David Safavian, former Bush White House chief procurement officer has been found guilty of covering up his connections with Republican Influence-peddler Jack Abramoff. Safavian was convicted after eight days of testimony concerning Safavian’s help to Abramoff with government-owned real estate, and a seven day golf excursion to the famous St. Andrews golf course in Scotland and London with Ohio congressman, Bob Ney (Rep.), two Ney aids, and Christian Coalition Founder, Ralph Reed, organized and paid for by Abramoff. Most interesting to me is the involvement of Ralph Reed because once again it demonstrates how much evangelical Christian leadership participates in influence peddling. The now Republican Lt. Governor of Georgia, Reed has also participated in the past with Abramoff, and Michael Scanlon in preventing the opening of new Louisiana and Texas gambling casinos that would compete with Scanlon’s casino clients, the Coushatta Indians (2002). Reed’s consulting firm, Century Strategies has earned millions through his evangelical religious credentials from such companies as Enron, Microsoft, Verizon, and other Fortune 500 companies. Specifically his company earned over $300,000.00 from the former energy giant, Enron to help build support for energy deregulation. Reed through Century Strategies also worked to get out the Southern states Bush vote in the 2000 and 2004 elections. And, while it is difficult to demonstrate financial gain, the question has not been resolved as to the legality of a corporate entity being involved financially to actually obtain votes for a particular political candidate.

Personally, this information makes me angry because while Reed and other evangelical Christians would condemn millions of Americans to second-class citizenship because of sexuality; at the same time these heterosexual Christians have no moral scruples concerning their own financial and political dealings. Their religious belief system is selective in that it prescribes and restricts only the behavior of others, not that of its practitioners.

At some point in time, it becomes the obligation of Democratic Party leadership to make an issue of this double standard in evangelical morality as it is applied to politics and government in the Bush administration. I wish that Democrats would do so before the next election - but despair at the lack of any such persons in the party possessing strong personality, liberal Christian belief, and good character – in order to counter this corrupting evangelical chauvinistic Christianity at the center of Republican politics.

Sources

“Official Found Guilty for Covering-up Abramoff Ties.” CNN.COM, http://www.cnn.com/. Posted Tuesday, June 20, 2006,10:25 AM. Visited Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 12:53 PM EDT.

“Safavian Found Guilty in Abramoff Lobbying Case.” National Public Radio, http//:www.npr.org/. Posted June 20, 2006. Visited Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 12:58 PM EDT.

Welna, David, “Ney in the Eyes of His Constituents,” All Things Considered, January 6, 2006. National Public Radio, http//:www.npr.org/. Visited Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 1:01 PM EDT.