Last November, the group cut 200 workers when donations failed to come in and after spending $500,000 in efforts to repeal gay marriage in California. In August, Focus on the Family sold its “ex-gay” program to shore up funds.

The latest round of layoffs shutters the organization’s in-house advertising department, which will now be farmed to an outside agency.

“Right now we’re facing a serious budget shortfall that threatens our ability to reach out to parents, families and married couples who count on our help,” said Jim Daly, Focus’ CEO in a letter to 800,000 members. “Income is down nearly $6 million from what we expected and planned for this year. I want to assure you that we’re committed to good stewardship AND living within our means, just as so many families are today.”

In November, Focus laid off nearly 20 percent of its workforce, or 200 employees, due to declining donations from individuals and foundations.

Focus is selling “Love Won Out” to Exodus International, an ex-gay ministry.

His resignation has prompted a flurry of press releases from church-state-separation groups and LGBT advocacy organizations.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State:

James Dobson’s decision to resign as chairman of Focus on the Family is unlikely to make much of a difference in the day-to-day operations of that organization. … For years, FOF has been the leading voice of religious extremism and intolerance in America. It has led the attack on the legal rights of gay and lesbian Americans, worked assiduously to undermine reproductive rights, assaulted the religious neutrality of public schools and labored to replace science with far-right, fundamentalist dogma.

Despite my differences with him, if Dobson were truly retiring, I would wish him well. But I know that Dobson and so many other leaders of the Religious Right intend to remain active, working to force their exclusionary worldview onto the rest of us.

Focus on the Family is merely rearranging the deck chairs on its big, intolerant ship.

People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert:

James Dobson may be stepping down, but he’s not stepping off the field. Dobson will continue hosting his national radio show and pushing his far right agenda under the cover of folksy advice.

Dobson has built an audience for himself in the millions and a series of organizations that pull in tens of millions of dollars each year. He presents himself as an expert on raising kids, but his real passion is for enacting the policies of the Religious Right.

Dobson and Focus on the Family fervently support failed abstinence-only sex ed programs, destructive bans on same-sex marriage and adoption, and efforts to undermine fundamental constitutional rights like privacy and church-state separation. Regardless of where Dobson appears on the organizational chart, he and Focus on the Family will continue their assault on Americans’ liberties.

Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation:

“For more than 20 years, James Dobson has used his expansive, well-funded media platform to promote defamatory and false information about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” said Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “As Dobson resigns from his role as chairman, it is important to remember his history of false and defamatory claims about our community. GLAAD urges the media to not allow Dobson to turn today’s news into yet another media platform for him to advance his intolerant divisive attacks on gay and lesbian Americans and their families.

Cizik had been a lobbyist for the NAE for more than 28 years.

“In a December 2, 2008 broadcast interview on National Public Radio, Richard responded to questions and made statements that did not appropriately represent the values and convictions of NAE and our constituents,” said Anderson in a statement. “Although he has subsequently expressed regret, apologized and affirmed our values, there is a loss of trust in his credibility as a spokesperson among leaders and constituents.”

Here’s what he said in the interview with NPR’s Terry Gross:

“Two years ago,” said Gross, “you said you were still opposed to gay marriage. But now as you identify more and more with the younger voters and their priorities, have you changed on gay marriage?”

Cizik responded, “I’m shifting, I have to admit. In other words, I would willingly say I believe in civil unions. I don’t officially support redefining marriage from its traditional definition, I don’t think.”

On Obama, Cizik said, “It would be possible for evangelicals to disagree with Barack Obama on same-sex marriage and abortion and yet vote for him.”

“I happen to think in the primary he was the best choice,” Cizik added.

While Anderson said those statements weren’t appropriate for an NAE representative to make, his decision to encourage Cizik’s resignation was likely influenced by the most influential evangelical of them all. James Dobson of Focus on the Family has had it out for Cizik for years.

Response to Cizik from other corners of the religious right have been fierce.

“Richard Cizik of NAE Says Christians Can Vote for Pro-Child Killing Politicians,” read one press release. Ingrid Schlueter, co-host of the nationally syndicated Crosstalk Radio Talk Show, wrote “Richard Cizik seems more concerned about impressing NPR’s liberal audience with his broad-mindedness than being faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Concerned Women for America’s Janice Shaw Crouse said, “I think, perhaps, my dear friend Rich has been inside the Beltway for too long and has swallowed too much of the NPR and Vogue Magazine Kool-Aid.”

