Nelson - Shadow Network

For my friends, and for our country.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

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CONTENTS

A * denotes a member of the Council for National Policy, past or present. The following is not a complete roster of CNP membership.

THE FUNDAMENTALISTS

* Paul Pressler III : Texas lawyer and later judge; helped launch the Southern Baptist Conventions Conservative Resurgence.

* Paige Patterson : Southern Baptist pastor; helped launch the Conservative Resurgence. Later president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

* Tony Perkins : president, Family Research Council; president (as of 2016) of the Council for National Policy.

* Richard Land : president, Southern Evangelical Seminary; former president, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; co-author, Family Research Council iVoterGuide; member, President Donald Trumps Evangelical Advisory Council.

* Tim LaHaye : California pastor; first president of the Council for National Policy; co-author of bestselling Left Behind series of novels about the Rapture.

* Beverly LaHaye : Tims wife; founder of Concerned Women for America.

* James Dobson : fundamentalist psychologist; founder of Focus on the Family and its media empire, as well as the Family Research Council.

Mike Pence : Vice President of the United States.

THE POLITICAL OPERATIVES

* Edwin Meese III : counselor to President Ronald Reagan; U.S. attorney general (19851988); president, CNP, 1996.

* Paul Weyrich : conservative visionary, co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council, among others.

* Richard Viguerie : chairman, American Target Advertising; pioneer in the use of direct mail in political campaigns.

* Morton Blackwell : founder and president of the Leadership Institute, which trains candidates and activists in campaign technology.

* Paul Teller : former executive director of the House Republican Study Committee; special assistant to President Donald Trump for legislative affairs.

* Kellyanne Conway : pollster and political consultant; former secretary/treasurer of CNP; counselor to President Donald Trump.

* Ralph Reed : former director of the Christian Coalition; chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition; key figure in the United in Purpose initiative.

* Bill Dallas : director, United in Purpose coalition, created to register and engage evangelical voting blocs through data mining and canvassing.

George Barna : fundamentalist pollster; co-founder of the Barna Group; executive director of the American Culture & Faith Institute, a division of United in Purpose.

THE MEDIA

* Stuart W. Epperson : co-founder and chairman, Salem Communications; former president, Council for National Policy (2012).

* Edward G. Atsinger : co-founder and CEO, Salem Communications.

* Richard P. Bott Sr. : founder and chairman, Bott Radio Network; * Richard P. Bott II is president and CEO.

* Donald Wildmon : Mississippi minister who founded the American Family Association and American Family Radio; current president of the AFA is Wildmons son * Tim Wildmon .

* Neil Patel : co-founder and publisher, the Daily Caller .

* Steve Bannon : former executive chairman of Breitbart News; former senior counselor to President Donald Trump.

* Todd Starnes : Fox News Radio host and Fox News commentator.

James OKeefe : founder and president, Project Veritas; graduate of Morton Blackwells Leadership Institute.

THE MONEY

* Richard DeVos Sr. : co-founder, Amway; * Richard DeVos Jr .: former CEO, Amway.

* Edgar Prince : founder, Prince Corporation; * Elsa Prince Broekhuizen , chairman, EDP Management (widow).

Elizabeth Betsy DeVos : daughter of Edgar and Elsa Prince; married to Richard DeVos Jr.; Secretary of Education.

* Erik Prince : son of Edgar and Elsa Prince; former Navy SEAL; founder and former CEO of Blackwater security company (now called Academi).

* Foster Friess : former manager of the Brandywine Fund; co-founder and president, Friess Family Foundation.

* Robert Mercer : former co-CEO of Renaissance Technologies, and daughter * Rebekah Mercer ; investor in Cambridge Analytica.

Charles Koch : CEO of Koch Industries, and David Koch , executive vice president, Koch Industries.

HEADS OF ORGANIZATIONS

* Wayne LaPierre : CEO, National Rifle Association.

* Marjorie Dannenfelser : President, Susan B. Anthony List.

* Penny Nance : President and CEO, Concerned Women for America

* Jenny Beth Martin : founder and CEO, Tea Party Patriots.

* Kristan Hawkins : president, Students for Life of America.

* Lila Rose : founder and president, Live Action.

* Jay Sekulow : chief counsel, American Center for Law & Justice; key attorney for Donald Trump.

* Leonard Leo : executive vice president, Federalist Society.

* Tim Phillips : president, Americans for Prosperity, funded by the Koch Brothers.

Charlie Kirk : founder and president of Turning Point USA, youth organization.

TECHNOLOGY STRATEGISTS

Thomas Peters : founder and CEO of uCampaign political app platform, and RumbleUp text messaging platform.

Chris Wilson : CEO, WPA Intelligence; former director of research, analytics and strategy for Ted Cruz campaign, early client of the uCampaign app.

One day in August 2004, as I drove down the street in my hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma, I tuned the radio dial to a new station. I settled on a random call-in show and sat back to listen. The host was denouncing the candidacy of John Kerry in terms that went something like this. He legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts, he said. Thats exactly what hell do all over the country if he gets elected president of the United States.

An anxious elderly woman called in. Ive been married to my husband more than forty yearsare you saying my marriage would be in danger?

Thats right, he answered. John Kerry is threatening the sanctity of marriage, including yours. So you better get out and vote.

When I arrived at my destination, I parked in the driveway to listen to the rest, just to make sure Id gotten it right. Id heard debates about same-sex marriage in New York, but none of them suggested that it would challenge the legitimacy of heterosexual marriage. But I dismissed the broadcast as a regional curiosity. After all, I was in a middling town in a deep-red state, and I thought the influence of a radio preacher was unlikely to reach beyond a local audience.

The following years brought historic milestones, including the inauguration of our first African American president, environmental protections, and the legalization of same-sex marriage. But the same period witnessed a social and political backlash that took aim at the very institutions of American government, leading to the rise of the Tea Party, obstructionist Republican majorities in Congress, and the stunning election of Donald Trump in 2016.