This is an interesting choice of words, since -- while we mostly hear about her Methodist upbringing -- Hillary Clinton has chosen to associate herself with The Family (also known as the Fellowship), a very conservative, fundamentalist organization started by Abraham Vereide...
"...an immigrant preacher who in 1935 organized a small group of businessmen sympathetic to European fascism, fusing the Far Right with his own polite but authoritarian faith. From that core, Vereide built an international network of fundamentalists who spoke the language of establishment power, a "family" that thrives to this day. In public, they host prayer breakfasts; in private they preach a gospel of "biblical capitalism," military might, and American empire. Citing Hitler, Lenin, and Mao, Doug Coe, the Family's current leader, declares, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't."
This quote is taken from the book on The Family by the same name which will be published in May... a book which claims to
"...dramatically challenge conventional wisdom about American fundamentalism, revealing its crucial role in the unraveling of the New Deal, the waging of the Cold War, and the no-holds-barred economics of globalization. The question Sharlet believes we must ask is not "What do fundamentalists want?" but "What have they already done?"
A long article was written about Hillary Clinton's participation in this organization last September in Mother Jones, and The Family, itself, was the subject of an extensive article in Harper's in March of 2003. And on March 21st, The Nation published an article on Hillary and The Family by Barbara Ehrenreich that was published on The Huffington Post and CBS News' web site.
The Family avoids the word Christian but worships Jesus, though not the Jesus who promised the earth to the "meek." They believe that, in mass societies, it's only the elites who matter, the political leaders who can build God's "dominion" on earth. Insofar as The Family has a consistent philosophy, it's all about power - cultivating it, building it and networking it together into ever-stronger units, or "cells."
...wrote Ms.Ehrenreich.
Is it possible that Hillary's participation in this fundamentalist group -- which apparently preaches the "gospel of military might" -- would help explain her vote in favor of authorizing President Bush to attack Iraq? Is it possible her pro-NAFTA stance during her husband's administration comes from its embrace of "the no-holds-barred economics of globalization"? Is it possible that the sense some get that Hillary feels entitled to be president comes in part from this group's belief that "it's only the elites who matter"?
I encourage any reporter covering Hillary's campaign to ask her about all this.
At a time when so many people are wondering what sort of effect the Rev. Wright's sermons may have had on Barack Obama, I think it's only fair to ask what sort of effect The Family's fundamentalist mission has had - and continues to have - on Hillary Clinton. We know that George Bush engages in truly fundamentalist thinking. There is no person or new information capable of challenging his belief that what he already knows is right. Is Hillary Clinton like this in some way? I am not sure.
But the opinion I have formed from this is that - while Hillary Clinton may be considered a Liberal by many - on the inside she is a deeply Conservative person... possibly as close to being a Republican today as she was when she was a young woman supporting Senator Goldwater. This helps explain, to me, why she and John McCain are such good friends. They are both drawn to the use of military power and free market capitalism... and to taking money from lobbyists. The other opinion I have formed is that those who say there are no policy differences between Hillary and Barack haven't taken into account how their religious differences might impact the policies they would actually seek to implement as president.
Finally, getting back to Hillary addressing the subject of the Rev. Wright's sermons, I was taken by the carefully crafted language she used during her press conference on Tuesday afternoon, where she said, "Given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor.". At the risk of going off-topic, I would like to offer you all a chance to hear what I have now "heard and seen" of one of Rev. Wright's controversial sermons. When you watch the video below -- and Hillary, if you see this, I hope you will watch it too -- you will learn that at least in this instance what the Rev. Wright said ("America's chickens have come home to roost.") was taken completely out of context. Rev. Wright was quoting someone else when he said those words, and he said much of value during the 10 minutes I found on YouTube.
I urge you to give the cause of truth the 10 minutes it will take you to watch this too.
UPDATE: Wednesday morning
For those who want the link to this video, you can find it on YouTube here. It was posted to YouTube by the Trinity United Church of Christ Chicago, which has its own YouTube home page. You can watch other videos showing Rev. Wright's words in complete context there as well.
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It makes me proud to see Americans taking note of the corruption that has been our sickness over the past 20 years or more. The Clinton/Bush dynasty is OVER, finally. Anyone who votes for any one connected to this group of mad politicians has got to be one of the same.
Thank you America for finally WAKING UP! I've been asking you all to WAKE UP for so long and now I feel that you are finally seeing what the media and those in charge have been hiding and lying for so very long. America is better than this and we must let the world know that WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!
