A megachurch pastor served as a political channel between the White House and evangelicals

Evidence

Like Dobson, Haggard’s evangelicalism was explicitly political. He spoke nationally in support of the Iraq war and against abortion, and he embraced free-market capitalism both as an economic model and as essential to the spread of Christianity. Inside New Life’s sanctuary, which was decorated in air force silver and blue, large video screens flashed tributes to Haggard, to various politicians and denominational leaders, and to Tony Perkins, Dobson’s “enforcer on Capitol Hill.” In a two-hour television broadcast before the 2004 election, Haggard worked to turn out the evangelical vote for Bush, and to garner support for the Federal Marriage Amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Haggard talked with President Bush or his advisers every Monday, giving the administration “the pulse of the evangelical world.” — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 472

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: White evangelical politics assume top-down office-holding is the route to influence. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 235; Megachurches manufactured political ideology that then flowed to Washington — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 472; A centralized network of celebrity pastors controls conservative evangelical infrastructure — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 454 (+4 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: White evangelical politics assume top-down office-holding is the route to influence. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 235; Megachurches manufactured political ideology that then flowed to Washington — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 472; A centralized network of celebrity pastors controls conservative evangelical infrastructure — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 454 (+4 more)