ow did it happen? Last Thursday, June 16, the House of Representatives launched a barrage of legislation aimed at promoting sectarian religion, and dealing a serious blow to the separation of church and state in America. Congress approved amendments to a juvenile justice and crime bill which gave states the legal power to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms and other government venues by a 248-180 margin. Another amendment proposed by Rep. Mark Souder takes us a step closer to the public funding of faith-based groups and social programs -- it cleared the House 346-83. And unnoticed by much of the news media, and even more outrageous than the Ten Commandments decree, was Rep. Jim DeMint's amendment that "disallows attorney fees in any action claiming that a public school or its agent violates the constitutional prohibition against the establishment of religion..." This legislation, should it become law, is sure to create a chilling effect on those individuals and groups wishing to challenging abuses of state-church separation in the public schools; and it is a virtual "green light" for school districts and administrators wishing to promote religious exercise.

   But how did such "crazy" legislation end up on the floor of Congress? How were these and other dangerous measures approved by such a wide margin?

   The answer may be a little-known group within the House of Representatives calling itself the "Values Action Team," operating from the office of Majority Whip Tom DeLay. VAT was formed in May, 1998 by select GOP congressional leaders, headed by Pennsylvania Representative Joseph Pitts. According to the Boston Globe newspaper, the purpose was to "coordinate legislative strategy with conservative groups that included the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council, and the National Right to Life Committee." Initial goals included passage of the Religious Freedom Amendment which would have permitted classroom prayer in public schools, abolition of the National Endowment for the Arts -- which is charged with promoting "filth," blasphemy, pornography and homosexuality -- and the outlawing of a late-term procedure which critics describe as "partial-birth abortion."

   Thursday's Ten Commandments vote and other amendments proposed to the juvenile crime and justice bill are a continuation of the VAT agenda. Indeed, when he revealed that the Ten Commandments Defense Act, which had languished during the last congressional session amidst the hoopla of the Starr report and the Clinton impeachment, was to be reintroduced, sponsor Robert Aderholt (R-ALA.) announced gleefully that the Values Action Team was throwing its influential support behind the proposal. GOP leadership, including Rep. DeLay, said that they would fast-track the item for legislative approval.

   It's no secret in religious and political circles that the VAT was formed, as Christianity Net observes, "in response to criticism by (James) Dobson that GOP leadership had failed to move pro-family issues through Congress." Dobson heads the powerful Focus on the Family group headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO. With an estimated 500,000 members -- and a mailing list possible four or five time that number -- Dobson is one of the underrated power brokers on the religious right. Understanding the role played by the Values Action Team, though, means going back to 1994, when Republicans captured majority control in both the U.S. House and Senate -- something they had not achieved in over four decades. Much of the credit went to organizations like the Christian Coalition, and the millions of evangelical and fundamentalist voters who had been first "religionized" by Dobson and other groups, then "politicized" by the Coalition. CC introduced it's "Contract With the American Family," which proposed an enactment of a wide sweeping social agenda for the country.

"Dobson began by comparing himself to John the Baptist,and called for a political war against recalcitrant GOP leaders who were de-emphasizing the religious right social agenda..."

   Even with a voting majority, however, Republican legislators were soon accused of sacrificing the "family" and "values" agenda of the religious right in favor of tax cuts and other economic deals with the Clinton Democrats. In 1996, the party nominated Bob Dole as its presidential candidate; not only did Dole fail in his White House bid, but the campaign seemed to be emphasizing the religious right social programs less and less. Battles flared on the convention floor in San Diego over issues like the controversial abortion plank, and moderate Republicans continued to grouse over the disparate influence of Pat Robertson and other religious right king makers.