The American Family Association’s Tony Perkins, agreed and asked, “How else can you explain enthusiastic support for what will probably be the nation’s most pro-abortion, anti-family president in our nation’s 232 year history?”

On Thursday, Anderson explained how the remarks about Obama influenced the resignation of Cizik in an interview with Christianity Today. “Generally in America, people don’t say whom they vote for. I think in listening to the interview, it seemed to me that [Fresh Air host] Terry Gross was surprised that he said whom he voted for,” said Anderson. “And he declined to say whom he voted for in the general election. But for NAE and all of us who seek to be a bipartisan voice, it’s generally not in our best interests to declare whom we vote for.”

Ironically, just days after his fateful interview with NPR, Cizik was criticized by progressive Christians for his signature on a full-page ad in the New York Times that accused gays and lesbians of bigotry.

Photo: Richard Cizik via American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith

As voters in conservative-leaning and moderate districts are learning, topics such as war and the economy affect them far more than the private decisions their neighbors make. Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District is such a district, and the race between Republican Erik Paulsen and DFLer Madia is being watched closely. Can a Democratic candidate for Congress win in a moderate suburban district on a platform that includes equality for gays and lesbians?

Democrats are watching the race in the suburbs west on Minneapolis as Iraq veteran Madia has been unequivocal in his support for gay and lesbian equality throughout his campaign. But it’s not a position he came to lightly.

A personal transformation

As student body president at the University of Minnesota in 1997, Madia was a conservative and a Republican. According to Minnesota Daily archives, the student government, with Madia at the helm, significantly reduced the amount of student fees money going to the Queer Student Cultural Center (QSCC), the only gay-straight alliance on campus.

Madia’s turn-about happened while he was a U.S. Marine. As a member of the judge advocate general’s corps in the Marines, Madia was assigned to defend the case of a servicemember who was being discharged because he is gay. Madia was one of the first attorneys in history to successfully defend a fellow Marine against the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

“Real patriotism sometimes means taking on the system if you know what you’re doing is the right thing,” he said of taking the case.

In 2005, Madia took on a client who had downloaded gay pornography on a government computer and was caught. The same day, another Marine had gotten caught doing the same thing, only the pornography was heterosexual in nature.

“The gay Marine was given a demotion in rank; loss of pay; restricted in his movements on base; and, most severe of all, an administrative separation from the Marine Corps with an Other-Than-Honorable (OTH) discharge, just one step below a court martial,” Madia said. “The straight Marine received a verbal reprimand by the commanding officer.”

Madia successfully argued to a panel of Marines that the disparity in punishment was unjust. They agreed.

His client was able to continue his career with the Marines, but Madia was concerned about the man’s well-being now that he had been outed as gay. Madia checked up on him. “When PFC Smith got on the phone, he was calm and his voice level toned. He said, ‘Sir, nobody cares about that stuff,’” Madia recalled.

“If the Marines, some of the most conservative members of our society, can look beyond sexual preference, maybe the rest of America can do so too,” says Madia. “If someone is willing to wear the uniform, fight, and possibly die for this country, it shouldn’t matter who they are and who they love.”

While Madia was serving in Iraq, the issue hit closer to home as one of his siblings came out to him as gay. Family members relate that Madia sought out information to understand more about the issue, and came back to Minnesota fully embracing his gay sibling.

Megan Thomas was the administrative assistant at the QSCC in 1997 when Madia ran the conservative student government at the University of Minnesota. She says that the Madia’s growth in understanding the controversial issues surrounding gay and lesbian issues has brought him to the side of equality.

“Since then Madia has grown and has seen the error that was. So, let me state this as clearly as possible,” she wrote recently. “As someone who was part of that whole brouhaha, as a former chair of the Stonewall DFL Caucus and as an out lesbian, I have no doubt whatsoever in Ashwin Madia’s support of and dedication to GLBT issues and people.”

