Should President Obama attend the National Prayer Breakfast that’s scheduled for March?
Rachel Maddow discussed the question yesterday with her guest, Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). [see video clip after the break]
Every president since Eisenhower has attended the annual political-religious event. The White House yesterday told TRMS that President Obama will attend this year’s event. But this year’s prayer breakfast presents unique challenges for the president or other politicians who attend the event.
That’s because the group that sponsors the event is tied in a number of ways to the Ugandan politicians who have most strongly supported his country’s ‘kill-gays’ bill, a proposed law that would impose draconian penalties—possibly including death in some cases—for the “crime” of being gay.
Video: Activist urges Obama to skip National Prayer Breakfast [contd.]
Rumors circulated last month that the two Ugandan politicians were planning to attend the US prayer breakfast, but The Rachel Maddow Show confirmed yesterday with the State Department that they will not be in the US at that time.
But the group that sponsors the event is also tied to a number of political scandals in the US.
In the report, Maddow presents a superb background on both the ‘kill-gays’ bill and its ties to The Family, the Christian lobbying/networking group that sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast. The three US politicians who were responsible for last year’s most covered sex scandals were also members of The Family.
“The president should not give his imprimatur—the suggestion of legitimacy to such a questionable organization,” Sloan says. “It really has cult-like status, and has been involved in tax problems, it’s been involved with unethical politicians.”
She notes that when the president attends such an event, the lectern sports the presidential seal, making it too easy to mistake the event for an official function.
Last modified: 2 Feb 10 10:10
country_uganda, rachel maddow