I was aware that Mrs. Clinton attended these conservative prayer groups. I remember reading something about it when she first entered the senate - it was framed as being part of a 'charm offensive' as I recall. At first I thought it rather savvy of her, but when I learned she hadn't just joined these prayer groups as a senator - that she had, in fact, been going to sex-segregated prayer and bible study as first lady - I was flabbergasted. A "feminist" who volunteers for sex-segregated bible study?! Learning about 'The Family' only confirms what I thought then - I have no idea what that woman believes.
I know what she believes -- that Satan is her God. She is part of his bloodline so what else can she believe? I am just glad that her true persona has finally "come home to roost". It seems the good Reverend is more enlightened than most of you gave him credit for. But when you have a solid "God" persona, it will eventually win over evil every time. I love this post.
It wasn't so long ago Hillary was excoriating this vast rightwing conspiracy she now appears to be rubbing elbows with. I wasn't planning on voting for her anyway, but this should seal it for anyone who had their doubts.
Washington, DC"Several groups within the 7.9 million member United Methodist Church are targeting Israel with divestment proposals and hostile publications.
* The United Methodist Board of Church and Society (GBCS), the church"s official Washington-based lobbying office, is urging church members and church agencies to divest from Caterpillar, Inc. Their resolution, which will go before the United Methodist General Conference in April 2008, accuses Peoria-based Caterpillar of facilitating Israel"s destruction of Palestinian property. Five regional annual conferences within United Methodism have passed similar resolutions.
* The New York-based United Methodist Women"s Division has published a children"s book containing anti-Israel themes, "From Palestine to Seattle; Becoming Neighbors and Friends." The booklet portrays Israel as an oppressor of Palestinians while omitting nearly all mention of terrorism.
* The Washington-based Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA), a liberal caucus group within United Methodism, has outdone the church"s official lobby office by calling for divestment against ALL "companies supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and other violations of human rights in Israel/Palestine."
* The United Methodist Women"s Division also has released a mission study for 2007-2008 that portrays Israel as virtually the sole aggressor in the Middle East. The study is for use by nearly 700,000 United Methodist Women"s members across the nation.
Thanks, it's about time some Americans have removed the scales from their eyes to see clearly the pre-meditated continuation of occupation, ethnic cleansing and colonization by the extremist Israelis, and also their targeted assassinations (murder), destruction of most Palestinian infrastructure, ancient olive groves, theft of water resources, land "confiscations", wholesale home demolitions, etc, etc, etc.....the list of crimes and provocations committed by "our allies" in the ME is long indeed. Add to what crimes they commit in the territories and overall ME and their deliberate stymieing of any real peace process, the subversion of our American foreign policy thru AIPAC, AEI, PNAC, JINSA, et al, foreign aid, and our domestic politics.
Good for you Stephen (and others) for bringing this nonsense into the light. I guess if this cabal are really the Mason/ Club of Rome/ New World Order wannabees they appear to be, their exposure should result in the evaporation of Hillary's candidacy post haste! I generally take my conspiracy theories with a bag of salt, but there's just something downright unnerving about a global group of the connected and powerful taking pledges of secrecy to get more connected and more powerful. It certainly seems though at a minimum, they have an 'Elite Overwatching the Masses' philosophy as pretty central.. not really something you'd expect from a Democrat in an alleged Democracy.
Thanks for this. I want more info about 'The Family' I find this very disturbing. I wish the book was out sooner. Is there any part of it available before release? I have written teh media about this and I don't know why mainstream isn't covering it except 'The Family' is said to have vast political power and I suppose some of them could own the media or at least have tight friendships.
It seems that Hillary is counting on some form of political capital to steal the nomination at this point. She has her friends get together and threaten Nancy Pelosi that she better go out in public and say that the superdelegates can vote for whomever they choose or they will not give any more money to her or the democratci party....
As somone in the media pointed out... with such massive public participation and small donors making up huge amounts in small donations... these old money mongers don't have the same powier in this election.
OBAMA '08
It appears MSNBC is going to cover this story. Follow this link, it will get you to this info. as well as some of the other articles out there about Hillary and "The Family." It's time we really get informed about what Sen. Clinton is really about. This is clearly fair game.
