GEORGE ARCHIBALD

EXTREMIST NUTSKIES COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK

Early in my time as the first national reporter hired at The Washington Times in 1982, a man named John Lofton soon came on the scene as an opinion columnist.

He was an angry loony-tunes right-wing fanatic who would belligerently berate people in the newsroom, run around getting in people’s faces yelling and screaming about this and that.

He was a nutsky far-right bully who just made everybody in the newsroom miserable with his daily tirades. Many of us wondered why he was tolerated for so long by early senior editors, because the man was clearly deranged and unhinged.

That said, Lofton has emerged again as editor of an Internet web site called TheAmericanView.com, and has attacked two very respectable Americans – the Reverend Pat Robertson and New Right founder of the Heritage Foundation and Moral Majority Paul Weyrich.

Here’s the web site addy: http://www.theamericanview.com/

Lofton has attacked Robertson for his support of Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, and Weyrich for his endorsement of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, in the intemperate, vilifying way that I witnessed when he carried on his angry bullying tirades in The Washington Times newsroom in the early 1980s.

Lofton is a certifiable maniac. They ought to have strapped a straight-jacket on him and carried him to the loony-bin long ago.

Years ago, he went running into a Maryland restaurant and harangued and attacked a waitress for something to do with her personal life, and got himself arrested. He has a long history of unhinged anger and belligerance. The man is a nut-case.

The shame is that an Internet group called Christian Newswire has distributed Lofton’s spewings against Robertson and Weyrich far and wide on the Internet.

Here’s the web side addy: http://www.christiannewswire.com/

A copy showed up in my email box early on November 12. I have left in all the capitals, explanation marks, and quote it entirely verbatim because it is pure lunacy:

“MEDIA ADVISORY, Nov. 12  /Christian Newswire/ -- The following statement has been issued by Recovering Republican John Lofton, Editor of TheAmericanView.com:

"In a marriage made in Hell, Pat Robertson - who has called for the assassination, the murder, of Venezuela President Chavez, Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and unnamed mullahs in Iran - has endorsed, for President, Rudy Giuliani who: Sees nothing wrong with murdering by abortion unborn babies in the womb; has committed adultery; is a friend of sodomites.

"Robertson's endorsement is particularly interesting since in an exchange with Jerry Falwell on the "700 Club" (9/13/2001), Robertson agreed with Falwell ("I totally concur") that abortionists, homosexuals and lesbians make God angry and therefore bore part of the blame for 9/11. Thus, by endorsing Giuliani - who is pro-abortion and believes homosexuals have "rights" to practice their sex perversion - Robertson has endorsed a person who is for the kinds of things Robertson agreed anger God and helped cause 9/11!

“Where is that ‘word of knowledge’ when Robertson REALLY needed it?

“Paul Weyrich has endorsed Mitt Romney, a Mormon, whose religion teaches that Jesus Christ is the spiritual brother of Lucifer. Try finding THAT in your Bible. God's Word, the Bible, refers to non-Christians, unbelievers such as Romney, as wicked, children of the devil and antichrists.

“By their endorsements, Robertson and Weyrich have shamefully refused to defend the Christian faith. They have ignored God's Word which makes it clear that Christians can vote for only Christians to hold God's ordained civil government offices. By ignoring what God says here, Robertson and Weyrich have invited further judgment from God upon our nation. By putting the desire to win above God's Word, Robertson/Weyrich have revealed they are corrupt, double-minded men - as are all those who do not, first, put our Lord above everything. As God tells us in Psalm 127:1: "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

I telephoned Christian Newswire early today at their office number on Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., 202-546-0054, and a nice young man named Gary answered the phone. I told him of my knowledge of John Lofton and his wackiness going back to 1982 and told him that spreading Lofton’s contumely would discredit Christian Newswire, which has been sending out stuff since 1989. Gary listened for a few minutes as I gave him Lofton’s background from my own experience and knowledge and then hung up on me.

Fine.

But for Lofton to state, and for so-called Christian Newswire to distribute Lofton’s statement, “Robertson/Weyrich have revealed they are corrupt, double-minded men -- as are all those who do not, first, put our Lord above everything” –- is pure lunacy and nut-case far-right fanaticism similar to the bombers of doctors’ offices who perform abortions.

I do not like abortion. I am pro-life on that issue. But it is terrorism to bomb a doctor’s office or health clinic because of disagreement on that issue.

Similarly here. This is verbal terrorism. The vindictive slander of John Lofton stated above against The Reverend Pat Robertson, son of Virginia’s esteemed late U.S. Senator A. Willis Robertson, founder of Christian Broadcasting Network and Regent University, is totally absurd and outrageous.

