Guardian:
A former senior presidential aide has accused the Bush administration of using evangelical Christians to win votes but then privately ridiculing them once in office. The allegations by David Kuo, the former deputy director of the White House office of faith-based initiatives, come at a devastating time, when the administration is counting on born-again Christians to vote in sufficient numbers to save the Republicans' hold on Congress in the November elections.
[...]
"National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ridiculous, out of control, and just plain goofy," Mr Kuo wrote, according to MSNBC television, which obtained an early copy of the book. In particular, he quotes Karl Rove, the president's long-serving political adviser and mentor, as describing evangelical Christians as "nuts".
President George Bush launched the office of faith-based initiatives soon after taking office in 2001, depicting it as the embodiment of his philosophy of "compassionate conservatism". However, Mr Kuo alleges that between 2002 and 2004 it used taxpayers' money to organise religious conferences in 20 districts where embattled Republican candidates were trying to mobilise Christian supporters. Efforts were made to disguise the political nature of the conferences.
Not so legal. Just one more crime to add to the list of crimes Bushco has committed.
Tags: news politics religious right republican Bush propaganda crime elections
