May 27, 2013

Va. Democrats Eyeing Rise of Obama Foe – A Black Republican Pastor
By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Bishop E. W. Jackson Sr.

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - He’s blasted President Obama for having the sensibilities of an “atheist and Muslim” and wanting to be “a king and dictator.”

He’s condemned Planned Parenthood as “more lethal to Black lives than the KKK” for providing abortions to legions of Black women seeking its health services.

And he’s called on Black Christians to leave the Democratic Party that he calls anti-God for its support of same-sex marriage.

The “he” is Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr., the arch conservative pastor of Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va. Considered a long, long shot, he has surprisingly beaten six other candidates to win the nomination for Virginia lieutenant governor at the Tea Party-dominated Republican State Convention in Richmond, May 18.

Not surprisingly, the mostly White crowd of 8,000 GOP delegates also elected Ken Cuccinelli, the current attorney general, as the party’s candidate for governor and stayed true to form in choosing a Tea Party favorite, veteran state Sen. Mark Obenshain as the attorney general nominee.

Democrats are keeping their focus on Bishop Jackson, a graduate of Harvard Law School who also studied at the Harvard Divinity School. This focus was highlighted Wednesday afternoon, May 22, during the party’s telephone conference call with reporters that featured Hampton Sen. Mamie E. Locke, chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille and Roanoke City Councilman Sherman Lee, all Democrats.

During the 20-minute call, all four went on the attack against the minister-attorney who likens allegiance to the Democratic Party to slavery. Repudiating Bishop Jackson and his approach to issues, the speakers variously described him as being “out of touch with reality” and a hugely divisive figure who “distorts the Christian faith” to advance his political ambitions.

The attack is part of the Democratic effort to define Bishop Jackson for potential voters and make him the symbol of the extremism they see in the Republican ticket headed by Cuccinelli.

The Democratic candidates will be chosen in the upcoming primary election on Tuesday, June 11. Businessman Terry McAuliffe, though, is the party’s all but certain nominee for governor as he is unopposed; the other statewide offices are contested.

The conference call also served notice that Democrats intend to fight to hold their most loyal constituency who ensured President Obama captured Virginia twice and was re-elected last year and keep Bishop Jackson from stripping away Black support because he is Black.

Mayor Jones, a pastor himself, believes Bishop Jackson will not succeed in that mission, saying people are going to see through him. Still, Mayor Jones and the other speakers plan to use Bishop Jackson’s inflammatory rhetoric against him to prevent him from “hijacking the Christian faith for partisan purposes.”

“We are going to be about unifying the electorate,” Mayor Jones said, “and bringing forth a message of compassion as it relates to Christianity, not a message of divisiveness.”

Sen. Locke called Bishop Jackson “out of touch with reality” and deserving of rejection. She said Cuccinelli wants the bishop on the ticket because the minister can say things that Cuccinelli could not and remain a viable candidate.

Mayor Euille said Bishop Jackson is just the opposite of what Virginia needs, which is political leaders who “work together to solve problems and create jobs.”

“When Ken Cuccinelli drapes his arm around Bishop Jackson and expresses confidence in his judgment, then we need to worry about Ken Cuccinelli’s judgment,” he said.

Councilman Lee said anyone who was there when Black Virginians stood for hours in long lines to bring victory to President Obama in 2008 and 2012 could not support Bishop Jackson. Lee said the bishop has labeled President Obama an “evil presence” and called the president’s “idea of being a Christian laughable.”

Lee said voters would be urged to avoid a politician who would “distort our Christian faith to support a twisted view of the world. We need a lieutenant governor,” he said, “who will focus on solving the real problems of jobs, schools and roads rather than someone who wants to use our legacy of struggle to end slavery and gain our civil rights for his own petty political purposes.”