Going on the offensive

In debates, Madia, often joined by Independence Party candidate David Dillon, have been taking Paulsen to task for his push for constitutional amendments banning civil unions and same-sex marriage, which for three years during his tenure as House majority leader were the topic of intense debate and media hype.

“I look at the happiness my parents have through their marriage, and I wouldn’t want to deny that to anybody. But what’s important is that — and this is a difference between the candidates — I wouldn’t take government time away from dealing with Iraq or the economy for these kinds of constitutional amendments,” Madia said at a Sept. 16 debate.

He followed up at a Minnetonka debate on Sept. 22. “There are so many things that we ought to be focusing on, that I don’t think we ought to be using public dollars or our constitution to try to impose our religious beliefs on other people,” Madia said of Paulsen’s amendment push.

“I’ve come to like both of the guys sitting at the table with me,” Dillon added. “The plain fact of the matter is that Erik has come out of the right wing of the Republican Party.”

Paulsen defended himself saying, “That is not what I’ve done in the state Legislature,” noting that he hadn’t made any floor speeches in support of the amendments. He might not have made any floor speeches, but he voted for the measures each time, and as House Majority Leader, he made them a priority amongst his caucus.

Indeed Paulsen has focused on the issue of banning same-sex marriage by constitutional amendment (it has already been made illegal by statute), so much so that religious right figurehead James Dobson of Focus on the Family praised Paulsen for his efforts in a letter to district voters.

Turning the controversy over social issues back onto Republicans is not an approach that DFLers often take when it comes to LGBT equality in the suburbs. But the 3rd Congressional District is more diverse than the suburbs north, east and south of the Twin Cities.

Almost 6 percent of voters identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA, easily within the margin of this very close race. That’s 26,000 voters, and that doesn’t count the friends and family of those voters who are much more likely to support an equality candidate. In addition, the 3rd District lies to the west of the 5th Congressional District, which has one of the highest percentage of gay, lesbian and bisexual voters in the state, ranking ninth out of 435 districts nationwide.

It might be the reason Rep. Jim Ramstad, the moderate Republican retiring from the district this year, supported a key piece of LGBT legislation — the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. On that issue, Madia is much more closely aligned with Ramstad than is Paulsen.

A candidate to watch

DFL Rep. Tim Walz demonstrated in 2006 that a Democratic candidate can win in a moderate rural district while supporting LGBT equality. Democrats are hoping that a Madia win on Tuesday will demonstrate that honesty and fairness regarding LGBT equality can be a positive in a moderate suburban district.

“I think what Ashwin has realized is that there are larger issues which unite us than the divisive social tactics some Republicans have used in the past to try to win elections,” said Jon Hoadley, executive director of Stonewall Democrats, an LGBT group affiliated with the Democratic Party. “I think Ashwin Madia represents a new generation in Congress who says, ‘Let’s focus on the fundamentals that we were elected to work on. Let’s give everyone a fair shot, and let’s get back to tackling the issues important to our constituents.’”

Hoadley says that it’s important for candidates to be direct with voters. “Ashwin has also been honest with voters [on LGBT equality]. He’s stated his position and then turned back to focus on the larger issues which impact his district. And we’ve seen voters say ‘OK, I see where you’re coming from.”

Even if voters don’t agree on LGBT issues, Hoadley says there is trust built when candidates are honest with voters. “It’s that honest answer that has allowed him to tackle those things which impact all of us. I think voters have been lied to enough by politicians in the past that they truly appreciate an honest, straightforward answer by a candidate like Ashwin.”

Walz, a National Guard veteran, took the same approach, and while Republicans attacked him for his support, the voters rewarded him with a seat in Congress. “For some reason, it is the same approach that has also been embraced by numerous Iraq War veterans running for office, like former Army Captain Patrick Murphy who was elected to Congress from Pennsylvania in 2006,” noted Hoadley. “Perhaps it’s the belief that their service to the people whom they fought for on the battlefield extends beyond the war zone and onto the home front. Servicemembers are remarkable that way, and Ashwin Madia is a remarkable candidate.”

While Dobson is quick to point out that he never endorses candidates for office, he does his best to sway voters toward candidates that agree with his religious views. Arguably the most influential member of the religious right, Dobson is using his name to promote Republican Erik Paulsen in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District.

