He's a favorite historian among conservatives like Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee and Michele Bachmann. Newt Gingrich even plans to use him for advice on his 2012 election bid.
But who is this man, beloved by the ring-wing?
In tonight's show, Lawrence spoke with Peter Montgomery, a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way Foundation and Advisory Council member for Religion Dispatches. He wrote an in-depth expose on Barton. As we learn in the article, Barton's on a mission to warp American history and force his religious views down American's throats. So much so that some on the religious right are now crying foul.
Here's an exclusive excerpt from his piece:
Barton’s growing visibility and influence with members of Congress and other Republican Party officials is troubling for many reasons: he distorts history and the Constitution for political purposes; he encourages religious divisiveness and unequal treatment for religious minorities; and he feeds a toxic political climate in which one’s political opponents are not just wrong but evil and anti-God.
Scholars have criticized Barton for presenting facts out of context or in misleading ways, but that hasn’t stopped him from promoting his theories through books, television, and, yes, the textbooks that will teach the next generation of Americans. He promotes conspiracy theories about elites hiding the truth from average Americans in order to undermine the nation from within. Last summer, he declared that liberal and media attacks on the Tea Party were just like attacks on Jesus. In February, Barton spoke at the Connect 2011 Pastors Conference, where he said that Christians needed to control the culture and media so that “guys that have a secular viewpoint cannot survive.” Said Barton, “If the press lacks moral discrimination, it’s because we haven’t been pushing our people to chop that kind of news off.”
Barton’s work is not just an academic exercise. It is meant to have a political impact. For Barton, “documenting” the divine origins of his interpretations of the Constitution gives him and his political allies a potent weapon. Barton promotes a false reality in which anyone who opposes any element of his political agenda stands in opposition to both the Founding Fathers and to God. He believes that everything in our society – government, the judiciary, the economy, the family – should be governed according to the Bible, and he promotes a view of the Bible and Jesus that many Christians would not recognize. Opponents, even Christians, who disagree with Barton about tax policy or the powers of Congress are not only wrong, they are un-American and anti-religious, enemies of America and of God.
President Obama is a particularly frequent target of Barton’s. In January, one of his WallBuilders Live radio shows was titled “Why is Obama Trying to Remove God from the United States?” In March, right-wing “news” service WND quoted Barton accusing Obama (falsely of course) of being “engaged in a pattern of ‘willfully, deliberately’ repudiating America's Christian heritage.”
Those are the kind of accusations long favored by the Religious Right, and they are destructive. Claims that political opponents are evil and are actively trying to destroy Americans’ freedoms poison the public arena, make constructive civic discourse nearly impossible, and have the potential to incite acts of violence.
Elected officials who endorse Barton give his claims credibility they do not deserve. He in turn gives cover and a veneer of legitimacy to right-wing politicians interested in putting their notions of a nation created by and for Christians into public policy. Both Barton and his backers are undermining understanding of, and respect for, vital American values and constitutional principles like separation of church and state and equal treatment under the law.
The full version of the article can be found on PFAW's website.
Leave a Comment:
Oh my, what a charlatan this Barton is!
""Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history" James Madison, Founding Father, central author of the Constitution and the Establishment Clause (often referred to as the "Father of the Constitution"), and Fourth President.
I love the way the "Christian Right" pick and choose the Bible verses that fit their agenda. Just to let Mr. David Barton in on a bit of fact.....
Matthew 22:21 (New King James Version)
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Seems to me, that has something to do with taxes.....
I would suggest that Mr. Barton study early education in the United States. Most families had a Bible, and that was the only book in most homes. Therefore, that was the first reading material most children used.
I am a retired teacher....and Mr. Barton would not have done well in any of my classes, especially U. S. History!
I was astonished by David Barton's comments and his lack of historical knowledge. As a retired teacher, I don't believe he would have done well in my class.
He needs to explain this ~
Matthew 22:21 (New King James Version)
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
That sounds like taxes to me. In our young nation, most families had at least ONE book in the home.....the Bible. That would have been the first reading material most children could use to practice reading skills. I am sure the lessons also included Biblical principles. But these lessons were taught in the home. Most of this before there were schools in the communities.
Mr. Barton's ideas scare me.
I am astonished by the outright lies and fabrications by this self proclaimed Profit/man of god. I am not surprised that Glen – I will sell my soul for anything shiny – Beck buying this guys BS. However, I am dumbfounded by Mr. O’Donnell’s reaction. Mr. O’Donnell condemns David Barton for changing/fabricating the facts, but gives a pass to Sen. Kyle for changing the congressional record. Who’s right who’s wrong?
I don't think Lawrence gave Kyl so much a pass as to just report what is done Congress when someone says something they know not to be true. This Barton guy is truly, truly scary.
