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DEL.ICIO.USA first meeting between once and future leaders of the Christian Coalition
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Tuesday’s anti-abortion hearing run by state Rep. Bobby Franklin, most eyes were on the tearful women who testified of their remorse at having the procedure.
A quieter drama was playing out in the audience. Sadie Fields, for years the preeminent voice of the Christian right in Georgia, was among the men and women in the center rows.
To one side, in the wings, was Jim Beck, the new head of the Christian Coalition of Georgia, the group Fields left to form her own, independent organization known as the Christian Alliance.
At noon, Fields had to leave for another appointment. As she was in the hallway, putting on her overcoat, Beck rushed up to help, then gave her a bear hug and a quick smooch on the cheek.
It was their first meeting. And they agreed to do lunch.
Neither would describe themselves as rivals, but their agendas differ — and that may be much the same thing.
If the past is any guide, at some point during this session of the Legislature, House and Senate leaders will summon Beck, Fields, and a few other leaders of the GOP base into a closed-door meeting.
They will be told that only one or two of the items on their various wish-lists will make it through the Legislature this year. Any more could jeopardize GOP standing among the party’s centrists.
Religious conservatives will then be asked to make a choice. That’s when a rivalries are most likely to erupt — not just between Beck and Fields, but with the Catholic Archdiocese, the Georgia Family Research Council and several other groups as well.
Judging from a pair of conversations, Fields seems to want priority given to a bill that would require women to undergo a sonogram before an abortion.
Beck’s list is longer. But first, a quick history: Last fall, when she split with the Christian Coalition, Fields declared that the national organization had strayed its core concerns. And had at times allied itself with liberal organizations.
Beck’s legislative wish-list is, in fact, broader than what we’re used to seeing. It includes the standard bullet points familiar to most religious conservatives — among them a ban on embryonic stem cell research, the ultrasound bill, and support for a measure to award vouchers to disabled public school students.
But Beck has also declared his group to be an ally of AT&T, and will support a bill to ease the way for the phone company to become a major TV and Internet provider in Georgia.
“This is a decent example of the issues we’re going to get into,” Beck said.
Why? Home-schoolers, most of whom are conservative Christians, require cheap and easy access to the Internet, he said. (Cynics will also point out that many non-profit organization require contributions to thrive, even from corporations.)
In the agenda that Beck sent out last week, not a single item addressed homosexuality. Nothing about gay marriage or adoption by gay couples. That doesn’t signal a change in conviction — just tone, the new head of the Christian Coalition said.
“We’re trying to become a kinder, gentler organization,” Beck said.
Sin is sin, Beck said. There is no felony sin, no misdemeanor sin. An act of adultery, for instance, is just as sinful as an act of homosexuality, Beck said last week.
Obviously, the time stamp on that comment is important. The Richardson complaint had not surfaced.
“We’re learning as we go,” Beck said. “And we reserve the right to amend our agenda as we go.”
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