Campaign to Defend the Constitution

Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon) was an American online organization founded in September 2005 to support the separation of church and state and to oppose what it perceived as the growing influence of the religious right. It was a project of the Tides Center, a non-profit organization that funds progressive groups. However, its funding ran out in November 2007, at which time its blog announced the organization was "taking a break."^[1]

Positions

DefCon described itself on its website as ...

... an online grassroots movement intending to combat the growing power of the religious right. We will fight for the separation of church and state, individual freedom, scientific progress, pluralism, and tolerance while respecting people of faith and their right to express their beliefs.^{[citation needed]}

Advisory board

The DefCon advisory board included Bruce Alberts, Francisco J. Ayala, Chip Berlet, Max Blumenthal, Erwin Chemerinsky, Frederick Clarkson, Matt Foreman, Steven Gey, Ira Glasser, Michelle Goldberg, Isaac Kramnick, Lawrence M. Krauss, James M. Lawson Jr., Kate Michelman, Harold Varmus, and Mel White.^[2]

Campaigns

Left Behind: Eternal Forces Campaign

After Bible publishing company Tyndale House released the video game version of Tim LaHaye's's Left Behind called Left Behind: Eternal Forces, DefCon asked their members to send emails to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to stop selling the game.^[3]^[4] Wal-Mart stated that it did not intend to comply with the request.^[4]

Stem cell research

During the stem cell campaign, DefCon ran two full page ads in The New York Times in May and June.^[5]

They also released a video on YouTube featuring DefCon advisory board member and former NARAL Pro-Choice America President Kate Michelman's personal views on stem cell research.^[6]

Criticism

DefCon ran ads asserting the involvement of conservative political strategist Ralph Reed, evangelist Lou Sheldon, and Focus on the Family's James Dobson in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Dobson has denied any connection to Abramoff, and a DefCon spokesman has conceded that there was no proof of collusion between Dobson and Abramoff.^[7] In response to the ads, Dobson characterized DefCon as "a radical leftist organization," and stated:

Despite the viciousness of the DefCon attack, we are not vengeful or vindictive about it. Nor are we discouraged or depressed. It goes with the territory. Everyone who tries to defend righteousness in the culture is treated to something similar. Jesus told His followers to expect persecution, and therefore, it comes as no surprise that we have been subjected to it.^[8]

"Taking a break"

The last blog post on the organization's website, made in November 2007, read:

We wanted to let you all know that this will be our last blog post, at least for now. Our funding has run out, so we will be taking a break. We want to make it clear that this is in no way an admission of defeat, we’ve had some spectacular successes and it is clear that the religious right is on the run! Thanks to all of you, we’ve been able to fight the teaching of creationism in public schools, fight for stem cell research, run national ads showing Jack Abramaoff’s ties to religious right leaders, and in general shed an important light on the hypocrisy of the religious right. We’re going to leave the thread open for a few weeks so that you all can make connections. We really value this community, and hope to reconnect with you all sometime in the future. Thank you for all you’ve done to help in the fight to defend our Constitution.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "DefConBlog final entry "Taking a break"". 2007-11-20. Archived from the original on 2007-11-23.
^ "Our Advisory Board". The Campaign to Defend the Constitution. 2006-12-13. Archived from the original on November 18, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
^ Bray, Hiawatha (2006-12-13). "Groups urge chain to drop Christian game". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
^ ^a ^b Lelchuk, Ilene (2006-12-12). "'Convert or die' game divides Christians Some ask Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
^ Burke, Daniel (2006-06-17). "Senate Approves Three Stem Cell Bills". Religion News Service. Archived from the original on October 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
^ Kate Michelman (2006-05-07). Kate Michelman Speaks Out On Stem Cell Research (YouTube Video). Campaign to Defend the Constitution.
^ "Guilt by Association". FactCheck.org. 2006-03-13. Archived from the original on 2006-04-26. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
^ "Dr. Dobson's Response to the DefCon Attack". Focus on the Family. n.d. Retrieved 2006-12-15.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

External links

DefConAmerica.org (no longer functioning)
DefConBlog.org (no longer functioning)
Tides Center

[break-1] "DefConBlog final entry "Taking a break"". 2007-11-20. Archived from the original on 2007-11-23.

[advisoryboard-2] "Our Advisory Board". The Campaign to Defend the Constitution. 2006-12-13. Archived from the original on November 18, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.

[3] Bray, Hiawatha (2006-12-13). "Groups urge chain to drop Christian game". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2006-12-13.

[Lelchuk-4] Lelchuk, Ilene (2006-12-12). "'Convert or die' game divides Christians Some ask Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2006-12-13.

[5] Burke, Daniel (2006-06-17). "Senate Approves Three Stem Cell Bills". Religion News Service. Archived from the original on October 2, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.

[6] Kate Michelman (2006-05-07). Kate Michelman Speaks Out On Stem Cell Research (YouTube Video). Campaign to Defend the Constitution.

[7] "Guilt by Association". FactCheck.org. 2006-03-13. Archived from the original on 2006-04-26. Retrieved 2006-12-15.

[8] "Dr. Dobson's Response to the DefCon Attack". Focus on the Family. n.d. Retrieved 2006-12-15.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]