THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 18, 1994 TAG: 9407180068
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Virginia News
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: FOREST LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
A conservative Christian group that first drew national attention with a commercial linking President Clinton to gay rights during the 1992 campaign, has unveiled its newest product - a ``home lobbying kit.''
Christian Action Network President Martin J. Mawyer said the distribution of the $36 kits is a $100,000 national campaign that will surpass the Clinton television advertisement that put the fledgling conservative group in the media spotlight.
The Forest-based network has spent $60,000 producing the kits. It hired actress Susan Walden of the Disney Channel's ``Thunder Bay'' program to appear with Mawyer in infomercials selling the kit.
Included in the kit: a 30-minute video titled ``Congress Exposed,'' a home lobbyist companion book, a Washington insider newsletter, audio cassettes with two hours of political experts revealing the ``secrets of the homosexual agenda and the National Organization of Women'' and a government report card on how members of Congress voted on various social issues.
The kit will be sold beginning next month through infomercials aired in 25 cities, including Lynchburg, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.
``You will see more gay parade clips, general pro-abortion demonstrations and `black Jesus' demonstrations,'' Mawyer said of the infomercials. ``It will show how powerful Washington lobbyists are dictating national policy and law.''
A brief description of the campaign was enough to spark criticism from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
``It sounds like yet another effort to have a religious-right group raise money disseminating misinformation,'' said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United.
``Frankly, I think there are enough sources of this kind of misinformation already,'' Lynn said. ``I can't imagine one more videocassette is going to do anything but further pollute the issues.''
Mawyer is joining an undertow of conservative groups fighting against a wave of recent criticism by Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, said University of Virginia professor and political analyst Larry Sabato.
``Mobilization begets countermobilization,'' Sabato said. ``When you're very public, then you encourage your opposition to get mobilized as well.''
The network was founded in 1990 as a lobbying group to promote ``pro-family issues and to advocate traditional American principles of religious liberty, public virtue and good government.'' Mawyer said the network has an active membership of 60,000.
Mawyer said he came up with kit idea in April after seeing Ross Perot successfully encourage citizens to get involved in government.
``I've been increasingly frustrated that many Christians believe they only have to obey the Ten Commandments and they will be fine,'' Mawyer said. ``I wanted to put in the hands of people the tools they need to effectively lobby their members of Congress.''
The Federal Election Commission is investigating the network's 1992 commercial about Clinton and gay rights. The FEC has alleged that the ads broke a law that prohibits nonprofit corporations from ``expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identifiable candidate.'' If the network is found to have violated election law, it faces a possible $250,000 fine.
The 30-second ad, ``Bill Clinton's Vision for America,'' showed footage of leather-clad homosexuals at a street demonstration in New York. The ad said Clinton's vision included ``job quotas for homosexuals, giving homosexuals special civil rights, allowing homosexuals in the armed forces.''
Clinton supports civil rights for gay people, but has not supported job quotas for homosexuals. He backed off a campaign pledge to lift the military's ban on gays, instead instituting the ``don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue'' policy. by CNB