Being chairman of something called the Traditional Values
Coalition is asking for an entry in any respectable encyclopedia of loons. And
as chairman for this organization Louis P. Sheldon speaks and writes, as
expected, primarily about social issues such as abortion, religious liberty,
and public acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage, and does so with
precisely the level of acumen, insight and humanity you would expect. The
Traditional Values Coalition, which claims to be the largest non-denominational
grassroots church lobby in America, is
listed as a hate group by the SPLC,
and Sheldon was
an associate of Jack Abramoff,
but he nevertheless manages to sustain an impressive media presence (despite
creeping out even Tucker Carlson:
“You want to know what the single biggest problem facing inner-city black
neighborhoods is?” asked Sheldon: “Homosexuality,” he answered).
Insofar as Sheldon’s arguments and stances are so typical we
won’t be bothered to cover them in too much detail, but for a representative
sample you may for instance look at
his attempt to argue that
Glee is working to “
desensitize Americans to the genuine risks of the homosexual agenda”
(in an article called “The Plan for a Gay (Domi) Nation”) – indeed, America is
in danger because gay people on television
are portrayed as too nice;
“Rome fell because of its immorality,” says Sheldon (completely untrue, of
course), and likewise “moral anarchy will pull down any kind of a republican
government, and that’s where we're headed if we don't turn things around.”
And predictably:
The fact that he is sometimes rightfully criticized for his views is taken as
proof not only that
he is being
persecuted, but
that Christians are being persecuted in the US (
gays, of course, cannot be
Christians, according to Sheldon). A similar, illustrative example of his way
of thinking is his organization’s (and other “pro-Family” organizations’,
though only Sheldon himself showed up) efforts
to overturn the Fair Education Act in California and
his call to “take back our courts from the anti-God left” after the courts found that the Constitution doesn’t support making Sheldon’s
hate-based opinions into law. There’s a good resource on Sheldon’s anti-gay
views
here.
Sheldon is also a hardcore creationist. In the 90s, for
instance, he was heavily involved in campaigning for ruining public education
in California,
complaining about an “overemphasis on the study of evolution in
the school curriculum, underplaying
the role of religion in the formation of the U.S.,”
paying “insufficient attention to the value of
sexual abstinence”
and “the glorification of gay lifestyles” in California schools.
At least according to himself, his group was successful in persuading the state
board to dilute references to evolution in state textbooks. “The important
thing in our view is that the Earth was not created by evolution but by God,”
said Sheldon. Apparently the existing evidence for evolution is persecution of
Sheldon and those who agree with him.
He is apparently also a beneficiary of the philanthropic
efforts of
Howard Ahmanson,
but
James Hartline,
interestingly,
does not seem to be a fan.
Sheldon also
claims to have known that Ted Haggard was gay before the familiar
scandal,
but decided to cover it up because maintaining political momentum was more
important than truth (yes, he actually said that, but will probably never
realize that he did). And, not the least, he is the father of
Andrea Lafferty.
Diagnosis: Sheldon is still one of the big religiously motivated
haters and anti-civilization activists in the US. Batshit insane, and extremely
dangerous.