Reminds me of what Jimmy Carter said:
What has attracted conservative Christians to a party that protects corporate interests and promotes an aggressive foreign-policy agenda? How do those square?
There is an element of fundamentalism involved, which involves the belief on the part of a human being that [his or her] own concept of God is the proper one. And since [he or she has] the proper concept of God, [he or she is] particularly blessed and singled out for special consideration above and beyond those who disagree with [him or her].
Secondly, anyone who does disagree with [him or her], since [he or she is] harnessed to God in a unique way, then, by definition, must be wrong. And the second step is if you are in disagreement with [his or her] concept of the way to worship, even among the Christian community, is that you are inferior to [him or her]. And then the ultimate progression of that is that you're not only different and wrong and inferior but in some ways you are subhuman. So there's a loss of concern even for the death of those who disagree. And this takes fundamentalism to the extreme. This is an element of the fundamentalist cause in this country. If you are a wealthy white man, then you are naturally inclined to think that the poor are inferior and don't deserve your first consideration. If you are a wealthy white man, then you also take on the proposition that women are inherently inferior. This builds up a sense of prejudice and alienation that permeates the Christian right during these days.
Barton is a fraud, but, unfortunately, Lawrence, you started the conversation with the "church and state" distortion, which words are not in the Constitution. The wording in the Constitution is "religious" and "religion." Please, read my book, and at least get the constitutional wording correct: The Religion Commandments in the Constitution: A Primer -- .
.
Gene Garman, M.Div.
Beck certainly has an affinity for religious educators; I just checked Barton's credentials, and he has a bachelor's in religious education from Oral Roberts University...
As a lifelong resident of Utah, I've made certain there's also plenty of exposure of another of Beck's favorites, W. Cleon Skousen, a local nutjob who was fired as chief of police here and moved south to teach religion at Brigham Young University.
Here's a link to a Media Matters story on Skousen...
//mediamatters.org/research/200909300024
>Fox News' Glenn Beck has heavily promoted the writings of far-right activist W. Cleon Skousen, even making Skousen's book, "The 5000 Year Leap," a central part of his 9-12 Project. Skousen is the author of several controversial works, including The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, which presented as "the story of slavery in America" a passage from a book that attacked abolitionists for delaying emancipation; cast slave owners as "the worst victims of the system"; claimed white schoolchildren "were likely to envy the freedom of their colored playmates"; and claimed that "[s]lavery did not make white labor unrespectable, but merely inefficient," because "the slave had a deliberateness of motion which no amount of supervision could quicken."
My apologies for reproducing Skousen's racists rants, but this needs to be offered continuous exposure. I think even atheists will recognize bigotry and elitism such as this strikes at the core of our country's spiritual and moral compass...
WHAT LIES WOULD JESUS TELL ?
If Jesus were running for political office as an Evangelical Protestant :
Would he lie to the public about creating jobs while running for election . . . and then upon winning his election, instead of creating jobs, begin to force Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing- Social Engineering agendas upon America in violation of our Constitution regarding the separation of Church and State ?
Would he lie and say that tax breaks for wealthy corporations and individuals create jobs . . . when he knows for a fact that - upon getting more and more tax breaks to the point of not even paying taxes at all - these very same wealthy Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineering corporations and individuals had actually been sending more and more jobs and profits overseas for decades ?
Would he lie about being for Liberty For All. . . while expressing love for America though he actually hates Americans . . . when what he really means is Liberty for all who look like and think like Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineers ?
Would he lie and say that the building which he and other Congressional members live in while doing the nations business in Washington DC is a “ church “ . . . when actually it is just a tax dodge and a cover for the specious, national and international activities of he and his Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineer co-horts ?
If Jesus was a prominent Evangelical political and/or religious leader :
Would he lie in his heart while singing “ Jesus loves the little children . . . all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight “ . . . when what he actually means is “ all the little children who look like and think like adult Evangelical Radical Right Wing Social Engineers “ ?
Would he, as an Evangelical TV Preacher, lie about sending people oil or water that can heal all ills and problems . . . if they will just donate $1,000 . . . when he knows that neither the oil or water have any properties of miracles or healing and that the money collected is just a way for Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineers to raise money for their social agendas ?
Would he lie and say God hates homosexuals and prostitution and drugs . . . while all along he and some of his other Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineering buddies are playing rump rangers in the closet while using drugs and fornicating with prostitutes ?
Would he lie and say that ALL life matters . . . when what he and his Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineering clan mean is that life at conception in the womb matters and then once you are born its okay to destroy human life in wars, with toxic environmental pollution, with unsafe work places, and practices, and with products that are sold which harm and kill people ?
If you answered yes to any of these questions . . . you may need a “ come to Jesus meeting”.
