Who's the Boss? How Pat Robertson's law school is changing America

[babylonsister]

http://www.slate.com/id/2163601/fr/flyout

Who's the Boss?
How Pat Robertson's law school is changing America.
By Dahlia Lithwick
Posted Saturday, April 7, 2007, at 6:52 AM ET

Monica Goodling has a problem. As senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Justice Department liaison to the White House, Goodling no longer seems to know what the truth is. She must also be increasingly unclear about who her superiors are. This didn't used to be a problem for Goodling, now on indefinite leave from the DoJ. Everything was once very certain: Her boss's truth was always the same as God's truth. Her boss was always either God or one of His staffers.

This week, through counsel, Goodling again refused to testify about her role in the firings of several U.S. attorneys for what appear to be partisan reasons. Asserting her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, Goodling somehow felt she may be on the hook for criminal obstruction. But it was never clear whose truths she was protecting or even whose law seems to have tripped her up. She resigned abruptly Friday evening without explanation.

Goodling is an improbable character for a political scandal. She's the mirror opposite of that other Monica—the silly, saucy minx who felled Bill Clinton. A 1995 graduate of an evangelical Christian school, Messiah College, and a 1999 graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University School of Law (this seems to be her Web page), Goodling's chief claim to professional fame appears to have been loyalty to the president and to the process of reshaping the Justice Department in his image (and thus, His image). A former career official there told the Washington Post that Goodling "forced many very talented, career people out of main Justice so she could replace them with junior people that were either loyal to the administration or would score her some points." And as she rose at Justice, according to a former classmate, Goodling "developed a very positive reputation for people coming from Christian schools into Washington looking for employment in government."

Start digging, and Goodling also looks to be the Forrest Gump of no comments: Here she is in 1997, fielding calls from reporters to Regent's School of Government admissions office. Asked whether non-Christians were admitted, she explained that "we admit all students without discrimination. We are a Christian institution; it is assumed that everyone in the classes are Christians." Here, in 2004, she's answering phones at the Justice Department about whether then-Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement knew about the abuses at Abu Ghraib when he told the Supreme Court that the United States does not torture. Said Goodling, in lieu of taking the Fifth: "We wouldn't have any comment." (Jenny Martinez, who argued against Clement that day at the court, suggested to Salon's Tim Grieve: "When Mr. Clement said to the court that we wouldn't engage in that kind of behavior, either he was deliberately misleading the court or he was completely out of the loop." Sound familiar?)

Goodling is only one of 150 graduates of Regent University currently serving in this administration, as Regent's Web site proclaims proudly, a huge number for a 29-year-old school. Regent estimates that "approximately one out of every six Regent alumni is employed in some form of government work." And that's precisely what its founder desired. The school's motto is "Christian Leadership To Change the World," and the world seems to be changing apace. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft teaches at Regent, and graduates have achieved senior positions in the Bush administration. The express goal is not only to tear down the wall between church and state in America (a "lie of the left," according to Robertson) but also to enmesh the two.

more...

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. Here's my favorite:

"In an excellent 2005 article about Regent in the American Prospect Online, Christopher Hayes points out that more than two-thirds of the students at Regent identified as Republicans, and only 9 percent identified as Democrats. As he concludes, "what students are taught at a place like Regent, or even Calvin and Wheaton, is to live out a Christ-centered existence in all facets of their lives. But what they learn is to become Republicans." emphasis mine

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always believed that when you work in any government agency, you leave your politics at home.

These fundie types really make me angry. They all seem to believe in "do as I say, not as I do". :mad: :mad:

[knitter4democracy]

8. When I went to Mount Vernon Nazarene college, I learned to become

a Democrat. Of course, it was through negative example, but then again, most of us in our group of friends have become far more left-leaning in the years since going there.

[spooky3]

2. the sexist and gratuitous slap at Lewinsky is unnecessary and

irrelevant to Lithwick's main topic.

The two have nothing to do with each other, except that both are female and have the same first name. Further, "silly" Lewinsky probably has a higher IQ than Goodling, as Lewinsky graduated from a university that has high standards for intellectual achievement. If her point is that attending these so-called "Christian" institutions somehow is the badge of a moral person, Lithwick should read the rest of her own article for refutation.

There are more apt comparisons that Lithwick could make to get her point across.


on edit: Interestingly the sexist passage to which I objected does not appear in the WaPo version of Lithwick's commentary, which someone else posted a link to in the Justice forum here on DU. Someone else must have had a similar concern.

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. The O.W. Coburn School of Law

at Oral Roberts University was the predecessor to the Regent University School of Law. Oral Roberts and the Regents of Oral Roberts University "gifted" the law school to C.B.N., the predecessor of Regent University in the Fall of 1985.

Anita Hill was a professor at Oral Roberts University. Many of the witnesses during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings had ties to Oral Roberts University law school - which at the time was in transition to C.B.N.

The founding Dean was a fellow named Charles Kothe who was a labor consultant to the Reagan administration.

The donation to Oral Roberts University that funded the creation of the law school was made by O.W. Coburn, the father of current Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn.

Herb Titus served as Assistant Dean at Oral Roberts University and later as Dean at the Regent University School of Law. He has since consulted with Judge Roy Moore.

John Eidsmoe taught at Oral Roberts University, has authored several books, and he too has consulted with Judge Roy Moore.

Chris Klicka who is general counsel to a national home school association is an Oral Roberts University graduate.

As is Michele Bachmann, freshman Republican congresswoman representing the 6th district in Minnesota. And perhaps best known for her post state of the union presidential kiss.

There are more but that is enough for now.


edit for spelling

[mzteris]

5. HSLDA

ugh.

They act like they created hs'ing and that it's only for no-brain rw fundies.

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. Yes, you;re right

I always thought they were a bunch of self-righteous pompous asses. The whole lot of them. Makes you wonder why anyone would ever aspire to worship their god. I never thought it possible to pity god until I met some of these smarmy buffoons. 'Course the almighty could always smite them dead....

[cascagraphic]

4. This article should be read by everyone on DU.

[Canuckistanian]

6. Welcome to DU, cascagraphic

:toast:
:hi:

[grannylib]

9. The theocracy of the Reich Wing is alive and well. This disgusts me, but

I am neither shocked nor surprised...how can ANYTHING these corrupt, greedy, shameless FILTH do surprise us anymore????

Fire 'em, impeach 'em, charge 'em with war crimes, charge 'em with treason, just GET THEM ALL THE FUCK OUTTA HERE BEFORE THEY DESTROY US ALL.

[yurbud]

10. I wonder if they play "Dueling Banjos" during their graduation ceremony...

[BadGimp]

11. The important take away here is..

..that there is nothing in place or even planned to counter this movement that has been decades in the making. Regents is just one tenticle or head of this monster that means to devour democracy whole and regurgitate it back down our throats as a ChristoFacists government.

Democrats whether Liberal, DINO or Progressive have nothing in place to create balance.

There is a War going on in Americana, yet only one side seems willing to fight. Problem is it's the bad guys who have long ago accepted it as a batle and treat it accordingly. We are getting our asses kicked people.