Patty-Cake Politics
Off with the gloves!
by Alan Bisbort

Dec. 21, 2004 -- HARTFORD (apj.us) -- Recently, I wrote a letter to the leaders of an organization to which I've donated money for 20 years, expressing my frustration with their patty-cake approach to the current political climate. I won't name the group, because they still do some valuable work -- no need to shoot a beloved cause in the foot to make my point.

And my point is this: We're all growing a little tired of the go-along-to-get-along approach that has been adopted by even "progressive" groups to deal with the dangerous agenda of the Bush Brigade, aren't we? Didn't we learn anything from the spineless enablers in the Congress? Ask former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, currently dusting his photos and trophies in the Black Hills. He lost his seat simply because HE WOULD NOT FIGHT.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for "making nice" or "turning the other cheek" when the situation warrants. However, this approach as an all-embracing political strategy only works with those who might be otherwise humane and fair in their dealings. It does not work with bullies and abusers -- the vast majority of the Bush Brigade.

Thus, I wrote, "I detect that [the above-mentioned organization] is not helping matters by putting a prettier face on things than is warranted. You try mightily to remain upbeat, citing new 'inroads,' 'partnerships' and 'market initiatives' with corporations, but nary a word has been offered about the radically anti-environmental, anti-conservation tenor of Congress, the Supreme Court and Bush Administration with which we're stuck for four more years. Perhaps [the above-mentioned organization] believes that the plain truth on this score will alienate conservative members. I feel, rather, that you owe it to all your supporters to call these things out, to let Bush-supporting conservatives know that they can't find safe haven from tough critiques of their party's guiding principals (or lack thereof)."

Soon thereafter, I received a missive from one of the organization's flak catchers (a.k.a. "response volunteers"):

While we can sympathize with your frustration, we still believe
that non-confrontational, direct-action partnerships achieve
more than political advocacy programs. In addition, as a
condition of our exemption from paying federal taxes, [the
above-mentioned organization] is prohibited from participating
in any political activity related to the election of candidates
for any public office. We are barred from activities that
could reasonably be inferred to support, oppose, or express any
opinion about the merits of the candidates for office at
national, state, or local levels."

So, here's my response to this, and all, flak catcher(s):

The 'condition of our exemption from paying federal taxes' has not stopped a single religious organization from aggressively and obsessively espousing dramatic political changes. How many unsolicited pieces of mail arrive per day or week at every residence in America with some veiled or not so veiled political agenda attached to a plea for cash? Almost all of these organizations possess tax exempt status. You don't know anything about the 'conditions' of your 'exemption' unless you test them. After all, the Bill of Rights are just words on paper until you actually try to put them into play.

The sad truth is that the group cited above is simply too scared to play hardball, for fear of alienating moneyed donors in Colorado Springs, Phoenix, Malibu or Fort Lauderdale. The idea that one can't risk ruffling the minks of the conservative donors violates every principle on which this nation was founded. We must and we will speak our minds to them, and if they don't like it, they can do what their poster boy Cheney suggested to Sen. Pat Leahy on the floor of the U.S. Congress.

Indeed, it sometimes seems that the only thing at which many "progressive" organizations excel is money solicitation, either via junk mail or by pestering "friendly" homes with urgent phone calls for some new 11th Hour "initiative" or "emergency mailing" or "stopgap against the Bush assault" or... While these people may be well-meaning, my greatest impulse when I am trapped on the phone with them is to shout, "Get off the f-ing phone and get out in the street! One nasty protest sign held high and proud outside the Rayburn Building or the White House is worth ten thousand form letters to some freaking elected official!"

Ultimately, it comes down to this: We need to even the playing field. Let's say that if my patty-cake organization loses its tax-exempt status for speaking the truth to power, then I demand the revocation of tax exempt status for any religious organization involved in politics. Period. No exceptions: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Scientologist, Moonie, Hari Krishna, Rosicrucian, Mormon, etc. If you are involved in public policy shaping, you will henceforth not be spared federal taxation. If any of the donations to any of these groups are used to promote a political agenda or combat an agenda that already exists, then they are in violation of tax laws. It is time to pay the piper. The philosophy behind this tax exempt status -- that it provided a way to keep church and state, financially, separated -- has been abused, bullied and blasphemed from the first day that Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson caught the ear of Ronald Reagan.

The next step: If you feel that the organization to which you donate is playing patty cake, send your hard-earned cash elsewhere. From my letter again: "The overwhelming number of those who donate to [the above-mentioned organization] are in despair over four more years of Bush's assault on our natural heritage. Many will find other organizations to take these folks on, should [the above-mentioned organization] continue to exist in a state of denial. While I understand the underlying sentiment about avoiding partisan politics, there are times that demand a line be drawn, lest an organization lose its soul, and its way. Truth is the great political equalizer in the end."

There are groups like Wild Aid and The Ruckus Society and Earth First! and EngenderHealth that turn those funds directly into action, that have no bureaucracy to speak of, no fancy publications or free monogrammed fanny packs for donations over $100, etc. Or, even better, if you want to single out a deserving individual who is in harm's way because of his or her dissent, there are political prisoners the world over who could put your $25 or $50 to better use than some sweater-vested "response volunteer" sitting in a climate-controlled cubicle on 16th Street NE in Washington D.C.

Alan Bisbort is a columnist for the Hartford Advocate. His latest publication is Books That Shook The World (Pomegranate), which will be published in February.