Pat Robertson has the right to endorse Rudy Giuliani if he wants. Robertson has run nationally for president in the past. He may think he’s found a leader in charge, even though he might disagree with Giuliani on some issues. A president is supposed to be a leader in charge. That's the job description. No one agrees with someone on everything.

The same with Paul Weyrich’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. Lofton goes after Romney’s Mormon faith saying Mormon’s link Jesus Christ to Lucifer, which is pure rubbish, because in the Genesis account in the Holy Bible we are told that God created everything in the universe, that Satan dropped away, and that was the beginning of universal sin.

It’s very early in the 2008 presidential election cycle. Other candidates may emerge. So everyone should keep their powder dry.

Lofton’s maniacal slander against Robertson and Weyrich is a perfect example of sin right there, and Lofton's extremist loony-tunes fanaticism.

Mormons are devout in their faith, wonderful family people, and doctrinal differences should not be the basis for nut-cases like John Lofton to spew their venom against a Mormon public official who has proved himself as a public leader, or a devout Melkite Catholic such as Paul Weyrich, who in his lifetime has done more to help the good of the order than John Lofton could even contemplate.

Paul Weyrich, in the heyday of the late 1960s and early 1970s, as a press secretary to Senator Gordon Allott of Colorado, was the visionary who formed and incorporated the Heritage Foundation; founded the Free Congress Foundation; joined direct-mail wizard Richard Viguerie, another Catholic, to fund the formation and growth of other conservative Christian-oriented groups and political candidates of that persuasion for decades; was the visionary who came up with the name “Moral Majority” and found the Baptist Reverend Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Virginia, and convinced him to carry it to fruition as a national force to advance their agenda.

Who are John Lofton and the so-called Christian Newswire to quote Bible passages to demonize Pat Robertson and Paul Weyrich after all they have both contributed to responsible public discourse and responsible political movement in this country?

I say let’s call a halt to the nutskies of the far right and label them for what they are: Extremist lunatics without any credibility whatsoever.

They have their First Amendment rights, but they are nutskies none the less and should be ignored and repudiated.

I hereby repudiate John Lofton and others of his extremist ilk, those who give him credence by spreading his slander, and ask others to do so as well.

ILLEGITIMATI NON CARBORUNDUM

When I was a staff aide for two Arizona congressmen in our nation’s capital during the 1970s, it was a tradition on Friday evenings for staff members from any Arizona congressional office, and some others, to gather in the late Senator Barry Goldwater’s office in the Russell Senate Office Building for a beer party.

The senator was a political hero of mine from my youth and I often attended these weekly soirees. Goldwater was a jovial host and fun person, would work his ham radio talking to troops around the world at his desk while many of us roamed his offices for a merry party.

I was standing next to his desk sipping a beer as he tinkered with his gadgetry and noticed a framed saying in nice calligraphy on the wall behind him –- "ILLEGITIMATI NON CARBORUNDUM." When I had a chance during his ham-radio conversations, I asked him, “Senator, what does that mean?” –- pointing to the saying.

He looked at me and beamed. “Don‘t let the bastards grind you down –- at least that’s the literal translation from the Latin. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. Just keep on going in spite of ‘em.”

Typical Goldwater. What a man. He should have been president instead of Lyndon Johnson.

I tell this story because I’ve had a lot of email response to what I wrote about the recent defeat by Utah voters of their statewide school voucher referendum, which would have provided modest opportunity scholarships to help parents of children in mediocre public schools to transfer their kids to charter or private schools.

One Republican state representative, Kory Holdaway from Taylorsville, Utah, who is a teacher and member of the state affiliate of the National Education Association school employee union, opposed the voucher initiative passed by the Republican-dominated legislature and sent on to voters with support from Republican Governor Jon Huntsman, wrote me as follows:

“This voucher law failed voter approval in every Utah County.  If I were a legislator that supported this issue I would be nervous about the next election. This is the wrong direction for our state and unfortunately many legislators like Senator [Margaret] Dayton [of Provo] are blinded by their individual bias against our local NEA affiliate the UEA [Utah Education Association].

“I should also let you know I am a proud member of the UEA. Thankfully we have organizations like the UEA that advocate for improved education for our children and grandchildren.  I shutter to think where we would be without organizations like the UEA and
other advocate groups.”

The NEA and 19 state affiliates across the country poured more than $4-million, counting in-kind labor, into its successful campaign to defeat the Utah school choice voucher referendum on November 6, 2007.

