Guest Post by Morbo
Earlier this week, the Carpetbagger noted Tony Mauro’s story in Legal Times about Jay Sekulow, the right-wing Christian attorney and greedy creep whose true god, it turns out, is Mammon. (Surprise!)
There are many shocking revelations in this story, but one item jumped out at me: Sekulow apparently keeps his entire family on the payroll. His wife, two sons and brother work for his Religious Right empire.
It occurred to me that this type of nepotism is very common among the Religious Right. What is it with these people — can’t they get real jobs? Consider these examples:
Traditional Values Coalition: The founder of this nasty anti-gay outfit, the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, hired his daughter, Andrea Sheldon-Lafferty, to be chief lobbyist. She now serves as its executive director.
Jerry Falwell Ministries: Falwell has two sons, and they both work for him. Jerry Falwell Jr. is vice-chancellor of Falwell’s Liberty University. Jonathan Falwell is executive pastor of the church his dad founded, Thomas Road Baptist. Only Falwell’s daughter, Jeannie, a surgeon in Richmond, has been able to make it on her own.
Pat Robertson: Robertson turned the “700 Club” over to his son Tim in 1987 while running for president. Tim Robertson promptly ran it into the ground, and donations dropped off sharply. Pat Robertson rescued the show, and now his other son, Gordon, serves as a cohost. Tim is not entirely out the picture, however. He has had several lucrative business dealings with his father.
Eagle Forum: Phyllis Schlafly’s gay son, John, has worked for her in the past, although I’m not sure he still does. Yes, you heard that right — Schlafly has a gay son. And he worked for her.
Concerned Women for America: Despite its name, this group was for many years really run by a man, the Rev. Tim LaHaye. LaHaye named his wife, Beverly, president of the group. (Both have since retired.)
Focus on the Family: James Dobson’s son, Ryan, writes books with lovely titles like “Be Intolerant” that are heavily promoted on the Focus site.
American Family Association: Founder Donald Wildmon’s son, Tim, is now listed as president of this group of knuckle-dragging censors and homophobes.
Christian Coalition: Roberta Combs turned this Robertson-founded group into a family employment agency, hiring her daughter Michele and Michele’s husband, Tracy. But then Michele and Tracy got divorced, and Tracy got the boot.
Chalcedon Institute: This openly theocratic Christian fundamentalist group was founded by R.J. Rushdoony and passed on to his son, Mark, after Rushdoony’s death.
The Bible advises us, “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs, 22:6). Doesn’t training children include making them independent and able to get their own jobs? Also, sponging off your parents like this is hardly conservative. Conservatives extol independence and the ability to make your own way in the world.
Many of the Religious Right’s children, it seems, haven’t yet figured out how to pull that off. They’re deadbeats. It’s positively unbiblical.