Has Ted Haggard's Right Wing New Life Church Been A Front For Molesting Young Boys By GOP Operatives And Fake Pastors?

Posterboys for GOP morality: Ted Haggard & David Vitter

As the Republican Party sought to merge its political operations with bigoted, money-hungry evangelical churches, there was a general feeling of elation in the Bush White House where Karl Rove felt he had found the keys to political paradise: an obedient, unquestioning voter base that would march to whatever beat he set and do so in lockstep-- and in big numbers. The marriage between the GOP and the religionist right has started to fray. In Colorado it is fraying very badly.

Last week we talked about a lone wolf in the GOP-- a McCain campaign official in Pueblo-- who was molesting young boys in his official capacity, even seducing them at McCain rallies. This seemed like hypocritical GOP Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) all over again. But there was something far more insidious going on at the nexus of Republican Party ops and religious right mania-- insidious and systemic.

Michael Signorile is reporting an extremely disturbing ring of predators in one of the GOP's most influential mega-churches, Ted Haggard's New Life Church in Colorado Springs, a hotbed of ignorance-based radical right politics and whacky, some say "blasphemous" religion. There has been a massive coverup of Ted Haggard's sexual exploitation of the young sons of parishioners-- and apparently Haggard wasn't the only "pastor" participating!

I want to make it clear that perverts and child molesters like Rev. Stephen Evans and Haggard aren't lying when they say they're not gay. They aren't. These are very sick and demented people with severe mental illness that causes them to molest young children of whatever gender. While Haggard and Evans and that lot hide in their closets and fantasize about raping children, real gay people are marking the tenth annual National Freedom To Marry Day (this Thursday). I suspect Republican perverts like Haggard, Craig, McHenry and Vitter won't be celebrating this one.

Last week when Haggard-- who was paid handsomely to perform on a series of talk shows to promote a movie about his miserable life-- visited CNN, wife in tow, Larry King asked him, in the light of another young man coming forward and testifying that Haggard had seduced him (which Haggard now admits), if there were other young men Haggard had had affairs with. His answer was incredibly squirrely. He said he had discussed it with his family and his psychiatrist but wouldn't talk about it on TV. According to Signorile's very credible source, there have been at least ten parishioners, some underage, who Haggard and at least one other pastor (Stephen Evans), have seduced at the Colorado Springs cult he was running. The other pastor "was convicted of sexual assault against a child under the age of 15 and got off easy with help from the church, only to later have his probation revoked. The convicted pastor then illegally left the country, he said, and he speculates that New Life Church may have helped him do so."

Evans has also admitted to having had sex with his 14 year old son and 15-year old daughter and that "with the help and backing of New Life Church, Evans served no jail time at all, cutting a plea deal in which he'd agree to a 'restoration' at the church-- yes, just like the one that Ted Haggard went through to supposedly make him straight!-- while serving five years on probation. It is likely that Ted Haggard, as senior pastor at the time, oversaw Evans' restoration."

Meanwhile, Max Blumenthal has tracked down one of David Diaper Vitter's opponents in the Louisiana Republican primary next year, the lovely porn star we introduced you to last week, Stormy Daniels. Watch Max talk to Stormy about why she would be a better-- and more honest-- representative for Louisiana Republicans than the hypocritical serial adulterer Vitter. We'll ask Max if he can interview Stephen Evans next.