Why we need to know who our elected officials are meeting on our behalf
By: Ollie Taylor
Tags: Jerseyci, USA, Politics, Networking, Transparency

Once again, elected members of Jersey’s government have visited the National Prayer Breakfast in the United States, following our now Chief Minister, John Le Fondre’s, visit in 2017. This time it was Assistant Chief Minister, Connétable Richard Buchanan, and Deputy Mary Le Hegarat to privately fund their trip to attend the 67th Christian Prayer breakfast last Thursday.

Described in the States press release as a “forum for invited guests from political, social, and business sectors to assemble and build relationships”, the event is attended by some 3,500 guests, including international invitees from more than 100 countries and of course, U.S. President Donald Trump himself.

Trump took the opportunity to pander to his crucial Christian support base in a speech at the event, aside from his error of praising people of faith for helping abolish civil rights, he assured the predominantly Christian audience that he would “never let them down” and in a nod to proposed anti-abortion restrictions said “we must build a culture that cherishes the dignity and sanctity of innocent human life. All children are made in the holy image of God. Every life is sacred and every soul is a precious gift from heaven”. Strong words from someone never previously considered especially religious.

The breakfast attended by our States officials is held on annual basis by an organisation called “The Fellowship”, known more internally by its members as “The Family”, that blurs the lines of separation between church and state. It is a secretive, and some would argue fundamentalist, Christian organisation that has the ear of some of the most powerful leaders in the world. Jeff Sharlet, the only journalist to be able to report on the Fellowship from the inside, described in a Vox interview that its founder, Abraham Vereide, took a slightly different view of Christianity:

“he felt that God spoke to him and told him that Christianity may have been getting it wrong for 2,000 years, with this focus on the poor and the weak and the down and out, and what God actually wanted was for Abraham — and those whom he chose — to minister to those whom he called the ‘up and out,’ the ‘key men.’

He had this idea that if you could win a few key figures in positions of power for their idea of Christ, well, then they would reorganize society on that basis and you would have just kind of trickle-down fundamentalism. Always central is Jesus as they understand him, as a figure of strength.”

Speaking on the National Prayer Breakfast Sharlet explains its ambitious origins:

“The Family created the National Prayer Breakfast as a recruiting device. Back in the ’40s and ’50s when they were planning it, their goal was to normalize this idea of prayer at the center of American political life, so much so that people would just take for granted. They created it in 1953 when Eisenhower agreed to attend. They had tried with FDR and Truman, who both said no.”

Rather than the focus being on Jesus’ teachings and prayer, the breakfast has developed over the years to become something else, leading to a New York Times story to describe the event as an “international influence-peddling bazaar where foreign dignitaries, religious leaders, diplomats and lobbyists jockey for access to the highest reaches of American power.”

Connétable Buchanan said of the breakfast that it is a “valuable opportunity for us to talk to senior politicians from around the world, where we can discuss, in person, the part Jersey can and does play in international affairs”, also confirming that he was looking forward to making connections with business and political leaders.

A later post on Twitter revealed one of these connections to be Republican Congressman Robert Aderholt. Along with opposing same-sex marriage and abortion, Aderholt has stymied moves for a carbon emissions tax, has opposed regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and believes there’s no convincing evidence for man-made climate change. He’s also one of the top 20 lifetime recipients of cash from the NRA — cited as one of the main reasons behind a lack of meaningful change in US gun laws— and the first Alabama state member to join the right-wing, Evangelical Christian influenced Tea Party. Apparent political views aside, Connétable Buchanan tweeted he was “honoured” to meet the man.

States press releases at times can be short on the details, and if it wasn’t for this tweet we would be none-the-wiser as to who was actually met. With the Jersey Government increasingly looking outward in a post-Brexit world it will be ever more important to know exactly who our elected officials are making connections with on our behalf.