Thanks for that link. I sent CNN a scathing email complimenting them on their choosing to pick up the FOX "blasting" of the Reverend Wright and Obama without a hint of investigative journalism. I used to be a fan of CNN but now I prefer MSNBC because Chris and Keith allows the TRUTH to emerge.
"Is it possible that Hillary's participation in this fundamentalist group -- which apparently preaches the "gospel of military might" -- would help explain her vote in favor of authorizing President Bush to attack Iraq? Is it possible her pro-NAFTA stance during her husband's administration comes from its embrace of "the no-holds-barred economics of globalization"? Is it possible that the sense some get that Hillary feels entitled to be president comes in part from this group's belief that "it's only the elites who matter"?
I encourage any reporter covering Hillary's campaign to ask her about all this."
YES.
ASK HER.
OFTEN.
This information connects quite a few dots I've been researching in the past 8 years.
And believe me, the truth is MUCH stranger than any fiction that could be thought up.
Why is religion so scary? No, not your religion, other peoples religions. And then of course, try the shoe on the other foot.
Epistemology.
The intersection of government and religion is language. You can"t talk about right and wrong without using the same language as does religion. Religious law, having preceded secular manifestations of law, can therefore claim to be the founding and moral authority for law, it"s history.
The problem is that religious law does not evolve. It is anchored in an indisputable authority of antiquity. It cannot be proven or disproved. It is, ethically, stuck in the past, because the textual basis of it is not subject to revision, and for many arguments, there is an equal and opposite counter argument that lives on and cannot be repealed.
So the moral authority of the church can only take us so far, to a point where I believe the founders decided to jump ship, realizing that the religious ship was just going around in circles. The Constitution, and law derived from that basis, is then a living and growing body of thought on government that religion could never be.
Even more important might have been the realization that when you are not going forward, the possibility of going backward is very much greater. Indeed, the circular and irresolvable nature of religious arguments practically guarantees moral recidivism. Moral and ethical recidivism was the cause of the Dark Ages.
And what most people seem to forget is that Rev. Wright was Bill's spiritual advisor during the Monica Lewinski debacle. See the following link: http://www.docstrangelove.com/2008/03/20/bill-clinton-to-reverend-jeremiah-wright-i-have-sinned/
Hillary was also in attendence.
I cannot find the link - I wish I had saved it - but Bill also had private meetings with Rev. Wright during this time frame. If anyone finds the link, please post it.
In short, Hillary is a hypocrite - she slams Rev. Wright when he was there for their needs. And now The Family - a strictly conservative-based religion - is Hillary's church. My, my. A Republican wearing a Democratic cloak.
What about her "religious family"? They're not cursing the United States and they're not shoving Black Liberation Theology down our throats. Ask Bono about The Family (go to his speech: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-02-bono-transcript_x.htm) ... he attended a gathering. Do a little more investigating beyond the uber-liberal media that is getting dirtier every day, with race-baiting and now faith-baiting. Not gonna get you any more votes and you'll hurt the country in the long run. Any type of religious fundamentalism is going to send the uber-liberal Obamadama into fits. The liberal wing of the Democratic party goes way, way out of its way to avoid any mixing with these "religious freaks" but this is how unity comes about, this is how bridges are built, this is where conversations take place. A very, very large number of Americans identify with these values. Perhaps its time for the Democratic party to recognize that. Instead of having their convention managed by a followed of Black Libertion Theology, with committees seeded by token representatives of other world religions, perhaps the DNC can make a bigger tent for the rest of the country. See this recent NYTimes article: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/embracing-the-faithful/
Well, now everyone can see how the Clinton supporters are quite "ill" in their rhetoric and backing of "Hitllary" and why they are steadfast in their beliefs. Only "Hitlary" type people love her so much because they believe in the "elite" running our most precious country and damn to all others. WAKE UP AMERICA before these buttholes take over and brainwash all of us into being THEIR slaves. Listen to this crazy person and BE AWARE. Let's stop this madness before it gets any further. God forgive this human for he know not what he doeth!
"A very, very large number of Americans identify with these values." you say. Which values are you referring to?
The values I am critiquing are putting the power of "elites" over the power of "we, the people".. of seeing military force as the "first response" to global problems... of pushing free market economic at the expense of the environment.
Are those the values you say a very large number of Americans identify with?
I appreciate your link to Bono speaking at one of The Family's National Prayer Breakfasts, but that does not make him a participant in The Family as Hillary is. My perspective is that the National Prayer Breakfast is The Family's "public face", through which it appears to be nothing more than another pro-God organization. In reality, The Family is much more than that.