Mz T
WHAT LIES WOULD JESUS TELL ?
If Jesus were running for political office as an Evangelical Protestant :
Would he lie to the public about creating jobs while running for election . . . and then upon winning his election, instead of creating jobs, begin to force Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing- Social Engineering agendas upon America in violation of our Constitution regarding the separation of Church and State ?
Would he lie and say that tax breaks for wealthy corporations and individuals create jobs . . . when he knows for a fact that - upon getting more and more tax breaks to the point of not even paying taxes at all - these very same wealthy Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineering corporations and individuals had actually been sending more and more jobs and profits overseas for decades ?
Would he lie about being for Liberty For All. . . while expressing love for America though he actually hates Americans . . . when what he really means is Liberty for all who look like and think like Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineers ?
Would he lie and say that the building which he and other Congressional members live in while doing the nations business in Washington DC is a “ church “ . . . when actually it is just a tax dodge and a cover for the specious, national and international activities of he and his Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineer co-horts ?
If Jesus was a prominent Evangelical political and/or religious leader :
Would he lie in his heart while singing “ Jesus loves the little children . . . all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight “ . . . when what he actually means is “ all the little children who look like and think like adult Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineers “ ?
Would he, as an Evangelical TV Preacher, lie about oil or water that can heal all ills and problems . . . if people will just donate $1,000 before he sends it to them . . . when he knows that neither the oil or water have any properties of miracles or healing and that the money collected is just a way for Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineers to raise money for their social agendas ?
Would he lie and say God hates homosexuals and prostitution and drugs . . . while all along he and some of his other Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineering buddies are playing rump rangers in the closet while using drugs and fornicating with prostitutes ?
Would he lie and say that ALL life matters . . . when what he and his Evangelical-Radical-Right Wing-Social Engineering clan mean is that life at conception in the womb matters and then once you are born its okay to destroy human life in wars, with toxic environmental pollution, with unsafe work places, and practices, and with products that are sold which harm and kill people ?
If you answered yes to any of these questions . . . you may need a “ come to Jesus meeting”.
Mz T
PAUL RYAN PLAYS SANTA CLAUS TO DEMOCRATS--WILL THEY USE IT A GIFT
NALYSIS OF WHAT IF
DEMOCRATS GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REVEAL COMMON GOOD IN SAFETY NETS
MARCHER IN THE STREETS 120,000,000 WORKERS
NO SAFETY NETS IN " BUSH"GREAT RECESSION
46M ON FOOD STAMPS GOES TO 86M MARCH IN STREETS? 86M?
NO WEEKLY UNEMPLOYMENT CHECKS--MARCH IN STREETS? HOW MANY? 15-25M?
NO MONTHLY SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS-50M MARCH IN STREETS? 40-50M
NO MEDICARE--EMERGENCY ROOMS OVERWHELMED LIFE EXPECTANCY DROPS BIG TIME=30M?
NO MEDICAID--? DISABLED LIVE IN HOMES OF CHILDREN? 20M?
NO STUDENT LOANS—5M?
NO VET HOSPITALS—15M?
NO VET PENSIONS---15M?
USE THIS AS ATTACK ATTACK TO DESTROY R IN 2012
D LET EM GET BY WITH CUT CUT CUT
CUT WHAT R CREATED NO ONE WILL SAY IT
SPEND--1800 TO 3600 IN 8 OF BUSH 92% INCREASED AFTER 225 YEARS ALMOST DOUBLED
DEBT--5700 TO 11,900 OVER DOUBLED AFTER 225 YEARS
DEFICITS-240B SURPLUS AS FAR AS EYE CAN SEE-- TO 1400B DEFICITS AS FAR AS EYE CAN SEE
JOBS--237,000 PER MONTH TO 31,000 LOWEST SINCE HOOVER
TWO INVASIONS OF TWO UNARMED NATIONS--TWO OF MOST DESTITUTE IN WORLD
AMERICA MIDDLE CLASS IGNORED—ALL ABOUT THE ULTRA RICH
INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION SMASHED
HOUSING INDUSTRY SMASHED
CREDIT SMASHED
HELL ON EARTH FROM PEACE ON EARTH
clarence swinney political historian lifeaholics of america
author-Lifeaholic-on best seller list haw river nc population 200 and growing
Trump-Palin- etc
Will Gop run them? Yes Yes
It is apparent they will run anyone after a Brain Dead Affable Dunce and Alcoholic Dunce
America's Big problem is INEQUALITY
1% own 43% all Financial Wealth--1% get 24% all income
80% or 120,000,000 own 7% financial wealth
50% have Income $25,000 or less---That is 75,000,000.
95,000,000 are on Food Stamps or Social Security Low Income
comments welocme at cswinney2@triad.rr.com
olduglymeanhonest
7 days in Afghan cost us 2000 Million yet Congress spent three days plus much media time on 10 Million for NPR???? What is wrong here?
