While some Minnesotans are fretting about the consequences to Republican outreach to communities of color following the disclosure of a decade-plus old appearance before a white nationalist group on the part of the U.S. House's Majority Whip, Bluestem suspects that we might look closer to home for connections the Grand Old Party might wish to loosen.
Witness Warren Throckmorton's blog at Patheos Evangelical, we learn that Minnesota State Rep Cindy Pugh Plugs Institute on the Constitution. Now, the Professor of Psychology at a private Christian school, Grove City College, doesn't get one detail right (Pugh represents Carver County and environs), he's accurate on the main points (the embedded Facebook video is slow to load):
Readers in Minnesota’s state House district 33B (Saint Paul), your representative, Cindy Pugh, is plugging the theocratic Institute on the Constitution.
Among other assignments, Pugh sits on the Higher Education and Finance committee. The IOTC course is riddled with errors and so it is disappointing to see it get a high profile endorsement.
We can add a longer perspective about the visit. Presenter Jake MacAulay--also known as "Jake McMillian"--was long the sidekick to toxic metal preacher and homophobe Bradlee Dean , whose May 2011 opening prayer delivered as a guest chaplain for Minnesota House of Representative was redacted from the record after Dean questioned President Obama's faith.
MacAulay left Dean and The Sons Of Liberty radio show and Minnesota to expand his work for the Institute on the Constitution, as we reported in an October 2013 post, Former Bradlee Dean associate Jake MacAulay still working for Institute on the Constitution.
What does the Institute on the Constitution have to do with the GOP dilemma?
Pugh is inviting and promoting the views of Institute on the Constitution, which is led by League of the South board member Michael Peroutka.
As we noted in the post, MacAulay jumped from one extreme connection to another with this career move:
While the move to Maryland is new, the involvement with the Institute on the Constitution (ITC), run by 2004 Constitutional Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka, is nothing new.
As "Jake McMillian MacAulay," and a "graduate of the Institute on the Constitution," MacAulay taught his first course beginning no later than July 26, 2011, according to the Internet Wayback Machine.
And Peroutka--who runs the Institute on the Constitution, whose course Pugh is flogging--might not be the best teacher for a member of a party that's struggling to cast off questionable alliances.
As we noted at the time, citing a Right Wing Watch post, Rep. Stockman Joins White Nationalist-Tied Groups in Effort to Weaken Gun Laws:
. . .Peroutka is a board member of the white supremacist and secessionist League of the South and denounces the Union’s victory in what he calls the “War Between the States.” He even pledged to use the Institute on the Constitution to aid the League of the South and advance the cause of imposing biblical law.
Pratt’s ties to White Nationalist and anti-Semitic groups are also well documented, and he joined Peroutka at a July 4 event hosted by an anti-Semitic rock band. Pratt also fears that the Obama administration may be building a black paramilitary force that will target straight, Christian white people.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the League of the South:
The League of the South is a neo-Confederate group that advocates for a second Southern secession and a society dominated by “European Americans.” The league believes the “godly” nation it wants to form should be run by an “Anglo-Celtic” (read: white) elite that would establish a Christian theocratic state and politically dominate blacks and other minorities. Originally founded by a group that included many Southern university professors, the group lost its Ph.D.s as it became more explicitly racist. The league denounces the federal government and northern and coastal states as part of “the Empire,” a materialist and anti-religious society.
What sort of "errors" might a scholar like Throckmorton be concerned about? Here's one, in which MacAulay argues in favor of religious tests for offices.
MacAulay also argues in a new video--one that Pugh comments is "OUTSTANDING, Jake!"--that Martin Luther King Jr. would be opposed to civil rights.
Here's a screenshot:
In the column accompanying the video, MacAuley transcribes the video, which states at one point:
This young preacher I refer to is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who just over fifty-one years ago addressed a crowd of 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. He called on the people of the various states - and the government of these United States - to live up to the principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence.
But it was not, as many have falsely claimed, a call for “civil” rights. In fact, in my view Dr. King was not a champion of “civil” rights. He was a champion of God-given rights.
As a matter of historical fact, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was organized by a coalition of civil right groups who had agreed on a common agenda:
Randolph and Wilkins agreed to sponsor the march, along with CORE,Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Urban League, and SNCC. They agreed on the goals of the march, which was scheduled for Wednesday, August 28:
- Passage of meaningful civil rights legislation.
- Immediate elimination of school segregation.
- A program of public works, including job training, for the unemployed.
- A Federal law prohibiting discrimination in public or private hiring.
- A $2-an-hour minimum wage nationwide.
- Withholding Federal funds from programs that tolerate discrimination.
- Enforcement of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution by reducing congressional representation from States that disenfranchise citizens.
- A broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to currently excluded employment areas.
- Authority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when constitutional rights are violated. [U.S. News & World Report, September 9, 1963]
UPDATE
Here's the stand-alone video of Pugh praising the constitution course:
Cindy Pugh's Own Extreme
This isn't the first time Pugh has flirted with extreme views. As we noted in Cindy Pugh warns Tea Party about threat of illiterate, disengaged & lazy voters--and Muslims:
Tonight’s program, “Where Do We Go From Here?” featured a panel discussion with Mary Amlaw, Paul Carlson, David Fitzsimmons and Cindy Pugh. There was an individual presentation from each panel member and then questions were taken from the audience. .
. . .Cindy Pugh has optimism despite the election. Cindy listed the threats we face: (1) An illiterate, disengaged and lazy electorate. (2) The physical size and scope of our government. (3) The media. (4) The progressive movement – on both sides of the aisle. (5) The infiltration of the Muslim brotherhood.
Cindy encouraged us to bounce right back, be proud of 2010, to wake up as many people as possible. What we can do: (1) Set sights on 2014 with confidence. (2) Focus locally. The campaign starts now. Promote freedom and liberty. (3) Arm ourselves with knowledge … definition of terms, the treaties in which the Senate may vote away our sovereignty, Agenda 21. (4) Look into the other side’s narrative – what their talking points are. (5) Look into the Social Studies Standards at Education Liberty Watch and how our history is being rewritten in textbooks. (6) Pay attention to what the coalition of 57 Muslim nations is doing to promote law through the UN.
According to the Institute's Facebook page, the SW Metro Tea Party event was part of a Midwest tour. MacAulay also presented to the Mille Lac Tea Party:
All this traveling through Minnesota made MacAulay nostalgic for the old days of the Street Teams. On December 28, he posted as his Facebook status:
I had the privilege to be a part of a street ministry team for over a decade. My teammates and I permeated Minneapolis St. Paul and large sections of the U.S. for over 10 years with gospel tracks and the gospel message. I spent the greater part of this morning driving to different stores sitting in front of them remembering. Holiday stations Walmarts. Man I remember our conversations, the dollar hamburgers, monster drinks, miracles, night managers, emails, mothers crying when we would pray for them, free hot chocolate, "I will pray for you guys", I'll be right back, key chains. It was hard, but I will never forget you guys. We did what I have never seen done since. Your dedication and perseverance...thank you.
— with Cari Campos and 9 others at Holiday Stationstore 306.
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The League of the South? Ohhhh myyyyyy, as Mr. Takei is wont to say.
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | Dec 31, 2014 at 06:35 PM
By the way, in reference to the first link in your post, a Scalise defender's attempt to "prove" that Scalise didn't attend the EURO conference - an attempt that was rapidly spread by right-wing media - has been shot down now, with proof that the defender is lying:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/01/3607463/alibi-white-supremacist-convention-completely-falls-apart/
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | Jan 02, 2015 at 06:43 AM