Christian Coalition Defends Parker Griffith

From Right Democrat:

The Christian Coalition of Alabama has issued the following news release in defense of Democratic Congressional candidate Dr. Parker Griffith who is the target of negative TV attacks ads sponsored by the casino-funded Freedom's Watch.

Dr. Randy Brinson, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama stated:

Recently, comments that Parker Griffith made at a Baptist minister conference over a month ago have been taken out of context to cast aspersions on his character, patriotism, and even Christian commitment.

The Baptist minister who moderated the panel where the comments have made, Rev. David Carpenter, has said he was "shocked by the misuse of the quote" and appalled that "anyone would misrepresent the truth in this way."

In response to the original questions about Griffith's comments, the Alabama Christian Coalition conducted an interview with Parker Griffith to probe more deeply what he said and meant. After speaking to him, we felt that his original statement and explanation were well-rooted in scripture and demonstrated a true love of country and trust in our Lord. Earlier this week, we sent an email (see article below) to our members sharing the interview with them so they could reach their on conclusions.

We had expected to leave the issue at that, but the recent television ads by Freedom's Watch require an additional and more forceful response.

Given the nature of the attacks on Griffith, it is especially important to note that the person funding and directing the decisions at Freedom's Watch is casino baron, Sheldon Adelson. Adelson has made billions of dollars in the Las Vegas casino industry and through his investments in China. His casinos have been fined $1 million for rigging games; he is under investigation by the federal government for coercing employees into giving up health insurance; and he spearhead and funded the lobbying effort to secure the Olympics for China in the face of the public outcry over China's human rights record and persecution of Christian missionaries.

The fact that someone so intimately tied to the Chinese regime like Sheldon Adelson would dare use his tainted money to question the patriotism and faith of a Christian man like Parker Griffith is the height of hypocrisy. The Alabama Christian Coalition has a long history of fighting to keep gambling interests out of our state, and of working to keep our politics out of the gutter.

Our hope is that this Congressional race will be determined on the issues that concern all Christians, particularly issues of preservation of life and preservation of the traditional family. We would welcome a conversation by Wayne Parker and Parker Griffith that focused on these more important issues to the people of the fifth district.

"Interview with Parker Griffith"

Comments that Parker Griffith made at a Baptist minister conference over a month ago have been getting some attention during this past week - mostly from interest groups outside Alabama who are using these comments to call Griffith's faith and conservative credentials into question.
At the center of the controversy are Griffith's statements that he believes the greatest threat to America is from the breakdown of American Christian values that have been the foundation of our country for over 200 years and that if Christians "are strong in what we believe, I don't think radical Islam or any other cult will be a threat to us." Rev. David Carpenter, who moderated the pastors' conference where Griffith spoke, said that Griffith's comments "have been taken out of context, and it is unfortunate that anyone would misrepresent the truth in this way."

So we decided the easiest way to resolve the issue was to simply ask Parker Griffith to elaborate further on what he said and what he meant. I've been traveling this past week as part of a Christian voter registration and canvassing program, but I was able to get a film crew to his office and catch up with Griffith over the phone to talk about these issues. His answers were deeply rooted in scripture and demonstrated a love and trust in our Lord.

Ultimately, you, the voters will need to decide whether Parker Griffith should represent us in Congress, and our hope is that this interview will help you cut through the political spin and base that decision on the light of truth.

I'd strongly encourage you to take a couple minutes to listen to the interview I conducted with Parker Griffith. http://vbuttons.com/ec/8836/index.php?em_id=17200718

Dr. Randy Brinson,
Chairman CCA
http://ccalabama.org