Bono is, to me, a real bridge builder. He really listens to people. Hillary acts like she is listening. But it's all largely an act. Otherwise she wouldn't attack or use sarcasm when asked a tough question. She already believes she is "the smartest person in the room". That's fundamentalist thinking, pure and simple. No self doubt. Never - except under extreme circumstances - admits to making a mistake. Just like George Bush.
I can understand the Republicans dragging religion into the campaign--after all, their success is directly attributable to garnering the votes of the Religious Conservative Movement. But for a Democrat to drag religion into a primary campaign and try to bash her opponent with it... Oh, wait... Doesn't everyone know that HILLARY IS A STEALTH REPUBLICAN and closely allied with a group with frighteningly fundamental beliefs? This story needs to be kept where Democrat voters can read it. We need to know the truth about HILLARY.
None of the views that the "family" has espoused are the views of Jesus-who denounced capitalism jsut before he was crucified by turning over the tables in the temples for the exchange of money..
I don't think you can get more clear about what Jesus views on capitalism than that.
Or theres:' "the meek shall inherit the earth".
So NO-just because Coe says it-does not make it so.
It makes it a cult. cult=obsession/fxation..
Course we know this is just one more GOP-operated front scam to manipulate the powerbrokers from behind the curtain-to get the judges and appointees favorable to these businesses.
think you could definitely find them in violation of Hatch Acts/FEC rules,even perjury of their religious status as tax-exempt..
the quid-pro-quo area of the members as far as earmarks, appropriations, and appointments need to be more closely looked at members of the Family. Bank records of these need to be looked at by the IRS,the FBI and possibly a congressional House UnAmerican Comm. to look into foreign policy,political, intel manipulations by the group (cult).
I do not think you can judge normal people by the religion they follow.
Religion is an attempt to deny death, it is mans way of dealing with the boogie man in the dark dark night..
Its normal to fear death, its common to look for acceptance by the big daddy in the sky, even brotherhood with a semitic zombie is to some extent understandable when one is striving for life eternal.
But to judge a otherwise rational person by thier religion.......
Atheists underestimate the power of religion to manipulate the minds needed to shore up thier worldly power. It's not about God or Jesus - God and Jesus are just constructs these guys use to manipulate people. It's more useful to understand someones need for God/Jesus without judgement so that you can convince them they don't need a religion or church at all to make their peace with diety (real or imagined). Religions and churches have way way too much power in our society. And why? Because we give it to them.
This isn't a a run-of-the-mill church. They hold political prayer-breakfasts. Right away you've got to think about separation of church and state issues intruding.
Speculation: If she loses, will she jump ship and become her good buddy's VP?
Since every candidate has to be certifiably religious, does it really matter which pastor certifies which candidate? Until the unofficial religious tests for holding office are scrapped we'll never be free of this pastoral nonsense (but I guess that won't happen until Messiah makes his grand entrance). It's so funny to hear our leaders decry Islamic theocracies - funny because we're every bit as much a theocracy as they are. We just call it democracy, that's all. As long as a candidate's religion is considered an essential part of his persona, expect to see every shade of religiosity represented in our government. And expect all the real issues to continue to go begging. But, hey: we gotta look after our souls first; then, if we still have time, maybe take a peek at the real world.
You are really missing the point here, I think; this isn't about religion, it's about power brokerage, with religious elements used as an archetypal construct--a spiritually cohesive focus--to assure that certain world leaders are "on the same page" in regards to elitist concepts of what matters, and what doesn't [the latter being the will of the people, collateral damage in war, manipulation of criminal law to disenfranchise the poor, etc.].
I don"t know about you, but to me an active and longstanding organization that promotes an elitist archetype as a model for political power distribution is one scary fucking concept.
Sorry Hillary, I would choose Rev. Wright as my pastor-and I'm not an organized religion joiner, and I am white. An honest, intelligent and inspiring man. How shameful that the soundbites were quotations from the white ambassador and not Wright's words at all.
There is every hope for a complete restoration for Wright's standing and reputation by the simple publicization of sermons like this, and testimony by the prominent religious colleagues who have already spoken up. If there is any justice, this rove-like swiftboating can be turned against Hillary/Fox and they can reap their sorely deserved punishment.
Posted March 26, 2008 | 03:35 AM (EST)