http://www.cincinnatibeacon.com/index.php/contents/comments/is_sarah_palin_a_gothardite/According to articles in today’s Daily Oklahoman and Washington Post, when she was mayor of Wasilla AK, Sarah Palin “spearheaded” efforts to establish the town as as “a community of character” via the International Association of Character Cities (IACC). What these stories don’t mention is that the Oklahoma City-based IACC is a secular front for Chicago millionaire evangelist Bill Gothard.
The Gothard "Character City" connections have been widely reported, such this “In These Times” cover story, "The Cult of Character." The Beacon’s been on the “character” story for years because their local office, established in 2000 by former councilman Phil Heimlich and local businessman Mike Daly, is apparently their biggest success, having provided "character training" seminars for local cops and firemen. (According to former city councilman Todd Portune, when Heimlich submitted the "Character Cities" proclamation to council, he didn’t say anything about the Gothard connection.)
When Mike Huckabee was running in the Republican Presidential primary, he was hooked into a network of Gothardites and other religious kooks who believe that Cabbage Patch Dolls are evil and that "the rock beat" is a tool of Satan, both Gothard favorites. Those Christian soldiers constitutes a significant base of grassroots political activists. Needless to say, that had everything to do with McCain’s choice of Palin as his runnin’ pardner. (Speaking of Huck, earlier this year we broke stories about Mike Huckabee’s ties to Gothard and the dubious "character development" programs Huck pushed through Arkansas state prisons.)