Moyers on the Influence of Regents University

Last week, Bill Moyers Journal reported on the growing influence of graduates of Pat Robertson's Regents University within the federal government. Monica Goodling, who was given power to hire and fire all U.S. Attorneys by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, is just one example of the power that Robertson's theocratic law graduates have attained in the last six years.

Here's a quote from Moyer's report:

The dean has reason to be pleased. Just consider the missionaries Regent has already sent to what the religious right once considered the heart of darkness - the government in Washington. Their website boasted that 150 of the university's students have worked in the Bush administration since 2001.

Many have this woman to thank: Kay Coles James. For four years she ran the Office of Personnel management for President Bush. Her reach stretched across the entire Executive Branch.

Before her White House assignment, she had been vice president of the Christian lobbying group known as the Family Research Council and dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University.

Throughout the Bush administration, the Regent network has spread — offering jobs, mentoring and promotions to bright young religious conservatives in the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, USAID, Homeland Security, The Drug Enforcement Agency, The Office of the Special Counsel, Senate and House staffs, Commerce, Education, Defense Veterans Affairs, The Air Force, The Army, The CIA, NASA…. and the Department of Justice.

For the Christian Right these doors open on the promised land, where Biblical law can influence the law of the land.

I think it is naive to believe that a change of administration will restore the neutrality of government in matters of religion. It is hard for me to believe that Robertson's 150 theocrats and their staffs will simply disappear when a different administration takes power. That's why Mark Crispin Miller's criticisms of Jon Stewart and Bill Maher are on target. For those who value pluralistic democracy, the theocratic infiltration of our government is no laughing matter.