With God on Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right in America (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Directors:

Calvin Skaggs
David Van Taylor

Release Date:

1 November 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot Keywords:

Born Again | Presidency | Interview | Morality | Liberal

Cast

George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself
Jimmy Carter	...	Himself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ritchie Coster	...	Himself - Narrator
Jerry Falwell	...	Himself
Billy Graham	...	Himself (archive footage)
Reverend Tim LaHaye	...	Himself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Pat Robertson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Weyrich	...	Himself

Directed by
Calvin Skaggs
David Van Taylor

Produced by
Lewanne Jones	....	senior producer: archives
Ali Pomeroy	....	producer
Charles Schuerhoff	....	executive producer
Calvin Skaggs	....	executive producer
Calvin Skaggs	....	producer
David Van Taylor	....	producer

Original Music by
John Morris

Film Editing by
Pamela Scott Arnold		(as Pamela Arnold)
Sara Fishko		(as Sarah Fishko)
Jay Freund
Cindy Kaplan Rooney

Sound Department
Rick Dior	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Garrison	....	sound
Katherine Gordon Miller	....	assistant sound editor
Daniel Pagan	....	supervising sound editor
Ali Pomeroy	....	sound
Rob Silverthorne	....	sound
Jeffrey Stern	....	supervising sound editor
Bob Sullivan	....	sound
Tony Volante	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Deborah Eve Lewis	....	camera (as Deborah Lewis)
Steve Schecter	....	camera
Brett Wiley	....	camera

Editorial Department
Rebecca Arndt	....	assistant editor
Steve Seng	....	on-line editor
Don Wyllie	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Jerret Engle	....	interviews
Jerret Engle	....	researcher
Bob Gill	....	titles and graphics
Sophie Lam	....	production office coordinator
Cara Leroy	....	production office coordinator
Lynn Mirabito	....	production office coordinator
Bennett Singer	....	interviews
Bennett Singer	....	researcher
Maura Wogan	....	legal services

Thanks
Michael Cromartie	....	special thanks (as Mike Cromartie)
Marc DeMoss	....	special thanks
Valerie Merrill	....	special thanks
Jesse Pomeroy	....	special thanks (as Jesse Hart Pomeroy)
Carol Stertzer	....	special thanks
Simone Van Taylor	....	special thanks

Distributors

• Sundance Channel (2004) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

Channel 4 in the UK broadcast this film on 1 November 2004, the eve of the U.S. presidential election, 2 November 2004.

Movie Connections:

Features "The 700 Club" (1966)

Soundtrack:

Alleluia

Its about the influence of the Religious Right

I have read the comments of others on this board about this film.

I guess my objection to what I've read is that people did not understand fully what they were watching. It was the rise of the influence of the religious right or as it is stated the evangelical right.

It began with the protestant opposition to Kennedy who mistakenly I think, assumed that Kennedy would take orders from the pope. Kennedy denied it, but we are led to believe that the right was not comfortable nor did they really believe him.

Barry Goldwater represented the conservative views of the right: small government, moral integrity and standards of all kinds. The democrats under Johnson defeated him by painting him as a reactionary. If elected Goldwater would lead the country into social chaos if not international war. Funny the part fear plays in these things.

Nixon was next: Billy Graham openly supported him. The support was more inferred than openly stated. We all know why Graham was not happy about that friendship.

Then came Jimmy Carter who for the first time spoke a language that was clearly understood by the right. It confused the rest of the nation, but it lead the right to recognize its power, which they used for Ronald Reagan. He was the first of the presidents to betray the grass roots that elected him and get away with it. He had in my mind, and I say this most grudgingly, real political moxie. He turned the right into advisers instead of activists. By bypassing the right but mouthing the words, he was able to hold onto their support while not being taken in by an agenda he did not fully endorse. Reagan was able to do this for 2 complete terms. It's a remarkable feat, wouldn't you say? Bush senior was not nearly so adept at handling the religious right, but Bush junior being a new convert himself, was. The masterstroke of that election was not to discredit the religious right by destroying Pat Robertson directly, but by discrediting Bakker and Falwell so that those around him tarnished Robertson. The religious right was divided. No one could organize them.

The danger in Bush Junior is that he endorses the right without the careful thought that political rule involves. It has issues that are far too confined to be a valuable contribution to social political needs.

As anyone can tell by my writing, I am left wing. I see a need for the right. They have valuable ideas and men of good will on both sides of the political spectrum can use each other's idea.

Bush does not represent the right. He is an abomination. There are men of good will in the Political Arena. Our job should be to find them and elect them no matter what our political beliefs. We are far too lazy in our political discussions.

We ought to investigate films like this and we don't understand them then we ought to do careful research. That's what the Internet is for.

I give this a 9 out of 10. I took off one point only because I thought this could be edited just a bit better between the discussions about Bush senior and Clinton.