My husband, Bob U., wrote a series of articles, which I think are really insightful. This is Part 6. I invite your comments. You can visit Bob at http://bobuhlar.gather.com/
Republican operative Paul Weyrich executed a plan to get Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians to support Republicans in the 1980 Presidential and Congressional races.
He approached a trade association called the National Religious Broadcasters.[i] During the 1970s, this group advocated the purchase of independent television stations, especially on the UHF spectrum.
The decade also saw the proliferation of cable television and satellite disributed networks. Suddenly, television sets that received three networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) on VHF channels, were receiving dozens of niche-market television channels.
Weyrich showed some willing preachers how they could increase their revenues by appealing to the fears of viewers. The price for Weyrich's information was the mailing list of each of the religious broadcasters.
Two of his most willing disciples were Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Weyrich showed the broadcasters how to politicize the message just enough that it did not cross the line drawn by the FCC. The FCC (and the IRS) required them to deliver a religious message, not a partisan political one.
Every two weeks, Weyrich would convene a meeting of his "Library Court" group to coordinate the talking points of religious broadcasters. He came up with the moniker "Moral Majority" for his new confederation of conservative Christians.[ii]
And he was delighted to find that his confederation was willing to swallow the spoon-fed propaganda. Anybody who lacks the intellectual curiosity to ask questions about the dogma taught in his or her church will also lack the will to ask pertinent questions about media outlets. They convinced some Christians that fair and balanced media outlets were liberally biased. They switched to conservative media outlets after being told that these were the fair and balanced outlets.
It was 1979. Conservative Republicans were poised to re-educate the baby-boomers in what was "important" in life. None of these themes was new. But Ronald Reagan masterfully marketed these steps to be the cure for all of America's ills.
Tomorrow - Part 7: The Conservative Republican Bill of Goods
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[i] Republican Noise Machine, chapter 7, p. 187
[ii] Ibid, p. 192
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Comments: 23
I soon found I could not volunteer for any religious themed program without winding up in a fight with one preacher or another.
Just wondering, and waiting for the next installment...
Blessings,
W
Separation of church and state requires mindless, fearful zombies to wake up.
Well-written article.
I would never have given any Republican credit for being so smart that they could have so many all these events and people without your enlightening article, I thought it was impressive how Hillary layout the conspiracy of how the GOP manipulated Bill to have an affair with a 20 year old, but that was only one person (albeit the most intelligent President we have had, present President included).
You and your husband have laid out the true depth of intellectual and political skills and planning that I didn't believe possible. Or are you suggesting Weyrich did this all on his won?
Thank You. I had been impressed with the people that managed Obama's rise to power in such a brief time without having him ever have to take a political stand on a contravercial issue or legislation.
I had thought that there were many minsters that had used their pulpit for political agendas, even Rev Wright seemed do this, and Rev. Sharpton seemed to do this, but you seem to suggest that only Falwell and Robertson with the only ones and even they had to be coached. How naive I have been.
No one would argue the validity of your points regarding them. This quite myopic post is nothing more than a straw man argument against the GOP. What kind of crack-pot minister are you to be laying out your own dogma. The dogma of liberalism no doubt.
John Adams said : "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."
I am trying to figure out why there are people who associate anti-religion with the democratic party?
Are you saying yuo don't agree with what is written in the article and it is only a reporting of what you are crediting to David Brock?
Whether it is Brock or no, I siply woldn't have thougt the Republicans or a single individual (Weyrich) were that smart or that effective.
"A journalist who made a name for himself by denouncing his own prior work because he couldn't trust himself to distinguish fact from fiction. He then went on tour as a Clinton flack, where he publicly endorsed the practice of telling lies when necessary."
LMAO....enlighten away !!!
Nice bit of historical rewrite here. Of course the whole theme of valiant Dems doing battle for the people wears a bit thin but keep it coming. No bias here at all.
Why do I wnat to read Brock's books? Are they trying to make the point how smart and effective the GOP was? Simply saying they did it does mean they really are.
I have to agree with Charles, I feel most people, including those that worship God, do think for them selves.