Who fumbled the ball??
Numbers rounded
Clinton left Bush an 1800B Budget
Bush Left Obama a 3500 Budget
Clinton left Bush a 250B Surplus as far as the eye can see
Bush left Obama 1400B Deficit as far as the eye can see
Clinton left Bush a 5700B of Debt
Bush left Obama 11,800B of Debt
Clinton left Bush a 237,000 net new jobs created per month
Bush left Obama a 31,000 lowest since Hoover.
Clinton left Bush 17 Million Manufacturing Jobs
Bush left Obama 7 Million Manufacturing Jobs
Clinton left Bush a 10,800 Dow
Bush left Obama an 8028 Dow
Clinton left Bush Peace on Earth Good Will From Most Men
Bush left Obama Hell on Earth Two disastrous wars. Enmity of 1500 Million Muslims
Clinton left Bush a President most highly rated of any peacetime President in Asia, Africa, Europe.
Bush left Obama the most hated President in history
Bush left Obama an Housing Tsunami and Financial Volcano
Bush left Obama, in 2008, an 8500B Bail out commitment Yes! 8500 not just 700
Bush left Obama his Takeover of Fannie/Freddie, AIG, and first bailout of Chrysler
clarence swinney--political historian--lifeaholics of america burlington nc
author-Lifeaholic--Life story of Workaholic failure to Lifeaholic success
Best seller list at haw river gazette population 200 and growing
comments welcome at cswinney2@triad.rr.com facts -numbers not opinion
I believe Barton and beck and their ilk know they LIE. Some of their audience probably don't know they LIE and those that do, think it is ok to LIE because they like the results.
While it is good to shine the spotlight on poison like Barton he is getting free advertising on your show and there is no such thing as bad advertising. That said, Peter Montgomery did a good job in exposing this barton rat.
Perhaps it is better to shine the spotlight on our HEROES. The people doing something WHO ARE HELPING THE PROGRESSIVES? What can we do to help them? What are the progressives doing. What is going in the progressive world. I am so sick of hearing about the republican agenda. I feel like i am watching fox.
Story after story on Maddow, O'Donnell, Shultz, Stewart, Colbert are ALL ABOUT fox, and the republicans. Where can we get news about anything else? If I wanted to news about these people I would watch fox or cnn , i don't watch fox or cnn or any of the fox lite channels because I am looking for progressive news. Debunking is well and fine and perhaps necessary but should it not be maybe 10% of your show?
You would not need to debunk if you actually produced content. BE A PRODUCER.
And can somebody help RACHEL MADDOW out, her graphics still suck :-}
Your initial video clip of David Barton on Glenn Beck's program shows him telling untruths about an early American Bible. I photographed this book--the actual one that Barton hands to Beck--and wrote some interesting comments about it. They can be found at Thanks for the revealing and accurate expose about David Barton and the danger he represents to history and politics in the United States. He is truly a malevolent purveyor of untruths and misinformation in aid of his fundamentalist religious agenda.
All right. You removed my tiny link. Here's the full one to my photos and comments about David Barton and his Bible:
Ha! Needless to say I'm not going to comment again. Your site is a joke if it won't post links. How are visitors supposed to learn anything unless references can be used?
Put simply hes the cult leader to the powerful in charge of the greed on the far right of this country. The real question is how to enforce separation of church and state as written in the constitution.
Here is the American Historical Association's Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct.
Does David Barton following any of these standards? I think not! Is he even a member of the AHA? Again I think not. I was fit to be tied watching this idiot on the show last night. Really the Continentall Congress published that bible? The Continental Congress was the government during the American Revolutionary War. It wasn't the Congress created by the Constitution. That's is middle school level American History!
I am a proud Republican and Atheist. Just because the "right" belives in some form of fiscal responsibility, doesn't make them all bible thumping maniacs. Religion, although comforting to many, is the root of most "real" evil in the world.
Make Federal Employees pay into Social Security... It would solve most of the problems that we have with Medicare. There are over 800,000 Federal Employee that should pay just like we do!!!!
Denise - You need to quit repeating bogus Republican talking point lies that are almost 30 years out of date and get your facts straight.
Federal employees pay FICA taxes just like everyone else.
The old Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which was not covered under Social Security, was phased out in the 1980s. All Federal employees since are under the new Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Some employees hired under CSRS stayed there though most of them have since retired. (Interestingly, Congress forced themselves to convert to FERS even though CSRS would have been a better deal for many of them. Unusual bit of conscience there.)
FERS is a defined contribution much like any 401(k). Participation is optional.
(An off-topic troll at that - but not one that should be allowed to do what wingnuts do best.)