We're just the tip of the iceberg New "Citizens Alliance" is the same old thing: hate and fear by Tom Flint Seattle Gay News Friday January 5,1993 Scott Nakagawa, field organizer for the National Gay Lesbian Task Force, held a workshop in Seattle to educate activists on the agenda of the Christian right. In an attempt to pass anti-Gay legislation, the Christian right has developed the technique of "Stealth Campaigns," in which they organize in secret until it's too late for Gay/Lesbian groups to mount an effective response. Butt he stealth strategy may not fly too well in Washington state. Gays and Lesbians and our supporters are quickly becoming electrified with activity in organizing against the Citizens Alliance of Washington, our state's version of the OCA. OCA director Lon Mabon is having trouble operating clandestinely here. Mabon had intended to found the Citizens Alliance of Washington in secret, and was surprised and dismayed when Gay activists learned of the meeting , leaked it to the press, and organized a demonstration against the group. When Mabon appeared in Olympia to register his new Washington Citizens Alliance," he was again shocked to find he'd been ambushed by a Gay activist who had already reserved the name, thereby forcing Mabon to choose the alternative "Citizens Alliance of Washington." Last Sunday nearly 1,000 demonstrators turned up to protest Mabons' appearance at the KCTS studios in Seattle, where he was taping a panel discussion on the future of the Republican party. Workshops are being held all over the state in which concerned citizens are learning about the threat posed by the Christina right agenda. Religious organizations are mobilizing against the Citizens Alliance - worried about the message of bigotry and intolerance proposed by the movement (see related article.) Booksellers, artists guilds, educational associations, and other people concerned over censorship are education themselves about the Christian right. A "holy crusade" The "traditional family values" movement may have a harder time then they expected but they're motivated by a blind faith in the sanctity of their cause. they are on a "holy crusade" and they will not abandon their agenda, says Nakagawa. Nakagawa is an expert on right wing movements. A resident of Oregon, Nakagawa has been a long item organizer against neo-Nazi activity, but in recent years he has become increasingly concerned with the Christian right, and was heavily involved in the struggle against the OCA and Measure 9. The Christian right is much larger than the OCA, and has long range national agenda, says Nakagawa. The response against the Christian right must be equally comprehensive and organized, he says. NGLTF will hold a regional conference in Denver during March, to being laying the ground work for a comprehensive response. Pat Robertson focuses on Gays The recent anti-Gay campaigns in Colorado and ORegon were a test in which the Christian right tried out various us strategies to learn what works and what doesn't. The next stage is to recreate the Colorado campaign in twelve stares that have been targeted as vulnerable due to their relative liberal citizens initiative processes. Those states are Washington. Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Georgia, Missouri,, Ohio, Iowa, Florida, Colorado. Michigan, and California. Pat Robertson's Christian COalition, is very strong Washington State, has announced that Lesbian/Gay civil rights will be their issue of the '90's, replacing abortion as the main issue. The OCA is the pre-eminent chapter of the Christian Coalition at this time, and Mabon strategies with Pat Robertson. Robertson ins enormously wealthy and powerful, with a person fortune of $236 million. he controls the majority of the media throughout the third world. In the United States he controls hundreds of thousands of activists, and millions or people listen to Robertson daily on his Christian Broadcast Network (CBN). But along with Robertson's Christian Coalition, there are a half-dozen major national Christian right activist organizations. Concerned Women For America is the largest national women's organization, far surpassing the National Organization for Women (NOW). the Eagle Forum, headed by Phyllis Schlafley, was largely responsible for the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. Other names to become more familiar with: The American family Association, Focus on the Family, and the Rutherford Institute (the "ACLU of the right-wing", currently involved in attacks against the National Endowment for the Arts.) Permanent movement "The Christina right is the most insurgent political movement in the United States," said Nakagawa. "They are far more powerful than anything on the left. They are a permanent movement, which is very different than anything we've seen in the past." Nakagawa said these organizers have developed systems of direct mail, media, fund raising machines, which will allow them to continuously do their work indefinitely. "They are not going to go away." The Christina coalitions organized on the county level in states all across the US. There is a chapter in king and Pierce County and several others across Washington state. "They use a a set of principles that is, rigidly duplicated in county after county," explained Nakagawa. "They sign a contract that says they won't do anything different form other chapters. So when you see them in Colorado, or Michigan, or Washington, you can expect that they will do almost the exact same thing. Their literature will look alike. The people will use the same kinds of techniques." By this, Nakagawa says, "We can almost predict what is going to happen herein Washington," by what happened in Oregon or Colorado. Taking over the Republican party The Gay/Lesbian issue is "being used as a cash cow, " said Nakagawa. "They have built their organization up so that they are now positioned as the premier grass-rots political organization in the state of Oregon,' Nakagawa continued. "They controlled the election of delegates to the Republican National Convention 1988. they recruit people at the precinct level in the Republican party and take over county after county. Now they are trying to take over the state party." Forty- three percent of Oregon voters supported measure 9, an alarming number to nakagawa. "That means these 43% of the people knew what they're voting on-that libraries would be censored, teachers would be fires, no more AIDS money - that the government would actively persecute Lesbian and Gay people. And they sill voted for it." Gay and lesbian issues is just the tip of the iceberg, the rallying point of the agenda. "They want to get tax subsidies for their schools, eliminate abortion, eliminate laws for women (which they see as destructive of the traditional family), eliminate affirmative actions, eliminate all forms of welfare, eliminate anything that looks like a 'communist plot' to them, "said Nakagawa, "like social security, national health cae, the care office and son on." We're not alone Gays and Lesbians must be on the forefront of opposition to the Christian right, but later as mainstream America becomes aware of the threat posed by the "traditional values' agenda , mainstream institutions will become involved in opposition to the Christian right, Nakagawa said. "As the Christian right becomes more powerful, the mainstream will get involved in this fight against them. We see it happening in several areas already. When the right wing ties to takes over the school boards teachers, parents, librarians will get involved in the struggle, so we don't have to fight them alone. "Our problem at that pint is o be visible in this coalition, " Nakagawa continued. "Our project right no is to fight this movement and out the initial ground work in place, and in additional that, to be a visible presence in them main stream coalitions that form as we move forward."