Image: Glen, Flickr

Image: Glen, Flickr

The religious right is ramping up its campaign against health care reform, even joining with the “tea party” movement to encourage conservative Christians to swamp town hall meetings. Minnesota’s religious right leaders say that the health care reform package is against God’s plan for health care and that Christians should go to community forums and “read them the riot act.”

Jan Markell of Maple Grove–based Olive Tree Ministries called on her radio listeners to attend congressional town hall meetings in August. “Here’s what you can do, your congressmen and senators are coming home for much of August,” she said on last week’s program. “They are going to have town hall meetings all over the place. You need to go there and give them an earful. The ideal thing to do is to go to their town hall and read them the riot act — in Christian love — but read them the riot act on this issue of health care.”

But she implied Rep. Michele Bachmann should be spared, heaping praises upon her: “[Michele Bachmann] is one of my favorite people. She is doing just an outstanding job in Congress standing up for what is right. She’s got a target on her back. You need to pray for her and her family.”

The Minnesota Family Council says that Obama’s plan for health care reform is against God’s design.

“Some may ask what does God have to do with our health care system,” wrote Minnesota Family Council president Tom Prichard. “For one, He’s created the government as an institution in society to do certain things. When we reject His design for government, in a sense, we’re rejecting Him.”

Prichard continues, “In Obama’s worldview, our trust is in government not in God. A denial of how God designed and created our economic and social systems to actually work in the real world. The result? The abysmal failure of government control of health care in socialist models. From the USSR which takeover [sic] everything, including health care, to our neighbors to the north, Canada and European countries such as the UK where rationing and massive waiting periods are the order of the day.”

In the national context, the largest and most well-known religious right groups are employing some bizarre tactics. The Christian Coalition of America is pitting seniors against immigrants. Health care reform would “provide healthcare to illegal aliens, while rationing care to elderly and disabled American citizens.”

Americans for Truth say that the public option would go to pay for sexual reassignment surgery for transgendered people. “Will ObamaCare Turn into Taxpayer-funded ‘Tranny-Care’?” asks their latest email alert. The Family Research Council is pushing Republican talking points — verbatim.

And the majority of these groups are tagging along with the tea party movement to swarm congressional town hall meetings. Focus on the Family is urging its members to attend such meetings and “demand that abortion funding be explicitly excluded from any reform bill.”

The Family Research Council want its members armed with video cameras. “Please make a point of going to the forums near you and share–in a respectable manner–your thoughts with your congressman,” an email from the group instructs. “While you’re at it, why not bring your video camera?”

And the American Family Association tells its members to keep the pressure on: “Don’t let the liberal left silence you! The future of our country and our children and grandchildren is at stake. The ugly name calling shows that your voices are being heard. Please keep it up!”