Religious Right Achieves Top Access At White House.After eight years of outsider status at the White House, Religious Right leaders are relishing their new role as allies of President George W. Bush. Paul Weyrich Paul M. Weyrich (born October 7, 1942, in Racine, Wisconsin) is a US conservative political activist and commentator. He is widely considered one of the founders of the American New Right and an important strategist for the social and religious conservative movements. , president of the Free Congress Foundation and a long-time Religious Right leader who helped create the Moral Majority, is jubilant. "I've been through five Republican administrations, and the effort to communicate with conservatives and to understand our concerns and address our concerns and involve us in the process is the best of any of the Republican administrations, including Ronald Reagan," Weyrich told The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times. "In fact, far superior to Ronald Reagan." Observed Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an influential American conservative activist and lobbyist. He currently serves as president of anti-tax lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform. , the president of Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform is an interest group seeking to reduce the overall level of taxation in the United States, at the federal, state and local level. Its founder and president is Grover Norquist, an influential Republican lobbyist. and an influential right-wing operative, "There isn't an us and them with this administration. They is us. We is them." In fact, the Bush administration appears to have been going all out to secure a close relationship with its Religious Right kin. At an annual "Washington Briefing" hosted by the Family Research Council in March, the White House sent two cabinet officials, a senior aide and a taped message from the president. When Norquist hosts weekly get-togethers of over 100 conservative groups, the administration has sent at least one representative to every meeting Religious Right influence has been particularly noteworthy in personnel decisions, culminating in the nomination of John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9 1942) is an American politician who was the 79th United States Attorney General. He served during the first term of President George W. Bush from 2001 until 2005. Ashcroft was previously the Governor of Missouri (1985 – 1993) and a U.S. as attorney general. Meanwhile, Kay Cole James, who served as a dean at TV preacher Pat Robertson's Regent University Notable faculty Name Position Known For John Ashcroft Distinguished Professor of Law and Government Former Attorney General of the United States and Politician Admiral Vern Clark Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies Former Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. , now heads Bush's Office of Personnel Management. A similar influence can be seen at the departments of Interior and Justice, the Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), formerly the Bureau of the Budget, is an agency of the federal government that evaluates, formulates, and coordinates management procedures and program objectives within and among departments and agencies of the Executive Branch. and the White House counsel's office. Even James Dobson, head of the Focus on the Family empire, has warmed up to the Bush administration after showing signs of skepticism during the campaign. According to a report in World magazine, Dobson said he is "very encouraged" by Bush after seeing how helpful the White House staff has been in assisting his wife, Shirley Dobson, who organizes the National Day of Prayer. |
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