Clinton's ex-pastor backs Jeremiah Wright; Fellowship membership probed

As Hillary Clinton wades into the Rev. Wright controversy, a couple of interesting items have made their way onto the web.

First is a statement from the Clinton family's pastor during their White House years, Dean J. Snyder of the Foundry United Methodist Church. He writes in support of the Reverend Wright, who he suggests has been the victim of a smear campaign using selective soundbites to distort his true position.

"To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear.

"Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America's history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another's truth."

Next up is an article on the Huffington Post which links Hillary Clinton to a very conservative, fundamentalist religious group called The Family (or sometimes The Fellowship). A secretive organisation started in 1935 with shadowy links to fascist dictators, The Family is the subject of a book to be published in May called The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power written by Jeff Sharlett, who wrote about his experience with the group in Harpers' in 2003.

The book describes how the group was started by Abraham Vereide:

"... an immigrant preacher who in 1935 organized a small group of businessmen sympathetic to European fascism, fusing the Far Right with his own polite but authoritarian faith. From that core, Vereide built an international network of fundamentalists who spoke the language of establishment power, a "family" that thrives to this day. In public, they host prayer breakfasts; in private they preach a gospel of "biblical capitalism," military might, and American empire. Citing Hitler, Lenin, and Mao, Doug Coe, the Family's current leader, declares, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't.""

The Nation and the Atlantic Monthly are among a number of reputable publications that have noted Clinton's membership of the controversial group. In the wake of her insistence that Barack Obama should have selected his religious associations more carefully, perhaps some questions should be raised about her own choice...

Comments

[Donna Devine]

Instead of using tabloid tactics to create more drama , why are we not talking about the issues America faces and who is better qualified to address them?
Enough is enough! Are there no real journalists around to cover real news rather than fabricated, twisted, tabloid crap? Must we deal, yet again, with more amateur, tit for tat retaliatory comments.
Lets grow up and talk about real issues! Let's talk about who is best qualified to lead America to better ground! Let's talk about electing the most experienced, dedicated and capable leader. Let's talk about a failing economy, health care insurance, security issues, and the many other issues we should be talking about!
Senator Clinton gets my vote on merit! I don't care about her former pastor!!! Please!!!

[BornInTheCA]

In the Post 911 Paranoia Days of Judgement, with the CIA being permitted to freely listen to all of our phone calls, can you really believe that Rev. Wright is being attacked? Please, if people are upset that is because Typical White Persons are suppressed from their Freedom of Speech meanwhile every Minority Group vilifies the TWP. I should know because I grew up as an inter-racial minority and I can see that from all angles in the San Francisco Bay Area. Maybe you are one of the TWPs who woke up yesterday and learned about the 60s movements?