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Theocracy rising: Blackwell and Parsley intend to hijack Ohio
by Bob Fitrakis
October 27, 2005

The unholy duo of Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell and Reverend Rod Parsley are back. Last year, they conspired to deliver the presidency to the corrupt and war-mongering Bush klan.

You see, Kenny and Rodney traveled the state together on behalf of Issue One – a constitutional amendment that made all forms of domestic partnership illegal in Ohio. Never mind that the Ohio legislature had already passed a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that made gay marriage illegal in the state, or that there’s only one Democrat on the Ohio Supreme Court, so the chances of gays getting married anytime soon in Ohio were slim to none.

But, it was pimpin’ the baby Jesus time. With Ohio having lost more jobs than any other state but Michigan during the first four years of the Bush administration, and having lost more high-paying jobs than any other state in the year before the election, it was time to praise the Lord and pass the blasphemy.

Rod, a man prone to using cue cards to speak in tongues, announced his ambitious agenda to 1,000 or so right-wing evangelicals who gathered at the Ohio Statehouse. Reformation Ohio’s ostensive goals are threefold: Evangelism; Compassion projects; and Voter registration.

Their not-so-hidden agenda is to make controversial Blackwell governor of the state, and to thus anoint the Parsley as Ohio’s new GOP kingmaker.

Televangelist Parsley made it clear in his press release that he was going to play the “God card” in Ohio. “I take this step to model the truth that this movement is not about – it’s not even about all of us assembled here today, it is about the One who has called us to this historical movement,” the release states.

Parsley’s godly calling is to save 100,000 souls. He has hopes of seeing at least 100,000 people come to faith in Christ and plans to register at least 400,000 new voters around the state.

Parsley declared at the October 14 rally that “we are at a critical hour in our nation’s history” and that it’s up to Rod and God to bring spiritual revival and moral reformation to the Buckeye State.

Parsley’s Reformation Ohio would have you believe he can remain “Silent No More,” the title of his new book being pushed by his Center for Moral Clarity. But, Parsley remains silent about various lawsuits in his past. If we are to take him as a man of integrity under the guidance of the holy spirit, let us march together to the Franklin County Court building and unseal the documents that are now under lock and key. How much did Rev. Rod pay to settle these cases? Do they involve the mansions that he and his parents reportedly reside in?

Parsley and Blackwell also work closely with the even more theocratic Ohio Restoration Project. On August 4, they gathered in Warren County, where votes were stolen by the thousands in the 2004 election and where there are no elected county Democrats. There, at Kings Island, they worked themselves into a jihadist frenzy, convincing each other that Jesus hates fair elections and that they should oppose the four bipartisan election reform constitutional amendments on this year’s ballot. Blackwell told the Restorationists, whose goal is to tear down the boundary between church and state just like the Taliban, that they must be willing to serve others in a “cultural battle.” Sound familiar? Remember the rhetoric of Pat Buchanan, and his call for a “culture war?” Or do you remember it in the original German? The Nazis used “cultural war” to rise to power.

All the same themes were there from the Third Reich. Ohio Senator Jim Jordan (R-12th) denounced Madison, Wisconsin as “Communistville.”

Blackwell bellowed recently, “People think November 2004 was just an accident of history.” But the Free Press believes otherwise. Blackwell has studied history and that’s why he compares himself to Martin Luther King, Jr. while disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of black voters.

As the infrastructure and economy of Ohio crumbles, and traditional conservativism a la Governor Bob Taft, now with a 15% approval rating, is no longer viable, there is only one avenue left. Fanning the flames of bigotry, homophobia and religious intolerance.

The ambitious Blackwell, and the born-again Elmer Gantry from World Harvest, intend to hijack this state unless real people of faith, real civil rights activists, election reformers and civil libertarians who believe in the First Amendment stand up and refuse to be silent.

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