Dobson’s Focus on the Family Action is sending letters to residents of the district signed by Dobson (PDF), reminding them of Paulsen’s views on issues like abortion and gay and lesbian equality.

Dobson writes, “For one thing, [Paulsen]’s pro-life and has backed that up with a stellar record in the Minnesota House.”

He continues, “For another, Erik Paulsen believes that the institution of marriage is worth protecting, and he helped lead the effort in the legislature to pass a constitutional amendment to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”

And while Dobson praises Paulsen’s involvement with the constitutional amendment push, in debates with DFLer Ashwin Madia and Independence Party candidate Davis Dillon, Paulsen has downplayed his role.

At a Sept. 22 debate in Minnetonka, Madia and Dillon both called Paulsen out for just the type of advocacy of anti-abortion and anti-gay and lesbian positions that Dobson praised.

“There are so many things that we ought to be focusing on, that I don’t think we ought to be using public dollars or our constitution to try to impose our religious beliefs on other people,” said Madia.

“I’ve come to like both of the guys sitting at the table with me,” Dillon said. “The plain fact of the matter is that Erik has come out of the right wing of the Republican Party.”

Paulsen said, “That is not what I’ve done in the state legislature.”

Paulsen should tell Dobson. He concludes the letter, “Contact Erik Paulsen and thank him for his common-sense, pro-family stands — and urge him to stand strong in the face of attacks from the angry Left.”

Obamageddon it? Bumper sticker at CafePress.com

The religious right never goes down without a fight, and given the dwindling chance that their candidates, Sarah Palin and John McCain, can win the White House, they’re taking the fight to extreme new levels. Prominent figures are comparing supporters of Sen. Barack Obama to the Nazis, warning that God will condemn Americans if they don’t vote for McCain, accusing Obama’s family of witchcraft and foretelling a future when Christianity is criminalized by an Obama administration. Are you prepared for Obamageddon?

Perhaps the most controversial essay in the final week of the election season comes from the evangelical news outlet, World Net Daily. Under the screaming headline, “Ex-Hitler youth compares Obama to Nazi rise,” Hilmar von Campe goes on a Godwinesque diatribe:

The Democratic Party, with the leadership of Obama, the Clintons, Reid, Pelosi and comrades, is an illegitimate party that is destroying the Constitution – which leads to spiritual, political and economic disaster. It is illegitimate because of policy principles like abortion and also Darwinism being taught in schools.

Having grown up in the godless totalitarian Nazi society, it is appalling for me to watch that in America, politicians can speak of their “Christian faith” and at the same time make abortion, same-sex marriage and homosexuality their party policy. Democrats are not fit for American constitutional government.

While most examples of Obamageddon where not as extreme, they still prophesy disaster at the hands of God if McCain is not president.

Charisma, a magazine targeted at Pentecostals, recently endorsed McCain saying, “[I]f Sen. Barack Obama is elected, life as we know it in many ways will end… [W]e must pray and work — before it’s too late — to see that Obama is not elected.”

Religious right and political gadlfy Gary Bauer subtly warned that an Obama presidency meant that “God could take his hand of protection off of America.” Terrorist attacks and economic ruin would be God’s punishment on the nation.

James Dobson of Focus on the Family, never one to be outdone for over-the-top theocratic zeal, put out a 16-page “fictional” guide to what will happen to America by 2012 if Obama is elected (PDF). Here are a few excerpts:

The Boy Scouts no longer exist as an organization. They chose to disband rather than be forced to obey the Supreme Court decision that they would have to hire homosexual scoutmasters and allow them to sleep in tents with young boys.

Tens of thousands of Christian teachers either quit or were fired, and there are hardly any evangelical teachers in public schools any more.

The Bible can no longer be freely preached over radio or television stations when the subject matter includes such “offensive” doctrines as homosexual conduct or the claim that people will go to hell if they do not believe in Jesus Christ.

[T]elevision programs at all hours of the day now contain explicit portrayals of sexual acts.

Since 2009 terrorist bombs have exploded in two large and two small U.S. cities, killing hundreds, and the entire country is now fearful, for no place seems safe. President Obama in each case has vowed “to pursue and arrest and prosecute those responsible,” but no arrests have yet been made.

