NOTES: Although many reporters covered this event, this report contains material from exclusive MND interviews with key speakers. The factual report comes first, with commentary after.
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On Sunday afternoon, 14 August 2005, the Family Research Council (FRC) put on an event called Justice Sunday II. The event was held at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. The first Justice Sunday was held on 24 April 2005, and was subtitled, “ Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith”. The theme for this Justice Sunday was, “God Save the United States and this Honorable Court ” Both events were simulcast on radio and television. The first Justice Sunday was estimated to have reached 61 million households in 44 states. This Justice Sunday was estimated to have reached 79 million households in all 50 states.

An estimated 3,000 people attended Justice Sunday II in a Nashville church

(exclusive MND photo by: Tom Kovach)

Scheduled speakers for the event included: Tom DeLay (Majority Leader, US House of Representatives), Zell Miller (US Senator), Chuck Colson (founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries), Dr. James Dobson (founder of Focus on the Family —appearing by video), Tony Perkins (President of Family Research Council), Ted Haggard (President of National Association of Evangelicals), Tom Minnery (Vice President of Public Policy at Focus on the Family), Dr. Phyllis Schlafly (founder, Eagle Forum), Bishop Harry Jackson (Senior Pastor for Hope Christian Church), Dr. Jerry Sutton (Senior Pastor of Two Rivers Baptist Church), Cathy Cleaver Ruse (Senior Fellow for Family Research Council), Rebecca St. James (Grammy Award Winning Recording Artist), Jett Williams (Country recording artist and daughter of legendary Hank Williams).

Speakers for Justice Sunday II

From left: Dr. Phyllis Schlafly, Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., Jett Williams, Senator Zell Miller, Dr. Jerry Sutton, Tony Perkins, Rep. Tom DeLay, Rev. Ted Haggard, Cathy Cleaver Ruse, Jim Daly, Rebecca St. James. (Not in photo: Chuck Colson, Bill Donohue.)

(Exclusive MND photo by: Tom Kovach)

Only a few hours before the start of the event, FRC announced additional speakers. Judge Robert Bork and five members of Congress — Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL), Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), and Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) — agreed to participate by video in the broadcast. Their comments were used as “bumpers” between the live speakers.

Tony Perkins answers questions at pre-event press conference

(exclusive MND photo by: Tom Kovach)

In an exclusive interview, FRC president Tony Perkins responded to MND’s question about whether critics — from both the Left and the Right — are correct that events such as these are merely tools of the Republican Party. “It has nothing to do with party. We see groups coming together that have been divided: Blacks and Whites, Catholics and Evangelicals, Republicans and Democrats.” When asked if future FRC events would include representatives of smaller political parties — such as the Constitution Party (CP) — Perkins replied, “Whenever we see someone that is out front on an issue, such as abortion, that is a person that we might consider.” But, when pressed whether FRC would specifically invite former CP presidential candidate Michael Peroutka, a strong abortion foe, Perkins admitted that he had heard the name, but really knew little about him. (NOTE: In the interests of full disclosure, the author is an official with the Constitution Party of Tennessee.)

Michael Anthony Peroutka

(photo from: “The American View”)

In his remarks from the dais at the beginning of the rally, Perkins pointed out that he was there on the day that the Supreme Court opened their session with a prayer (“God Save the United States and this Honorable Court” ), and then rejected the display of the Ten Commandments. He quoted the dissenting opinion of Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote that, “… the Supreme Court has ratcheted up hostility toward religion …” in America.

Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family Action, said that the Supreme Court is out of step with the majority of the public, “… often overruling the public on issues like abortion and homosexual ‘marriage’.” Daly went on to present a hypothetical: what if the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had been in existence in 1776? He said that they would probably try to sue the Founding Fathers for writing Biblical principles into the Constitution.

Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, presented his remarks by video. He said, “America’s court system is tearing at the very fabric of this great nation.” He gave two examples from recent Supreme Court decisions: the Ten Commandments case, and the case of Kelo v. City of New London (in which the Court redefined the doctrine of “eminent domain” to allow a city to confiscate private land to benefit a private developer — rather than a public use, such as a highway). Dobson declared these to be examples of “judicial tyranny”, in which an unelected and unaccountable court tells the American people that they should simply “shut up and knuckle under”.

