GOP 'Christian' ad creator explains

An ad by the Augusta County Republican Committee touting the need to "Preserve our Christian Heritage" was created to be a reflection of the party's creed, officials say.

Larry Roller, 87, created the political flier that says, "Preserve our Christian Heritage! VOTE REPUBLICAN" on Nov. 3. The ad ran as an insert in The News Leader Thursday.

"God is a foundation of our nation," said Roller, of Mount Sidney, who is on the GOP committee. "If you read the histories of our founding fathers, (they say) you should not run for office if you are not a Christian."

Article VI, paragraph 3 of the U.S. Constitution, however, states religion is not a qualification "to any office or public trust under the United States."

Roller, who is a former teacher and educational administrator, said that in the last 50 years there has been an erosion of God's role in the nation.

"They have taken the Ten Commandments out of public places, along with the Pledge of Allegiance and daily prayer out of the schools," he said. "They seem to forget the very first thing they did before writing the Constitution was pray for 3 1/2 hours."

Roller said he was aware of supremacy groups using the idea of preserving a Christian heritage when designing the GOP flier, but "just because some people have misused the words does not mean there is anything wrong with using 'Christian heritage.'"

A former independent, Roller said he considered being a Democrat before joining the Republican party 30 years ago, but was swayed into the GOP after hearing a political candidate say, "the future of this nation lies with the Republican party."

"I've been working with them ever since," he said. "They respect family values, and I've made the right choice, there is no doubt about that."