David Brody reports that Religious Right activists are descending on St. Louis in order to offer their prayers and support to Sarah Palin before her big debate:
Starting tonight, Palin supporters will gather at the vice-presidential debate site in St. Louis and hold prayer rallies for her.
This effort is being put together by The Christian Defense Coalition. They have a track record of holding prayer vigils and pro-life demonstrations on the big political and religious issues of the day. The Brody File has been told that big time Evangelical heavyweight Phyllis Schlafly will be there along with some members of Concerned Women for America, the Defense of Life group, homeschool groups and many more. In addition a co-chair from the Republican Party of Missouri will be there though I am told these events are not officially sanctioned by the GOP.
Organizer Reverend Patrick Mahoney tells me that if Palin wasn't on the ticket they would not be holding rallies. But he says they want to make a loud and clear statement that she has energized the faith community in a real and tangible way. So they'll be specifically praying for her and the issues that they believe she is passionate about like the life issue, traditional marriage, etc.
The inclination here by the media may be to dismiss these pro-life people of faith as a sideshow. Or to simply say that they are just craving media attention. Not so fast.
What they will be doing the next two days is simply a microcosm of what will be taking place by many Evangelicals across the country. They are praying for Palin. Why? Because first of all, her faith journey resonates with them and additionally it is important to remember that these folks understand that for the first time in national politics they have a pro-life Christian woman who they believe represents their faith and values.
That is one way of putting it. Another, more accurate, way of putting it would be to say that anti-abortion activists are descending on St. Louis to protest Joe Biden which is, after all, how they described it last week:
Operation Rescue and the Christian Defense Coalition have announced plans for demonstrations surrounding the Vice-Presidential debate to be held in St. Louis on October 2.
The groups, which are coordinating with Defenders of the Unborn, Concerned Women for America, and other pro-life groups, have planned events that will both support pro-life Republican vice presidential nominee, Gov. Sarah Palin, and stand in opposition to the pro-abortion Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden.
It’s kind of like how, back in January, the CDC announced it was hosting a “non-partisan prayer vigil” for all the presidential candidates in New Hampshire that was, in reality, an anti-abortion protest aimed at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
