It’s been no secret in recent years that Franklin Graham has been using the goodwill built up by his father, Billy Graham, to become a water-carrier for the religious right. But lately, Graham fils hasn’t even been trying to sound nonpartisan anymore. We got an example of this at a rally in Atlanta, when he told the crowd that it was time for Christians to take over the nation’s cities in order to derail gay rights.
Last spring, Graham fils announced he would be spending most of 2016 on the “Decision America Tour,” a series of prayer rallies in all 50 state capitals. He announced that one of his main goals would be to encourage Christians to “boldly live out their faith” by voting “those on the ballot who uphold biblical principles.” He cautioned that he wasn’t endorsing anyone, indeed going great lengths to say that “no political party or politician is the answer” for this country–but only “Almighty God and his Son.”
However, we already know that Graham fils was speaking in code. Remember, folks, he publicly questioned the Christian commitment of anyone who supported Obama only days after issuing a so-called apology for questioning Obama’s faith. Apparently Graham fils thinks that if you’re a Christian, you aren’t living out your faith by voting for a Democrat. As a charismatic/Pentecostal Dem, I find that insulting on a personal level. He also joined the wingnut crowd claiming that Sandy Hook wouldn’t have happened if we forced kids to pray in public schools.
Seen in this light, Graham’s speech to a crowd at the Georgia State Capitol on Wednesday was more of the same. He argued that while Christian conservatives are focused on the national elections, they should also be focused on local elections as well. People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.
Graham argued that Christians ought to focus in particular on mayoral races, and the need for “Christian mayors in this country.” He openly mused about what would happen if “every community, every city in this great land of ours” had a Christian as its mayor. He then referred to the recent mayoral election in Charlotte–which is both his hometown and my hometown. That election was won by Jennifer Roberts, who is the first Democratic woman to hold the post. Graham fils harped on Roberts’ support for “the gay-lesbian agenda,” and argued that she only won because “about 90 percent of the Christians” stayed home on election night.
Roberts supports reviving an effort to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The ordinance was well on its way to passage when it stalled over a provision that would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom, locker room, or shower of the gender with whom they identify–an issue that has recently become a flashpoint for the religious right. That clause was removed after heated debate. Two Democrats on the council voted against the amended ordinance, saying that they could not support an ordinance that did not include protection for transgender people.
Graham fils thought such measures were “wicked” and “evil,” and declared that they would open the door for “men and predators going into women’s bathrooms.” Never mind that there is no rule that you have to look a certain way to use a restroom, and that such “gender policing” would amount to a gross invasion of privacy.
Watch the whole thing here, if you can stand it. Graham fils started by asking the crowd to join him in confessing “the sins of our nation”–including abortion and same-sex marriage. He also railed about the “moral walls” being eroded by political correctness.
This is the latest example of right-wing bilge from Graham fils. Just recently, he has publicly called for Muslims to be banned from this country, gave full-throated support to Kim Davis, and suggested that ABC’s revival of “The Muppets” was dangerous because it delved into–horrors!–“interspecies relationships.” I have said before, and I say again–as long as he’s carrying water for the religious right and dragging his father’s legacy through the mud, Franklin Graham can shove it.
