Schlafly: Obama Should Apologize for Anti-Christian Stance

Conservative activist and commentator Phyllis Schlafly says President Obama owes the American people an apology for lowering the nation's moral tenor and marginalizing Christianity.

In an exclusive interview, Schlafly told Newsmax that the president is wrong to say America isn't a Christian nation. And she strongly objected to the "political correctness that has infected the Pentagon, the Army, that was manifested in the Fort Hood massacre, and now with this dis-inviting of Franklin Graham."

Graham prayed on the sidewalk outside the Pentagon on the National Day of Prayer Thursday, after his invitation to speak at a prayer event there was revoked. Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant chaplains presided over the event instead.

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Schlafly, a constitutional attorney and founder Eagle Forum, an organization that promotes pro-life and conservative causes, was asked to comment on the moral tenor of the Obama presidency.

In an October 2009 interview for Jonathan Alter's book "The Promise," the president used the lewd "tea bagger" reference to refer to the tea party movement. Vice president Joe Biden notoriously used the f-word after the narrow passage of healthcare reform -- a remark that the president reiterated at the recent White House correspondents dinner.

Newsmax.TV asked Schlafly: "Considering the president of the United States is traditionally expected to be a role model, do you think President Obama owes America an apology for the poor moral tone set by his presidency?"

"Yes I do," Schlafly replied. "And he should stop going around the world apologizing to other countries for America. Most other countries are better off because the United States has protected them against aggression. The great inventions of the United States have made their lives pleasanter and easier. And America is a very exceptional country.

"It's unfortunate that Obama does not believe in American exceptionalism, or the Christianity in America. Yes, he does owe us an apology," Schlafly said.
Among Schlafly's other observations:

• Wisconsin Judge Barbara Crabb was "absolutely wrong" in her recent ruling that a National Day of Prayer constitutes an establishment of religion. "There's nothing that establishes a religion when we have a day of prayer," Schlafly said. "…I just wonder if her next move is going to be to abolish Thanksgiving. George Washington established Thanksgiving as a day of prayer, and we've been having days of prayer ever since in our country. It's part of our nation."
• Anti-Christian activists are trying to marginalize any public expression of Christian faith. "What the atheists are doing is treating Christians like smokers," Schlafly said. "In other words you can do it in your own room, in your own house, but not in public. And that's not the American way. Americans have always had public demonstrations of our belief in God. The pledge of allegiance is another thing that's under attack."
• Without correcting the cultural issues confronting America, she said, it will be very difficult to resolve the government's profligate spending. "The decline in marriage is very significant," Schlafly said. "Forty percent of babies born in America last year were born outside of marriage. That's an extraordinary future. We expect their fathers and mothers to care for their own children. And if they don't do it, then the taxpayers have to assume the burden. And that is a major reason for the big spending at the present time. We have to restore the culture, and that will be a great factor in cutting the spending of the government."
• Radical feminists must bear responsibility for many of the nation's problems, she said. "The feminists have promoted illegitimacy and single moms, and it is a disaster for the children as well as the country. And now we see it as a disaster for the taxpayer."
• She reacted strongly to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's statement that the GOP must shed its image as "the old white guy party" and move beyond nostalgia over the presidency of Ronald Reagan. "We're tired of the Bush family," Schlafly said bluntly. "They're ancient history now. We're proud to be the party of no. We say no to Obama's globalist ideas. We say no to his bad judicial appointments. We say no to his incredible spending, his spreading the wealth, and trying to turn America into something we're not. We're proud to be the party of no."
• The tea parties, she said, "are wonderful," adding, "These are just ordinary people who have not been in politics before, who are waking up to what has happened to our country, to our marriages, to our lives, and to our money. And we welcome them. They have a lot of different ideas. There's a lot of diversity among the tea party. But we hope that they will all fall in line and help elect a new crowd to Congress in November of this year."
• She believes voters are ready to clean house in Washington. "I see the American people rising up, people of all different ideas, who know that things are going wrong, and who are eager to have it changed," she said. "We don't want to elect the same people who have been spending our money and trying to involve us … We want to elect members of Congress who will stand up for America, and for what we have stood for in the past. And I believe we can do it.

Asked which GOP contender she'd like to see nominated for president, and offered the choices of Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Gen. David Petraeus, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul, the conservative firebrand answered: "None of the above."

She said it is important for the party to nominate someone without a lot of controversial political baggage. "The issue in the next presidential election should be, 'Do you or don't you like administration of Barack Obama?'" she said.

Schlafly, who is often credited with single-handedly stopping the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, added that Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin draw intense criticism because feminists see them as a threat.

"They are successful women," Schlafly told Newsmax. "And you need to understand that the main goal of the feminists is to make women feel they are victims of an oppressive, patriarchal society. And both Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin are successful women. They've both got a neat husband, a lot of children, they have been successful in politics -- and that is what the feminists absolutely cannot stand."