Talk To Action | They Prayed for the United States to "Come Back to God"

Hat tip to Nathan at Moral Contradictions for this great post from Talk to Action. As I have been saying, I really understand Karl Rove and Bush (to a degree) and even Tom DeLay. They are politicians who have figured out how to use people and our system to benefit them. They certainly have figured out how to use people of faith. So, it amazes me when good people continue to support someone like DeLay even when we learn about the unbelievable shell game he was running--preaching to churches on one hand, using his position to solicit huge donations from Russian interests (can you imagine that scandal--even post cold war--if it had been Clinton?) or as you will read here--people who run sweatshops and force women to have abortions.

"One man was perhaps the most powerful Congressmen in U.S. history, the other was his Chief of Staff. But Ed Buckham was more than just Tom DeLay's powerful Chief of Staff. He was also Tom DeLay's spiritual advisor. They were devoted to bringing the United States 'back to God.'
Time Magazine reported last March that Ed Buckham, 'a licensed nondenominational minister, was also DeLay's pastor... the two of them frequently prayed together privately, joining hands in DeLay's office.'

The unsuspecting couple served on the Board of the U.S. Family Network, a shell organization that raised millions of dollars for former Congressman Tom DeLay's Political Action Committee. Geeslin became suspicious when they received a gift of a million dollars from a Russian oil magnate.
Perhaps the most ironic gift was the half million dollars from the textile mills of the Mariana Islands, now in the limelight for their sweatshop-like working conditions for women. The gift was used to fight Clinton administration efforts to regulate the islands.
Pastor Geeslin was particularly upset by the fact that the textile mills sponsored forced abortion and forced prostitution - a hard pill for anyone to swallow let alone an evangelical pastor who believed he was helping bring the United States to God.
He said in a pained voice, 'I feel like we were used in a grand way.'

Ya think?

Maybe it is time for the grownups to stop nodding in appreciation whenever some idiot preacher says something like "praying for the United States to 'come back to God.'" Maybe it is time for the grownups to recognize that inserting faith into our political process has harmed both. It has created a situation where an amoral person like Tom DeLay can compare himself to Christ. It is a no-win situation. Good people can't really determine if a politician is a "true-believer" or just an idiot pandering to those who say they "vote by the book."