Conservatives Star at Meeting of Broadcasters

Several thousand religious radio and television broadcasters flocked to a convention here this week to extol a well-established catechism of conservative moral and political positions, but they gave scant applause to the few speakers who presented alternative views.

In fact, only about 125 of the broadcasters attending the annual meeting of the National Religious Broadcasters showed up to hear the Rev. Jesse Jackson speak at a featured breakfast. But more than 1,200 attended a pro-Israel prayer breakfast scheduled at the same time in an adjacent ballroom. There, conservative speakers included former U.N. ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) and television evangelists Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swaggart.

Black leaders said they were embarrassed and felt humiliated by the small turnout. And Jackson, a Baptist minister better known as a liberal political and civil rights leader and a 1984 Democratic candidate for President, charged that the event had been “sabotaged” by NRB officials because they feared giving him a platform.

Denies Accusation

Ben Armstrong, longtime executive director of the 1,200-member NRB, denied the accusation and said the turnout was the largest yet for the annual black broadcasters’ breakfast.

Earlier, several thousand attended a debate between Swaggart, who claims an audience of 10 million for his weekly TV programs, and former Republican U.S. Rep. John Buchanan, who heads People for the American Way. But it was clear from the outset that the partisan crowd had little sympathy for the views of Buchanan or his organization, established five years ago by television mogul Norman Lear to needle the religious right.

Buchanan, a Southern Baptist minister, defended the separation of church and state during much of his portion of the debate, entitled “Religion and Politics.” He drew a sprinkling of applause when he said: “Thank God for religious liberty. . . . God leaves us free, and governments should as well.”

But the audience fell quiet as Buchanan went on to defend some government programs “you wouldn’t call conservative” such as health care and housing for the elderly. He then suggested that those who think “you can’t solve social problems by throwing (government) money at them” are guilty of faulty reasoning if they also feel “you can solve world problems through defense spending.”

Blames ‘Secular Humanists’

Swaggart--sounding a theme often repeated here--blamed most of the nation’s social ills on “secular humanists” and their associates. Buchanan, he charged, was a fellow-traveler with those who reject all religious moral codes.

“When you peek under the covers, the people they go to bed with aren’t exactly in favor of this book,” he said, holding up a Bible. He charged that secular humanists control the media and entertainment industries, “much of the political spectrum and most of the churches.”

The secular humanist philosophy that “anything goes” has also allowed legalized abortion, pornography and homosexuality, Swaggart said to mounting applause. “Homosexuality . . . came out of the bathroom, into the bathhouse and now into the blood bank and we have AIDS.”

Other speakers harshly criticized the U.S. Supreme Court. Patrick J. Buchanan, White House director of communications, blamed the court and its decisions on pornography, school prayer and abortion for undermining the spiritual nature of the nation.

And Robertson, head of the Christian Broadcasting Network, evoked loud applause when he thundered: “The Constitution never intended for five old men in black robes, who never were elected, to dominate our system--never!”

Potent Political Force

The broadcasters, celebrating the 65th anniversary of religious broadcasting, have become a potent force in the conservative political movement of the late 1970s and 1980s. Because of their high visibility through the explosive growth of high-tech electronic evangelism, these preachers have been courted by politicians from President Reagan down.

Reagan, who has appeared at four of the last five NRB conventions, sent a videotaped message instead of appearing in person this week because, he said, the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle forced rearrangement of his schedule.