When did this all start? Christians share a lot of the blame. In 2008 many evangelicals thought that Senator Obama was an opportunity for a “change,” and they voted for him. They simply did not realize Obama’s far-left agenda would take away many of our freedoms as a nation, perhaps permanently. Christians did not realize that by electing Barack Obama, the most liberal member ever to serve in the U.S. Senate, they would allow the law, in the hands of a liberal Congress and Supreme Court, to become a great instrument of oppression.

ValuesVotersUsa.com, a consortium of religious right entities, released this video to persuade Christian voters that their own economic self-interest must take a backseat to abortion and homosexuality at the polls this year.

“The purpose of the video is to demonstrate there are more concerning issues at stake during this election other than gas prices and the economy,” read the introduction to pastors who might wish to show this video to their congregations:

Perhaps one of the most curious accusation in the final days of the election comes from Jim Bramlett, who has worked for religious right powerhouses including Pat Robertson and the Campus Crusade for Christ. He claims to have found “evidence” that Obama’s relatives put a curse on McCain and Palin, and that’s why the Republicans are down in the polls:

Dear friends:

THIS IS EXTREMELY SERIOUS.

Minutes ago I spoke with friend Dr. Norman G. Marvin, M.D. and he is so concerned at what he has learned about Barack Obama’s family in Kenya that he is calling a special prayer meeting in his home to pray against the witchcraft curses attempted by them against John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Dr. Marvin sent me the below e-mail from Flo Ellers. Flo is credentialed with the International Fellowship of Ministries which is based in Washington State. She is also a member of EndTime Handmaidens and Servants of Jasper, Arkansas.

IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PLEASE PRAY TODAY AND CONTINUALLY THAT ALL SUCH CURSES BE BROKEN AND SATAN’S PLAN FOR AMERICA BE DEFEATED, IN JESUS’ NAME. PRAY AND COVER MCCAIN AND PALIN WITH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO SPIRITUAL WARFARE, IT IS TIME YOU LEARN!!!

Jim

And do-it-yourself religious righties are creating their own bizarre campaigns. South Carolina journalist Linda Hansen documents a series of e-mails making the rounds in the South.

“In a world that’s rushing toward the end times prophecy, God will bless the true Christian leader, if we choose wisely. The Prince of Darkness’ blood runs through the veins of the evildoer…Vote for McCain…Always remember one thing — GOD WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD.”

“God is not schizophrenic, he would not tell one person to vote for Obama and another to vote for McCain…For all my friends who are voting for Obama, can you really look God in the face and say; Father, based on your works I am voting for Obama even though…abortion…liberal judges making laws that are against you…homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this.”

The religious right is already gearing up for the massive culture war sure to come with an Obama presidency. Bill Donahue of the Catholic League told Reuters on Sunday, “I’ve been on the phone the last couple of days with some of my friends … and we’re getting ready for the biggest culture war battles ever.”

The Southern Baptist Convention agreed. “An Obama victory will galvanize social conservatives for 2010 and 2012 and they will look for a standard bearer they can rally around,” said Richard Land, who runs the public policy wing of the SBC.

That standard bearer will be Sarah Palin, says Lund. And for good reason. Palin told James Dobson last week that she is sure that God will do the right thing and put her and McCain in the White House. “And it also strengthens my faith because I know at the end of the day putting this in God’s hands, the right thing for America will be done, at the end of the day on Nov. 4,” she said.

The Dump Dobson coalition has purchased a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune this Friday and will hold a press conference on Thursday. The ad quotes Dobson, who in 2004, claimed “homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage” and “destroy the earth.”

The group’s ad urges Hall of Fame CEO Bruce DuMont to rescind the honor or face a protest at the induction ceremony, which will take place in a Chicago hotel. On its website the Radio Hall of Fame addresses the controversy, writing that a “broadcaster’s political, social or religious views never are considered when deciding to include or exclude a candidate.”

“While I will not endorse either candidate this year, (in fact, I’ve only endorsed one presidential nominee in my life) I can say that I am now supportive of Senator John McCain and his bid for the presidency,” said Dobson.

