NPR SMEARS CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO SMEARS CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS ACCUSES TVC OF MAILING ANTHRAX TO SENATE LIBERALS

Washington, DC - National Public Radio (NPR) is accusing a Christian group of mailing the deadly anthrax to liberal Senators because the group once circulated a press release critical of the liberals.

NPR Reporter David Kestenbaum called the Traditional Value Coalition's Andrea Lafferty Thursday afternoon and asked, "Have you been contacted by the FBI yet?" Mrs. Lafferty said her organization had not and asked why would the FBI be contacting her. "Because of what's going on in the Congress with anthrax," Mrs. Lafferty said Kestenbaum responded.

Asked why the church group would be suspected of mailing anthrax, Kestenbaum said he had seen a press release in which TVC criticized Senators Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) over their plan to drop the phrase "so help me God" from the oath witnesses take before testifying in a Senate committee. Kestenbaum, according to Mrs. Lafferty, felt the press release made TVC and its 43,000 member churches suspect.

"National Public Radio is the broadcast arm of the liberal establishment," said Mrs. Lafferty. "The First Amendment is a one-way street from NPR - their reporters have protection but religious groups like ours are suspect.

No wonder many in Washington refer to it as National Peoples Radio. It is a taxpayer-funded employment program for left wing reporters who can't cut it in the big leagues because their bias keeps getting in the way."

"This is a baseless and factless attempt to smear conservative Christians by saying we are the moral equivalent of the Taliban. NPR's radio scripts are being written at the Democratic National Committee."

The media have reported earlier this week that the Democratic Party has come up with a new battle plan for 2002. They plan on attacking conservative Christians as the" American Taliban". Democrats will characterize Christians as intolerant and extremist and tar the Republican Party as a home for extremist elements.

According to Newsweek's Howard Fineman, Democrats are "planning a daring assault on the most critical turf in politics: the cultural mainstream. The theory goes like this. Our enemy in Afghanistan is religious extremism and intolerance. It's therefore more important than ever to honor the ideals of tolerance-religious, sexual, racial, reproductive-at home. The GOP is out of the mainstream, some Democrats will argue next year [2002], because it's too dependent upon an intolerant 'religious right.'

The Traditional Values Coalition is an interdenominational public policy organization comprising more than 43,000 churches across the continental United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, contact Sharone Carmona at 202-547-8570. TVC's Web site is: www.traditionalvalues.org.