But if he was, he's not any longer."
4. One of the complaints against philosophy instructor and Dissent editor Roy Bauer which occasioned the chancellor’s letter of reprimand to him in 1998 (see FIRST AMENDMENT) came from a notoriously paranoic IVC instructor who apparently viewed Dissent references to the Christian Coalition as somehow creating a "hostile work environment" for Christians. It now appears that, upon hearing of these complaints, the chancellor did not know who the "Christian Coalition" was. Here's the relevant portion of the chancellor's July ’99 deposition. (He is questioned by Bauer's attorney, Carol Sobel.):
SOBEL: At the time that you met with Mr. Bauer on December 18, 1998, what information did you have about the individuals associated with the Christian Coalition?
SAMPSON: I had a letter from [IVC instructor] Mr. R, who I think is their advisor, but I really didn't know a lot about it.... [In fact, Mr. R is the advisor of the Christian Club, not the Christian Coalition.]
SOBEL: Do you know what the Christian Coalition is?
SAMPSON: No.
SOBEL: Did you ask anybody what the Christian Coalition is?
SAMPSON: No.
SOBEL: Have you ever heard the term "Christian Coalition" used in the last two or three years in the context of political discourse?
SAMPSON: I am sure I have. I'm not sure I could answer a question about it though.
SOBEL: Was it important to you to understand what the reference to the Christian Coalition was in order to make a determination about whether the people who perceived themselves to be subjected to harassment and targets of violation on the basis of their religion had a legitimate claim...?
SAMPSON: No....
No comments:
Post a Comment