NEWS SIDEBAR:  Heston’s `Moses PAC’ finds fertile ground in Alabama

c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ “Moses” visited Alabama _ site of a fierce political struggle over the Ten Commandments _ at least twice last year and lo, a sea of checkbooks opened and $48,800 rolled into the conservative coffers of Arena PAC. Arena PAC, nicknamed Moses PAC, is the political action committee started […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ “Moses” visited Alabama _ site of a fierce political struggle over the Ten Commandments _ at least twice last year and lo, a sea of checkbooks opened and $48,800 rolled into the conservative coffers of Arena PAC.

Arena PAC, nicknamed Moses PAC, is the political action committee started in 1996 by actor Charlton Heston to help fund his travels around the country in support of Republican candidates.


The state where public officials have rallied to the defense of the Ten Commandments being displayed on a courtroom wall has outpaced all others with its response to Heston, whose image most people picture when they think of the Hebrew prophet Moses who led Israel out of Egyptian captivity in Cecil B. De Mille’s “The Ten Commandments.”

Last fall, as the fight over religion peaked, Heston held fund-raisers for Arena PAC in Tuscaloosa and Montgomery, Ala. At one point, Gov. Fob James pledged to call out the National Guard to keep the Ten Commandments up on Etowah County Circuit Judge Roy S. Moore’s wall in North Alabama. A federal judge had ordered the display removed.

Heston, on one occasion, recited Moses’ farewell speech to Israel, the one he delivered when he portrayed Moses in De Mille’s epic, as part of his pitch for funds.

Federal Election Commission documents show 67 percent of the $72,800 in individual contributions received by Arena PAC during the period from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 1997, came from Alabama. Coming in a distant second was Arizona, with $12,000.

“I guess people in Alabama agree with his beliefs and are willing to help,” said Jimmy Hinton, a Tuscaloosa businessman whose home was the scene of a Heston fund-raising event.

Generally, Heston advocates lower taxes and opposes abortion. He strongly supports the Second Amendment right to bear arms, says Moses PAC director Angela Fernandez. He was elected to the National Rifle Association board of directors last spring.

Alabama Democrats also bring in national members with star power to raise funds and bring people to the polls, said Giles Perkins, executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party.


“Charlton Heston is a big draw, and it doesn’t surprise me that he’s able to raise money,” said Perkins. “Throughout the election cycle, we will probably bring in nationally known Democrats and perhaps some celebrities to raise money.”

MJP END HARDY

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