Poop-Shute Evangelical Religion of the GOP

"Hi Mike, this is Art," one call began, according to the station. "Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply."

Mr Haggard has participated in conservative Christian leaders' conference calls with White House staffers and has lobbied members of Congress.

(Cute Cartoon)

Preacher admits drugs, sex shame
Catherine Tsai, Colorado Springs



AN EVANGELICAL preacher with close ties to US President George Bush who is at the centre of a gay-sex and drugs controversy, admitted yesterday he bought methamphetamine and received a massage from a gay prostitute.

The Reverend Ted Haggard said be bought the drug for himself but never used it: "I was tempted but I never used it."

Prostitute Mike Jones, 49, of Denver, claims he was paid for drug-fuelled trysts by Mr Haggard, the former head of the National Association of Evangelicals.

The allegations surfaced as voters in Colorado and seven other states get ready to decide on Tuesday on amendments banning gay marriage.

Besides the proposed ban on the Colorado ballot, a separate measure would establish the legality of domestic partnerships, providing same-sex couples with many of the rights of married couples.

Mr Haggard, 50, said he never had sex with Mr Jones, who raised the allegations last week. He said he received a massage from him after being referred to him by a Denver hotel. Mr Haggard said he bought the drug because he was curious, and threw it away.

He resigned as president of the 30-million-member association yesterday and stepped down as the leader of his 14,000-member New Life Church pending a church investigation into Mr Jones's claims.

The executive committee of the association's board scheduled a conference call yesterday and planned to release a statement, the association said. Mr Haggard had been president since 2003. The acting pastor of New Life, Ross Parsley, told congregants the church's four-member board of overseers had met with Mr Haggard.

"It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true. He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation," the email said. A copy was obtained by KMGH-TV in Denver.

Members of Mr Haggard's megachurch were stunned.

"It's political, right before the elections," said Brian Boals, a New Life member for 17 years.

Church member E. J. Cox, 25, called the claims ridiculous. "People are always saying stuff about Pastor Ted," she said. "He's just like anyone else in the public eye."

Mr Jones said he decided to go public with his claims because of the political fight over the amendments. "I just want people to step back and take a look and say, 'Look, we're all sinners, we all have faults, but if two people want to get married, just let them, and let them have a happy life'," he said.

Mr Jones, who said he was gay and added that he was not working for any political group, said he was also upset when he discovered Mr Haggard and the New Life Church had publicly opposed same-sex marriage. "It made me angry that here's someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex," he said.

He claimed Mr Haggard paid him for sex nearly every month over three years. He advertised himself as an escort on the internet and was contacted by a man who called himself Art, who snorted methamphetamine before their sexual encounters to heighten his experience, he said.

Mr Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as the pastor and the two last had sex in August. He said he has voicemail messages from him, as well as an envelope he said Mr Haggard used to mail him cash.

He declined to make the voicemails available to AP, but KUSA-TV reported what it said were excerpts late yesterday that referred to methamphetamine. "Hi Mike, this is Art," one call began, according to the station. "Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply."

Mr Haggard has participated in conservative Christian leaders' conference calls with White House staffers and has lobbied members of Congress.