Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

My Talk to Action colleague Moiv, has background on the Kline/Tiller story as well as the goods on McKinney's connection to the antiabortion Army of God:  

Operation Rescue's Man of the Year lost his final bid to prosecute Dr. George Tiller when a court ruled that Kline lacked legal authority to file charges in Sedgwick County over the objections of District Attorney Nina Foulston. Kline, who soon will lose his office to Democrat Paul Morrison, angrily responded that he wouldn't stop his efforts until "justice is served."  Unfortunately, Kline's idea of serving justice is making a special prosecutor of Don McKinney.

Kline announced Wednesday that he had named Wichita attorney Don McKinney as special prosecutor, saying the appointment would remove Tiller's case "from a highly charged political process." Kline, a Republican, noted that McKinney, like Morrison, is a Democrat.

But McKinney was the leader of a Democrats for Kline group during Kline's unsuccessful re-election campaign and is viewed as a strong anti-abortion activist.

Don "the Dingo" McKinney is a strong anti-abortion activist in the same sense that Genghis Khan was a pretty fair cavalry officer. McKinney not only has demonstrated with Operation Rescue at Dr. Tiller's Wichita clinic, but was a close associate and admirer of the late Paul "the Jackal" deParrie -- an Army of God veteran who publicly endorsed the murders of abortion-providing doctors in general, and the 1993 attempted murder of Dr. Tiller by Army of God "Prisoner of Christ" Shelley Shannon in particular.

Paul deParrie, as pictured on the cover of Abortion Abolitionist, published by Neal Horsley.

deParrie (right) -- an Army of God Hero of the Faith, editor-in-chief of Life Advocate magazine and seminal author of the original "Nuremberg" campaign that spawned Neal Horsley's infamous Nuremberg Files -- died last spring at the age of 56.

Another Army of God Hero of the Faith and Operation Rescue ally, Robert Ferguson (left) -- who said of James Kopp's 1998 murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, "Justifiable homicide is a legitimate spiritual practice ..." -- left a memorial to deParrie on the Operation Rescue Web site. Ferguson's contribution to deParrie's memory was closely followed by a personal tribute from Don McKinney.

Paul was the real deal. A true Christian warrior. He was a great "leader" in the purest sense: unlike many pro-life "leaders", Paul didn't try to build a worldly organization with himself at the top of the pyramid, ordering underlings into battle. Paul "the Jackal" deParrie had little interest in fundraising or building his own kingdom. ... Like Christ, Paul was a real "leader" in that he went first, he led the way into battle, he didn't exercise authority over others or lord it over anyone -he just did the work himself and inspired us all as an example, like Christ, of servanthood, bravery, and self sacrifice. Matt. 20:24-26.

Back in 1991, the Wichita Rescue Movement kicked off the Summer of Mercy with some rescues at local clinics, one of which included the arrest of Rich Mulliins. Shortly thereafter, the "first wave" hit Wichita with Joe Scheidler and the PLAN convention. One of the first guys I met was a round, hairy character with a dark beret, carrying a lot of cameras. He told me he was a reporter for "Life Advocate."` He was extremely knowledgeable about the issues and tactics. We hit it off immediately and went to municipal court together to help some Christians who had been arrested.

I am honored to say that Paul was my friend. Over the years, we consulted frequently on legal issues and spiritual concerns.

:::

For the ten year reunion of the Summer of Mercy, Paul and Bonnie stayed in our home, and my family was blessed by their spirit, humor, and intelligence. Paul called us last week, just a few days before he departed for his heavenly home. When we heard the news of his parting, we were staggered.

Paul can't be replaced. He was the best that pro-life has to offer. ... Without him, many favorable court decisions would never have been obtained. We are each going to have to step up our own efforts to fill the gap in the wall left by Paul's passing.

:::

And there was one other thing about Paul that contantly (sic) amazed me: he and I almost always agreed about everything -- from church issues to pro-life controversys (sic) to legal tactics. He was a true brother. I can't wait to see him again.

Donald "the Dingo" McKinney

The religious right has a way of showing just how far out it really is when push comes to shove. The Terri Shiavo episode -- when the religious right got the congress and the president to attempt to intervene in a situation that doctors and the courts had determined was a case of a woman with irreversible braim damage and in a persistent vegitative state -- gave us a glimpse of theocratic totalitarianism lurking beneath the politics of the leaders of the religious right generally, and the leaders of the antiabortion movement in particular.  

The current situation also highlights what is becoming of the Republican Party, as winking association with religiously inspired domestic terrorism is overlooked -- even when appointing people to highly responsible positions in government.