The measure to provide $500 to $3,000 scholarships to offset private school tuition to children of mostly poor families making $30,000 or less a year was defeated by less than half of Utah’s 1.1-million registered voters by a 68-to-32 percent margin, more than two-to-one thanks to the public school teacher union campaign in opposition.

Representative Holdaway’s comment about legislators “would be nervous” about the voucher referendum outcome appears to indicate that the next shoe to drop will be another NEA-backed campaign in the next election cycle to target and unseat the 19 Utah state senators and 38 members of the state House of Representatives who provided the majority of support for the voucher initiative in the state legislature.

It’s hardball nasty politics so far as the public school NEA union is concerned, and they are apparently willing and planning to spend no end of union member dues assessments from throughout the country to punish Utah legislators who support the choice of parents to move their children out of mediocre or violence-infested public schools into alternative charter or private schools.

I responded to Representative Holdaway’s email as follows:

“I had the fortune of growing up in England for my first 12 years, got a great primary education there, and in Virginia mostly since except four years in the Air Force in Arizona.

“I realized as soon as I arrived in America that something was dreadfully wrong because I was so far ahead in all subjects except history and U.S. government and relished getting the American version. Other than that I was mostly bored through high school, except for my English and chemistry teachers.

“And I can tell you from covering the education beat for The Washington Times for five years, and with four grown daughters of my own, that boredom in American classrooms and stultifying lack of rigor everywhere is a very major problem.

“Kids are bored in most schools because they are not challenged. All this touchy-feely self-esteem stuff is for the birds. One is interested and challenged when good teachers show interest and make you step up to the plate with rigorous expectations. No excuses.

“For too many years, we've had dunces and lazy teachers who tolerate dunces and lazy students in their classrooms. Our so-called colleges of education are mostly a joke and have been for years. No wonder everyone else in the world from Singapore to Japan, Taiwan and China, India, you pick the location, are beating our socks off.

“Please stop apologizing for the mediocrity extant in our schools. It's the civil rights issue of our age. Just read Thomas Sowell to get that message.”

Now that may seem harsh. I acknowledge we have many excellent and hard-working teachers in our public schools across the country. But even good teachers will tell you that they are surrounded on their faculties by a lot of lazy and bad teachers who except for labor union protection would and should have been let go, fired, many years ago.

Good teachers feel the same as many families whose children are in the schools. The dead wood and incompetent teachers should be wiped out. And if the public school establishment will not or cannot do that, then families and parents deserve choices to remove their children from substandard or failing public schools and go elsewhere.

And that is what the Utah school voucher initiative was all about.

It was defeated, but I’m here to tell you as an investigative reporter who covered the education beat nationally for five years, the public and good public officials in state legislatures and governors’ mansions and the U.S. Congress, even the White House and our courts, will not be cowed or bullied by the National Education Association union, its state affiliates, and teacher union members like Kory Holdaway who turned to politics as a teacher to carry the NEA’s water.

He calls himself a Republican, but there’s a term for that also –- RINO –- Republican-in-name-only. Utah is a Republican state, and Holdaway’s district is overwhelmingly Republican, so he ran as a Republican. Good pragmatic politician. But he really is not because he does not subscribe to the national and state Republican platforms in favor of school choice for families of America.

And he carries water for the NEA that overwhelmingly supports Democrats, liberal politicians, and liberal-left causes opposed by conservatives and the vast majority of Republicans except actual supporters of Democratic causes who have infiltrated the Republican party to water-down its effectiveness on this and other issues.

So the NEA and its minions may threaten to target anyone and everyone in public office who favor and support school choice for American families. But I return to Senator Goldwater’s favorite phrase: “Illegitimati non carborundum.”

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”
_________________________________________

Postscript: Since this posting, Utah Representative Kory Holdaway sent me the following by email on November 12, which in fairness to him I add here:

"George, I was surprised by your personal attack. I happen to represent the PEOPLE in my district not political parties. It is a swing district so I represent both democrats and republicans.  I identify with the republican party because of the stand related to abortion and other fundamental platforms issues.  The voters in my district know my position related to school vouchers and I have never tried to hide that position, in fact it is that position that allowed me to defeat a pro voucher opponent in a republican primary during the last election. I do support greater school choice within the public system.  That choice includes increased attention to Charter Schools also more opportunities to move within the traditional public system. The voters in my area oppose public funds being sent to private schools.   Perhaps our country would be better off if we moved past the political partisanship and focused on what the voice of the people was."