The mailing includes a checklist of positions of both Franken and Coleman on same-sex marriage, abortion, oil drilling, gas taxes and Supreme Court justices. The text of the mailer (PDF):

Dear Minnesota Friend, It’s not every day that individuals find themselves in a position to significantly impact the direction of an entire nation, but that’s exactly where you are today. As a Minnesota voter, you are right in the middle of one of the most important and closely watched Senate races in the country.

The stakes in this contest could not be higher. If Barack Obama wins the White House—a very real possibility—the U.S. Senate will be the last defense against his liberal agenda on abortion and marriage. Sen. Obama has already promised to support the Freedom of Choice Act, which would overturn every pro-life law on abortion in the nation. He has also pledged to abolish the Defense of Marriage Act and to allow open homosexuality in our military.

The only hope of stopping this radical onslaught will be a strong showing of commonsense conservatives in the Senate. A conservative Senate will be no less important under a McCain presidency. If John McCain should emerge victorious in November, he’ll need every Senate vote he can get to confirm Supreme Court judges who will uphold the Constitution and restore sanity to our courts. That’s why Minnesota’s Senate race is so critical. The contrast between the candidates is sharp. Norm Coleman has maintained a stellar pro-life record and a generally pro-family record in the U.S. Senate. Al Franken, on the other hand, has not only taken strikingly liberal positions since returning to Minnesota, but his comedic record in New York is an embarrassment to those who care about family values.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed formal complaints with the IRS on Monday targeting six churches that violated an IRS rule stipulating that churches that take advantage of the IRS’ tax breaks need to refrain from partisan politics or else pay their share of taxes.

Americans United identified the six churches based on media reports.

Pastor Jody Hice of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Bethlehem, Ga., said that McCain “holds more to a biblical world view” on issues of abortion and homosexuality and urged his congregation to vote for McCain and not Sen. Barack Obama.

Pastor Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minn., told his congregation, “We need to vote for the most righteous of candidates. And it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that out. The most righteous is John McCain.” He said that homosexuality is immoral and Obama’s refusal to denounce homosexuality and abortion is “evil, wicked and immoral. Obama condones what the Bible condemns,” he said.

Booth was a delegate to the Republican National Convention (RNC) and had previously endorsed McCain from the pulpit.

Pastor Paul Blair of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., said from the pulpit, “As a Christian and as an American citizen, I will be voting for John McCain.”

Pastor Luke Emrich of New Life Church in West Bend, Wis., referenced abortion and said to his church, “I’m telling you straight up I would choose life. I would cast a vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin.” On Obama he said, “If a candidate supports something that is evil and wicked from a biblical perspective, then I have the right to call out the wickedness, and I have the right to say this is what this person stands for — this is wrong.”

The Rev. Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church, Buena Park, Calif., came out strongly against Obama and said, “I am angry because the government and the IRS and some Christians have taken away the rights of pastors. I have a right to endorse anybody I doggone well please. And if they don’t like that, too bad. … According to my Bible and in my opinion, there is no way in the world a Christian can vote for Barack Hussein Obama. Mr. Obama is not standing up for anything that is tradition in America.”

He then endorsed Alan Keyes of the American Independent Party. “I’m here to tell you that I personally endorse Alan Keyes as our next president of the United States,” said Drake. “There’s no way a Christian can vote for Barack Obama. You could vote for John McCain. I want you to vote your conscience. Let the Bible act as your guide.”

One pastor missed his flight and couldn’t participate, although it’s likely that Bishop Robert Smith Sr. of Word of Outreach Center in Little Rock, Ark., would have endorsed McCain. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

The Rev. Francis Pultro of Calvary Chapel, Philadelphia, Pa., told his congregation, “As Christians, it’s clear we should vote for John McCain. He is the only candidate I believe a Christian can vote for.”

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that pastors who violated the law should be ashamed.

“These pastors flagrantly violated the law and now must deal with the consequences,” said Lynn. “This is one of the most appalling Religious Right gambits I’ve ever seen. Church leaders are supposed to tend to Americans’ spiritual needs, not behave like partisan political hacks. I urge the IRS to act swiftly in these cases.”

He continued, “A pastor who knowingly violates federal tax law is setting a poor example for his or her congregation. Every pastor who took part in this stunt ought to be ashamed.”