High Stakes for McCain in Grassley's Televangelist Probe
Just days after rejecting the endorsements of his "ministers of war" John Hagee and Rod Parsley, John McCain may be about to confront another faith-based conundrum. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) is facing withering criticism from prominent conservatives and evangelical leaders over his Senate probe into the finances of Kenneth Copeland and other so-called "prosperity gospel" televangelists. Republican nominee McCain may have to choose between his party's increasingly disgruntled religious right base and a fellow Republican Senator he once called a "f**king jerk."
As the Washington Post details, the Senate Finance Committee's inquiry to determine whether Copeland and five other televangelists "are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles" is raising hackles among Christian conservatives. In January, former Arkansas Governor, Baptist minister and now McCain VP hopeful Mike Huckabee stood by Copeland, a supporter who raised - perhaps illegally - over $100,000 for his presidential campaign. Now Copeland and Georgia minister Creflo Dollar are refusing to cooperate further with Grassley's probe.
Alleging bias by the Baptist Grassley against the Pentecostal preachers, Copeland and many familiar faces among the religious right are fighting back. Copeland has launched a web site called Believers Stand United, which claims the Iowa Republican is "publicly questioning the religious beliefs of the targeted churches, their ministers, and their members while ignoring televangelists of other denominations." Copeland went on to liken Grassley, the man John McCain labeled a "f**king jerk," to the devil himself:
"Satan has an agenda. He is looking for a way to drive a wedge and get strife between one another."
Other high profile conservatives are lining up with Copeland. Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich, former Ohio secretary of state Kenneth Blackwell and Anthony Verdugo of the Christian Family Coalition joined other figures in the religious right in sending a letter to the Senate Finance Committee. Their missive claims that ministries were under investigation because they shared "the same branch of evangelicalism" and that Grassley's inquiry infringes the churches' First Amendment rights. Signatory Matthew Staver, dean of the law school at the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, personally attacked Senator Grassley while warning that the probe:
"Sets a terrible precedent that...should be a concern to all houses of worships across the board -- Christian and non-Christian." It may be that Senator Grassley has some kind of personal opinion with regards to the doctrines of these churches."
Doug Wead, an informal adviser to President Bush who also served as a liaison to the evangelical community during his father's presidency, revealed the stakes for John McCain and the GOP:
"You've got a Baptist senator attacking six Pentecostals. The timing is not good for the Republican Party."
The timing is especially dangerous for John McCain. In the wake of McCain's rejection of the Hagee and Parsley endorsements he previously sought, evangelical leaders are increasingly questioning his new-found commitment to people he once deemed "agents of intolerance." Evangelical leader Bishop Harry Jackson complained, "Now folks don't know what he means," adding, "Is he for us or against us?" Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, said simply of McCain's faith-based flip-flop on Hagee and Parsley, "this doesn't help."
McCain's running mate search is also sure to shine a spotlight on the controversy. Back in April, Weyrich joined two dozen other conservative activists in signing a letter titled "No Mitt" calling on McCain to reject Mitt Romney as his vice presidential choice. Governor Huckabee, who like Romney has made no secret of his desire for the #2 slot on the ticket, has made it clear he's with Copeland and not Grassley's committee in the controversy ("Why should I stand with them and not with you? They've only got an 11 percent approval rating.").
As Chuck Grassley's probe of Copeland and the other prosperity gospel ministers unfolds, John McCain may well find he's damned if he does and damned if doesn't. If he backs the Senate investigation, McCain may only further raise the ire of his party's hard right as the November election nears. If he sides with Copeland, Weyrich et al, he will be seen as pandering to social conservatives at precisely the time his campaign is running hard to the center.
But in reversing his 2000 position and embracing the religious right he once criticized, the Episcopalian-turned-Baptist McCain brought his upon himself. Asked by the Daily Show's Jon Stewart in 2006 if he was "going to crazy base world," John McCain replied, "I'm afraid so."
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Copeland is doing the right thing in this situation. He has asked for the IRS to conduct the investigation, just as Grassley should have from the beginning. I hope McCain sticks behind Copeland on this, because the future implications here are frightening.
Posted by TY on May 26, 2008 4:48 PMHopefully this issue will not affect the republican side of the election. It is time for everyone to realize that there are more pressing issues to deal with. In the meantime, Copeland should continue his defense of what he believes is right.
Posted by Michele3 on May 26, 2008 7:36 PMCopeland is standing tall in what he believes in and I pray that this will all work out for the best in the end. Christian leaders across the country should be standing up behind Copeland.
Posted by vetgirl on May 27, 2008 7:06 AMAll "religions" should bear the same tax burden as any other business. It's time we stop giving these charlatans a free ride.
Posted by Joe Strummer on May 27, 2008 8:20 AMAt some point Jesus Christ became Jesus, Inc. It's about time someone started asking why the worship of Jesus suddenly required a megachurch, a $20 million mansion, and a private yet.
