Values Voter Summit invites Pawlenty — sort of

The Values Voter Summit is the premier gathering of the religious right each year, and it’s an event Tim Pawlenty will need to attend to shore up the support of social conservatives before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary should he seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. But judging by the invitation page for the summit, Pawlenty may have his work cut out for him getting recognized: Instead of Pawlenty’s picture, the organizers posted that of Janet Parshall.

The mistake, spotted by blogger Jeremy Hooper, put Christian radio host Parshall in Pawlenty’s place. Parshall, on whose program Pawlenty appeared last month, is a believer in biblical literalism — that every word of the Christian Bible is true.

Pawlenty attended the Values Voter Summit in 2009 along with fellow Minnesotan Rep. Michele Bachmann. The summit this year won’t be without controversy: The American Family Association and the Family Research Council are both listed as ‘hate groups’ by the Southern Poverty Law Center and are hosts for the summit. The former has Bryan Fischer on staff who said this week that Native Americans have issues with alcohol and should give up their land because they aren’t Christians.

The controversial commentary — one of many made by Fischer — was too hot for the AFA and they yanked it from their websites on Wednesday.