Operation Rescue Reportedly Needs Money, Close to Shutting Down

According to the wingnut news site CNSNews.com Operation Rescue, founded by pro-life extremist Randall Terry, is close to running out of money and shutting down. Could it just perhaps be because would be donors do not want to be associated with an organization whose founder and former leader has never denounced the murder of abortion providers and who has in fact comp licitly condoned the actions of the murders? The most recent example is the murder of Dr. George Tiller and Terry's extremist remarks at the time. While most folks do not know that Terry and Operation Rescue have parted ways some years back. Like it or not, Randall Terry - who is also an extreme homophobe - continues to be the face associated with Operation Rescue. The other irony is, of course, that due to their opposition to contraception, birth control and sex ed education, groups like Operation Rescue actually cause the number of abortions in the USA to fail to fall to rates similar to those in Europe where there are comprehensive sex education and birth control projects. Here are some story highlights:

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Wichita, Kan. (AP) - Operation Rescue, one of the nation's highest-profile groups in the anti-abortion movement, has told its supporters it is facing a "major financial crisis" and is very close to shutting down unless emergency help arrives soon. The group's president, Troy Newman, blamed the economic downturn for its money woes in a desperate plea e-mailed Monday night to donors. But the Wichita-based organization has also been under attack from both fringe anti-abortion militants and abortion rights supporters since the May 31 shooting death of Dr. George Tiller.

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Tiller's killing has also been a public relations nightmare for the group - despite its public condemnation of the slaying - since the name and phone number of the group's senior policy adviser was found in Roeder's car when he was arrested. A television crew zoomed in on the scrawled note inside the car in images that made their way to the Internet.

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The Internal Revenue Service revoked Operation Rescue's tax-exempt status in 2006 for prohibited political activity during the 2004 election. That means donations to the group are no longer deductible on taxes. Newman has said the IRS revocation did not affect donations. Meanwhile, other groups in the abortion fray have not noticed a similar decline in contributions.

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"They have publicly denounced his murder, yet they move their headquarters to Wichita and spend years harassing and trying to put him out of business," Saporta said. "And people involved with Operation Rescue had also been in communication with Scott Roeder so their hands aren't necessarily 100 percent clean in this scenario." Abortion rights supporters contend some of Operation Rescue's activities contribute to the atmosphere that encourage people like Roeder to take the law into their hands.

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Operation Rescue's fundraising letter hinted at a secret project it hoped to launch in the next 30 days that would be a "new phase in the pro-life fight." But while the group's fundraising efforts are often tied to some new anti-abortion activity, its latest letter had an unprecedented tone of desperation.

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Sometimes people and organizations reap what they sow and Operation Rescue has historically taken extreme positions and engaged in over the top actions that have now apparently come back to haunt it. I will not shed a tear if the organization shuts down.

Hate Speech Kills

UPDATED: The Washington Post is reporting that Scott Roeder, identified Sunday as the possible shooter in the murder of George Tiller, has a history of supporting lethal violence to stop abortions. Here are a few highlights from the Post story:

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Scott Roeder, identified Sunday as a possible suspect in the slaying of prominent Kansas late-term abortion provider George R. Tiller, is known in anti-abortion circles as a man who believes that killing an abortion doctor is justifiable.

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Two abortion opponents who had previously encountered Roeder, 51, said the Merriam, Kan., resident expressed support for their view that lethal force is not a criminal offense if it protects the lives of unborn children.

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This morning George Tiller, the operator of a clinic in Wichita, Kansas, was shot to death in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church (pictured at left and a member parish of the ELCA) this morning where he was serving as an usher handing out bulletins. The killer has been captured and it will be interesting to see whether the shooter is a Christianist extremist as many suspect. As Andrew Sullivan has noted, Tiller has been targeted by Christian extremists before and also targeted by a segment on Bill O'Reilly's the O'Reilly Factor. Andrew rightly notes that Tiller's murder would appear to be "the culmination of a campaign of domestic terrorism against him.

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Hate speech DOES have real consequences and the sooner the media stops refusing to expose just how much like the Taliban the Christianist extremists are in this country, the sooner violence against gays, the murder of abortion providers, etc., will cease. There is NOTHING Christian about these people except their use of the name Christian. While President Obama has decried the killing, when is he going to stop cuddling up to Christianist hate merchants and start condemning their religious poison? Here are highlights from the Wichita Eagle:

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A suspect in this morning's fatal shooting of abortion doctor George Tiller is in custody and on his way back to Wichita, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said at a news conference late this afternoon. The 51-year-old male suspect was arrested without incident on Interstate 35 in Johnson County about three hours after the shooting, Stolz said.

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Tiller, 67, was shot once just after 10 a.m. in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th St., where he was a member of the congregation. Stolz said Tiller was shot in the foyer of the church. There were three or four eyewitnesses, he said. Six to 12 people were in the foyer at the time of the shooting.

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Tiller has long been a focal point of protest by abortion opponents because his clinic, Women's Health Care Services at 5107 E. Kellogg, is one of the few in the country where late-term abortions are performed.

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A portion of the statement released by nutcase Randall Terry of Operation Rescue reads as follows:

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George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions.

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For a sampling of more of the delusional reactions of the unhinged far right, check Andrew's blog here. This people are down right scary. I'd also note that many of them view the ELCA as not being Christian because it doesn't vehemently condemn gays and adopt the lunatic fringe views of the extreme evangelicals.