A Not-So-Hidden Agenda

If there was ever any doubt that the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court would be a profound and fundamental shift in American law to the far right, the ministers pictured above should put that doubt to rest.

The picture is of a "consecration ceremony" performed at the doors of the room where the Alito confirmation hearings are set to be held starting this Monday.  According to an excerpted Wall Street Journal story quoted on BradBlog:

"Capitol Hill police barred them from entering the room to continue what they called a consecration service. But in a bit of one-upsmanship, the three announced that they had let themselves in a day earlier, touching holy oil to the seats where Judge Alito, the senators, witnesses, Senate staffers and the press will sit, and praying for each of the 13 committee members by name."

According to the press release from the National Clergy Council, the consecration was "not a pro- or anti-Alito statement, but was meant to commit the confirmation process, one of the most important acts of government, to the will of God."  When we take a look at two of the ministers who participated in this bit of PR theater however, it becomes obvious that that statement is meant to abscond their real agenda.

The gentleman to the left is Rev. Pat Mahoney, who according to SourceWatch was a leader in the infamous anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.  He now heads the Christian Defense Coalition (no web page) that was started to "enlist" other Christian conservatives in the fight to keep the body of Terri Shiavo alive.

To the right is Rev. Rob Schenck  who is the founder of the National Clergy Council, also a Christian right organization.  He along with his twin brother Paul, are founders of Faith In Action, still another beltway fundamentalist organization that is advocating for, among other things, the Ten Commandments to be displayed on government property; which is nothing more than an open attempt to violate the Constitution and establish a state sponsored religion.

"The mission of the Ten Commandments Project is to return the Word of God to the halls of government and to the national conversation. At the heart of The Ten Commandments Project is an effort to restore the moral foundations of our American culture."

But it is really a radical departure from the "moral foundations of our American culture."  That is if the ideas of religious and intellectual liberty mean anything to Americans.

During the 2004 presidential election Schenck pointed out that the controversy surrounding former Alabama Judge Roy Moore's display of the Ten Commandments shows, "how critical it is that we have the right president in office over the next four years," and that "we must have the right Senate because they must confirm whoever is nominated to the Court by the President."

These are the folks that claimed that the "consecration ceremony" was neither "pro- or anti-Alito statement."  This is a clear case of blackwhite doublethinking.  Their "ceremony" is nothing more than part of their unrestrained elation to motivate their base to push this nomination through the Senate.

This is their chance roll back Roe v. Wade, and deliver the executive branch of government unchecked power.   It is their chance to establish a theocracy whose cruelty could well surpass that of their Islamist rivials.

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