Christian-right election briefings mask partisan aims as civic activism

Evidence

From the flyer publicizing the event, which is sponsored by the Watchmen on the Wall, an affiliate of the Washington, D.C.–based Family Research Council (FRC), a passerby might have formed the impression that this would be a nonpartisan occasion involving discussion of policy issues of interest to church members and their leaders. … The organization’s website boasts an endorsement by Vice President Mike Pence: “Keep being a ‘Watchman on the Wall.’ Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s making a difference.” — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 58

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader interest in how power-laden organizations disguise agendas through careful framing; pairs with general patterns of euphemism in institutional discourse. — connects to: Conservative churches function as the get-out-the-vote infrastructure of a shadow party — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 38; Activists privately voice broad political concerns but publicly frame motives narrowly — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 80; Citizens’ anti-politics posturing serves right-wing policy goals. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 933 (+1 more)
• CANDY: That the Family Research Council brands its get-out-the-vote activist network ‘Watchmen on the Wall’ and boasts a Pence endorsement is a tweetable detail.

Broader Connections

• Activists privately voice broad political concerns but publicly frame motives narrowly #expands (0.95) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 80
• Citizens’ anti-politics posturing serves right-wing policy goals. #corroborates (0.85) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 933