Tony Perkins came back to the stage to compare judicial tyranny to baseball. He held up a normal home plate, and described how an umpire should determine the strike zone in relation to the edges of the plate. Then, he held up a very oversized home plate, and said that the Supreme Court had expanded the edges of the strike zone on their own, to include doctrines and positions that were never intended by any legislature. He then went back to the normal home plate, and broke off portions of each side. He explained that the Supreme Court was using the large home plate to rule in favor of Leftist causes, while using the scaled-back home plate to rule against conservative causes.

The next speaker was US Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX), House Majority Leader. He started with a brief explanation of the “separation of powers” doctrine in the Constitution. He then said, “The separation of powers, as understood by any high school civics student, is increasingly misunderstood by members of the judiciary.” He then went on to say that the Supreme Court has come to champion unpopular Leftist causes, such as abortion and homosexual marriage. “We’ve heard the arguments. We just disagree.” DeLay said that the Supreme Court had gone against the will of the people, as expressed by their legislators and by opinion polls, and has repeatedly abused and overstepped its powers. “The Constitution is not a vehicle for the arbitrary manipulation of the public will.” DeLay enthusiastically continued, “We must protect the Constitution, so that the Constitution can continue to protect us.” The audience came to its feet with applause.

Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries (PFM), spoke next. He opened his remarks with a personal story about a ministry trip to a prison in Houston, Texas. The prison is operated by PFM, and has a recidivism rate of only eight percent. Colson said that Rep. DeLay had accompanied him on the trip, and was in line with inmates to receive Holy Communion. Colson said, “I looked out, and saw the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives in the communion line with criminals. Tom DeLay proves that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross.”

Chuck Colson, author and founder of PFM

(photo from Prison Fellowship Ministries)

Colson’s remarks about the process of confirming Supreme Court nominations, and about the political involvement of Christians, took a different tone than most of the other speakers. He read from the Book of Amos, an Israelite prophet that commanded the people to “hate evil and love justice”. Colson said, “You bet we’re fighting for justice in the courts, because the Word of God tells us to. Isn’t it strange that the very same people [Left-leaning news media] that liked it when Martin Luther King, Jr., read from the Prophet Amos don’t like it when we do it?” In the process of our struggle, though, Colson warned that Christians should not become bitter, angry, or vengeful. In his remarks at the pre-event press conference, Colson said that Christians should be wary — and even repent — of using “triumphal language” in political dealings with non-Christians, in order not to come across as arrogant or elitist.

In other pre-event remarks, Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., (promoter of the Black Contract With America on Moral Values) spoke exclusively with MND about the impression given in the “mainstream media” (MSM) that Black churches are mostly Left-leaning, and in agreement with Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. “I think that the mainstream media believes that Black churches are the exclusive property of the Democratic Party, and that events like this are the property of the Republican Party. They couldn’t be more wrong — on both counts. I have research, not just a hunch, that Black church members are in the mainstream of Christian views.”

During the event, Bishop Jackson said that his findings about Black churches in America are the result of a ten-year research project. He said that the points of agreement among churches made up of different racial groups are far more than the MSM report. He said that Christians, regardless of race, need to focus on these points of agreement. “Christians need to tell both parties, ‘It’s our way, or the highway’.” The audience roared with applause and cheers. Jackson went on to describe racial and religious injustices that still occur in America, and compared the situation to the statue of “Justice” in front of the Supreme Court Building. “Justice is not blindfolded. She is actually sitting down on the job.”

