{"id":215,"date":"2009-08-21T15:20:49","date_gmt":"2009-08-21T15:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/08\/wheres-the-outrage.html"},"modified":"2009-08-21T15:20:49","modified_gmt":"2009-08-21T15:20:49","slug":"wheres-the-outrage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/08\/wheres-the-outrage.html","title":{"rendered":"Where’s the Outrage?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, I’m pleased to see that you brought up President Obama’s use of religion during his conference call designed to drum up additional support among religious Americans for his health care plan.  I’m glad that you’re concerned, but disappointed that your response is so muted.  <\/span>Where’s the outrage, Barry?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your comments barely reflect a slap on the wrist.  If this had been President Bush, you would have issued a press release, sent out a blast email, drafted a letter of concern to the President, and launched a web-based campaign.  I can see the image now – President Bush with a large cross behind him (super-imposed with a montage of Evangelical leaders).  <\/span>And, maybe a graphic title like:  President Bush crosses the line – violates separation of church and state!<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In comments to rabbis before the conference call, President Obama declared that ‘we are God’s partners in matters of life or death’ and asked the rabbis to preach his political agenda in their sermons on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year — one of the holiest days of the year.  <\/span>News reports indicate the conversation was supposed to be off the record but was captured on the Twitter feeds and blogs of some rabbis who took part in the call.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Barry, the fact is there has been little criticism of this event – in sharp contrast to the reaction that would have occurred if such a message was delivered by a conservative President.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Imagine if President Bush had accused opponents of his plan of ‘bearing false witness’ — the outcry would be deafening – from you and the other ‘separationists’ on the Left.  The fact is President Obama’s conference call <\/a>was a disingenuous use of religion in politics.  <\/span>It also showed desperation – a pandering for support for a plan that an increasing number of Americans oppose <\/font>for a number of reasons – including the push to make abortion funding a mandatory benefit.<\/font><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/font>Of course, President Obama should address all Americans – including those who hold religious beliefs.  But, President Obama is not the 13th Apostle, as my son Jordan put it, and his conference call was problematic – trying to imply that his health care plan is God-approved – a health care plan that clearly offends many people of faith.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span>  <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, I’m pleased to see that you brought up President Obama’s use of religion during his conference call designed to drum up additional support among religious Americans for his health care plan.  I’m glad that you’re concerned, but disappointed that your response is so muted.  Where’s the outrage, Barry?   Your comments barely reflect a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,217,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-health-care","category-president-barack-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere's the Outrage? - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}