Posted by Dr. Wu on May 27, 2008 8:36 AMThere won't be a dem landslide this Nov if McStain keeps it real. He needs to scrape off all the evangelical and religious parasites ("Christian leaders"). Christians should stay out of the politics and pray for peace..not pray for war and death.
Posted by KittyKatMan on May 27, 2008 8:58 AMWhy do these righteous men fear a congressional investigation? The IRS is a tool of whatever administration is in charge. Let Congress investigate; after all, these millionaire preachers (and the Republican politicians they pay for) have nothing to hide, right? As Lenny Bruce once said: "Any religious leader who owns more than one suit is a hustler."
Posted by NoOneYouKnow on May 27, 2008 9:50 AMPrayer preyer nay sayer, "no-wayer tax payer, gotcha by the short hair."
The Grassley's looking at greener pastors on the other side on defense.
Much fertilizer flinging and hand wringing...soon enuf, someone singing,"fetus, don't fail me now, we need an inquiry abortion."
Hahahahahahahaha, a christardian pie(slice) fight for the aged.
;-}
Posted by Proud2bHumblenotgulliblenscared on May 27, 2008 11:00 AMWith the current mean I.Q. levels present in the “average” GOP voter at an all time low, it’s not surprising that they’ll bang the bed pans and don the white sheets in order to frighten and otherwise pathetically manipulate their less than stellar intellectual base. And they always have some inbred ditto-head “preacher” of some bent stripe playing the Satan or hellfire card, although the deck is always loaded. This stimulated dread of a hellfire is so enormous and so unsettling of common sense and normal thinking, that any scheme to elude it becomes suitable. Blind horror perverts, bends and transforms time-honored balanced ethical deliberations. A self-centered mind-set is produced resulting from hysterical longing for private escape from perdition. Defective assessments by conservative or backward individuals can and often are prejudiced by a saving-from-hell doctrine as a replacement for levelheaded analysis. The penalty of politicians making edicts or granting funding whilst beneath the hex of GOP hell-phobic-delusion are obvious.
It is not recognized how many inhabitants are ensnared within any number of antiquated and quite frankly, retarded religions because of the apprehension of a hell, as dishonesty to oneself and to others on this topic is understandable, if not pathetic. To candidly or even subconsciously own up to a dread of a hell reveals to others and an alleged god, a intense failing of faith. Far healthier to frantically pretend that the god who is to blame for this imagined place of after-life dismay, is a deity who should be loved. Explicitly professing worship for the monster god harbors the expectation that others will not distinguish your private trepidation of hell.
The remedy to hell, so the faithful are told, is kowtowing to a exacting religious modus operandi. In essence, religions are self-renewing and self-serving because of a ubiquitous teaching scheme with dependence on a routine that is nothing short of mental child abuse.
Many people thus affected, when reading this, will believe that escaping these awful feelings of hell, is not feasible. Not factual, and many Atheists and normal people will vouch for that. The first step is recognizing the dread of hell is an arousing circumstance that has been entrenched and not chosen. The anxiety can be countered by replacing it with a incessant re-evaluation of human propensity to believe the unbelievable if the right buttons are pushed in the seminal years. Following generations and planetary continued existence depend on this crucial step being lucratively achieved.
Posted by Carl Gordon on May 27, 2008 11:09 AMCopeland is in the position of being forced to answer a 'have you quit beating your wife' question by Grassley. I have no sympathy for the 'prosperity gospel' messengers, and think that they often exploit exemptions for ministry to their own gain. But Copeland, Meyer and Dollar, et al. need to release a full and independent accounting of their finances to the public - and refuse to give them to Grassley - let his aides copy them out of the newspapers. Copeland's IRS request doesn't do enough because the IRS can't publicize the results of their investigation. One of the biblical principles of Christian stewardship is transparency (2 Cor. 8:20-21).
Posted by Ed Ross on May 31, 2008 6:18 PMI am not a follower of Copeland's but I am supporting him in this situation. It is outrageous for Grassley to have requested some of the details he did. And if he is granted that kind of power, I think the implications for the future are something to be feared. Copeland is getting more and more support. People are beginning to realize what kind of precedent this could set.
Posted by Soulshine on June 13, 2008 8:25 AMAt least Copeland requested the IRS audit. It's better than not offering a resolution at all. Copeland has very good reasons for not turning over all that Grassley asked for. I imagine the others involved would also have issues with this as well...could they be the next for scrutiny?
Posted by Bluesky on June 13, 2008 10:46 AMYou all bring up some good points, but I have to agree with the fact that Grassley is way out of line here with the information he requested. What did he plan to do with some of the information? He definitely needs to be put in his place, and Copeland needs to continue to fight.
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