   Dobson spent much of 1997 speaking out against GOP leaders, telling his fellow fundamentalists and evangelicals that the Republican party was betraying their social agenda,soft-peddling issues such as abortion, a ban on gays in the military, and prayer in schools. He was joined by Gary Bauer, head of the influential Family Research Council whichhad once been an organizational component of Focus. In February, the rift between the GOP and many religious conservative groups widened when Dobson addressed 300 members of the semisecret Council for National Policy (CNP)) meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Sharing the podium with Dobson, and often echoing his line were former Vice President Dan Quayle, antifeminism maven Phyllis Schlafly, and Christian Coalition President Donald Hodel. But even they were shocked when Dobson delivered his tirade, accusing the Republican Party of betraying its Christian religious wing.

   Dobson began by comparing himself to John the Baptist, and called for a political war against recalcitrant GOP leaders who were de-emphasizing the religious right social agenda; nearly two-thirds of the CNP members present gave him a two-minute standing ovation. He then outlined a political shopping list of grievances, including an apparent snub by U.S. Senator Phil Graham (who reportedly refused Dobson's request to woo evangelical voters with a reply, "I'm not a preacher"), and Mr. Dole's refusal to obey the party's antiabortion platform were he elected president. Dobson also criticized the decision to allow New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman to address the party's national convention, and be the rebuttal speaker to an address by President Clinton. Whitman is considered a political moderate, and is pro-choice.

   A month later, Bauer and other religious leaders were sniping at the GOP leadership. "There is virtually nothing to show for an 18-year commitment," Gary Bauer told the New York Times. By then, Dobson was on record as preparing to abandon the Republican party, and denounced the "good soldier" strategy of compromising with moderates in the party and settling for incremental gains. Referring to the need to incorporate the religious right agenda into the GOP organizational fabric, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention blustered, "The go-along, get-along strategy is dead. No more engagement. We want a wedding ring, we want a ceremony, we want a consummation of the marriage."

   Many Republicans on Capitol Hill heard the Dobson message loud and clear. Rep. Dick Armey, GOP House Majority Leader, arranged a meeting between Dobson and representatives from other groups including Christian Coalition, Traditional Values Coalition and Eagle Forum, with the Republican leadership. Also supporting Dobson was religious conservative Paul Weyrich who urged a "muscular strategy" in advancing the faith-based social agenda. Gary Bauer, now an announced candidate for the GOP presidential nod, was at the time threatening a primary run if the party didn't pay more attention.

   Thus was born the "Values Action Team," described by some observers as an "inside-outside coalition" linking members of Congress to outside groups. Rep. Pitts declared that the strategy allowed VAT "to target their pressure and gives outside groups timely information so that they can lobby..."

   An estimated 20 members of Congress are regular VAT participants, and gather weekly for prayer and political planning. The agenda has expanded to cover other areas of concern to religious conservatives, including the proliferation of legalized gambling, pornography and the internet, depictions of violence in popular media, vouchers, elimination of the "marriage-tax penalty," and a greater role for religion in the public square.

   Mr. DeLay's office serves as the hub for "Values Action Team" activities; indeed, the congressman's web site hosts the VAT pages, and links to both Dobson's Focus on the Family group, and Gary Bauer's Family Research Council. Salon Magazine observed earlier this month, "DeLay summed up with typical bluntness his own 'pro-family' interpretation of the First Amendment. 'There is,' he said, 'no separation of church and state in that statement.'" While he is given the political moniker "The Whip," on Capitol hill DeLay is known, and in some cases feared, for his other name -- The Hammer.

   Last Thursday, they stepped into the Congressional well and thundered against secularism, blasphemy, violence, the alleged decline of the American family and the loss of what the country once supposedly was. They were faces familiar to those who watch endless hours of C-Span. There was Aderholt, and Souder, and Canady and the rest. The votes were tallied, and by wide margins Congress had passed legislation which washed over the wall of separation between church and state like a tidal wave. What was missing, though, was the face of the man behind the scenes, whose stern bidding and threats motivate his allies and are of concern to hardened political veterans who question his objectives or stand in his way. He is thousands of miles from capitol hill, and from his office you can see the Rockies in all their splendor. He wasn't on C-SPAN that day, but his reach and power was evident. Thanks to the Values Action Team, for James Dobson, Thursday was his day.

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