Statue: “Contemplation of Justice” (James Earle Fraser, sculptor)

(official US Supreme Court photograph by: Lois Long)

In his usual style, former US Senator Zell Miller got right to the point. “Sometimes, in the life of a nation, there comes a time when people of conscience cannot ignore injustice, and must stand up and say ‘enough!’” Miller explained how America got into a situation of not trusting judges to decide rightly for the good of society. He used a parable of Jesus: the parable of the wheat and the weeds. When the servant asked the master how the weeds could have grown up, the master explained, “An enemy came in while you were asleep.” Miller said that the American people had gone to sleep, trusting that all judges would decide cases in the best interests of the people. He also said that America had fallen into moral decay, which enabled injustices to take place. Now, the situation has gotten to the point that the Supreme Court has tried to remove God from many parts of public life. But, Miller offered a solution: “When they make it harder to pray, we’ll just pray harder.” Senator Miller urged Christians to, “Cover the entire process with a blanket of prayer.”

In another no-nonsense presentation, Phyllis Schlafly opened by saying, “The biggest threat to America today is an out-of-control judiciary … which I call The Supremacists.” She explained that, “When liberals call for an ‘independent judiciary’, what they mean is a judiciary that is independent of the Constitution.” Schlafly then built upon Tony Perkins’ analogy of baseball and home plate. She said, “The umpires should call the balls and strikes; we all know that. But, they should not rewrite the rules of the game. If any umpire called a player out after only two strikes, you know that the fans would not stand for it.”

Cathy Cleaver Ruse, senior fellow for legal studies at FRC, said, “Our country has awakened to judicial activism. After years of watching as abortion is praised as a right, and pornographers are praised as First Amendment heroes, Americans are waking up to do something about it.” She cited several cases, mostly on the abortion issue, then summed up by saying, “This is a fight for the right to govern ourselves on the matters we hold most dear.”

The rally also included singing performances by Jett Williams, daughter of the late Hank Williams. She sang, “I Saw the Light,” which was written by her father. At the end of the rally, Christian recording artist Rebecca St. James sang, “This is Our Time”.

Commentary

I agree with about “97.9 percent” of what was said at the rally. At the same time, though, I have problems with some aspects of the rally. The audience was fueled by a combination of religious zeal, patriotism, and music. While these things are good in themselves, they can be misused if not restrained by a healthy dose of logic.

Supreme Court nominee: Judge John Roberts

(photo from: “The American View”)

I agree with about “97.9 percent” of what the presenters said at the rally. But, during the entire rally, there were no solid facts presented to support the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court. The best that a few of the speakers could come up with was some variation of “… he’s a good man”. If one was going to decide upon a candidate with such a brief resume, then consider this point. Would you vote for a man if you learned that he was a seminary graduate, and had previously planned to become a priest? If that was all you knew about the candidate, then you could’ve voted for Josef Stalin. Logic demands that citizens be given more actual hard facts about Judge Roberts, before buying into any recommendations about his nomination. This is not meant to disparage any of the presenters. But, if Judge Roberts is really such a good nominee, then why didn’t the presenters share more of what they actually know about him? (Isn’t that the same complaint that most of us conservatives have against both the MSM and the public schools? Long on emotion, short on facts.) Our side can, and must, do better.

This point becomes even more pressing when considering the analysis of Roberts by Michael Peroutka. When I had dinner with him last year, I found Michael Peroutka to be a bright, articulate, friendly man. Chances are that, if I could have dinner with Judge Roberts, I would come away with the same view. But, when it comes down to facts over fluff, it is impossible to ignore the facts in Michael Peroutka’s analysis of Roberts. That analysis is not as stinging as the one by his brother, Steven Peroutka. If Judge Roberts truly believes that Roe v. Wade is “the settled law of the land”, then why are so many Christian leaders declaring him to be against abortion?

Conservatism is not the exclusive domain of the Republican Party. In fact, ever-larger numbers of conservatives are leaving the Republican Party. They claim that they have become disenfranchised. (Don’t forget that the former Republican chairman, Haley Barbour, left the GOP to become the spokesman for abortion provider Planned Parenthood.) It’s the inverse of Zell Miller’s famous quote, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party left me.” Unless leaders in the Republican Party — at all levels, from local to national — recognize that there are other conservatives out there, and build solid coalitions with us, then America will continue its decline, because the Left is relentless. If those coalitions can be built, then the Left doesn’t stand a chance. If they can’t be built, then the most defenseless among us (the unborn babies, and the elderly) are the ones that don’t stand a chance.

Tom Kovach