With Amazon releasing a documentary on the Duggar family entitled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, the world is learning that the famous family and The Institute in Basic Life Principles had connections in high places. The IBLP presents itself as a religious organization, but former members have explained they had hopes of world domination. Now, the Amazon series is giving an in-depth look into all the connections.
It became apparent during Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets that the leader of the IBLP, Bill Gothard, had his hands in a lot of schemes and tried to figure out the best way to send his disciples into high-ranking positions. One of his main thoughts was to create the Joshua Generation, which was the millennial generation who could go forth and conquer in the name of God. Bill took the best and the brightest from his Christian home school program and helped them assume positions within the government and the law. Bill and the IBLP want their followers to become U.S. Senators, Presidents, and Supreme Court Justices.
6 Mike Huckabee
The Amazon series shared that former Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was extremely close with Jim Bob and Josh Duggar. So much so, that he once was filmed berating a woman on the campaign trail for calling out his support of the eldest Duggar child. Mike was also an alumnus of Bill's Basic Seminar and was once quoted on the website praising the religious leader. The Republican candidate ran in 2008 and believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, and opposes both same-sex marriage and civil unions.
5 Rick Perry
Former Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry spoke at a 2005 ATI conference in Big Sandy, Texas for the IBLP community. Rick was a controversial political character who believed the 16th and 17th Amendments caused states to hand over significant chunks of their sovereignty to the federal government. Rick also ran for president in 2016, and is thinking of running for a third time in 2024. He believes in capping federal spending, that global warming isn't real, opposes any federal education standards, and that there shouldn't be universal healthcare.
4 Sarah Palin
While Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the Republican politician attended multiple IBLP conferences. The book titled The Rogue by Joe McGinnis shared that in April 2000 at city expense, the former Vice President hopeful traveled to Indianapolis to participate in a conference at the International Training Center of the Evangelical Institute in Basic Life Principles. The conference had been organized by the International Association of Character Cities (IACC), an affiliate of the Character Training Institute (CTI), an organization that sought to end the separation of church and state.
Sarah's political beliefs run deep in Christian conservatism. She doesn't believe in abortion or stem cell research, and believes in family and freedom. Sarah did run for the Alaskan Congress seat but lost. However, it's still believed that she can see Russia from her house and is keeping an eye on Putin.
3 Sonny Perdue
The former Governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, has been a long-time disciple of Bill and The Institute in Basic Life Principles. During Donald Trump's presidency, he picked Sonny as the Secretary of Agriculture. Sonny has been a long-time follower, supporter, and advocate for the organization, even though Bill was eventually kicked out. Sonny has openly praised the homeschool ministry, Advanced Training Institute (ATI).
Bill required all of his followers to go through the teachings and workbooks, according to ex-members who spoke on Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. The IBLP leader has always claimed his teachings were based on 7 Basic Biblical Principles and Godly character. Sonny credits Bill and the IBLP for having the most influential role in his life next to the Bible. Sonny started out as a Democrat, but changed affiliations in the late '90s.
2 David Green
David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby, is a pastor's son from Emporia, Kansas. The Green family are Pentecostal, and have long supported The Institute in Basic Life Principles. With his deep pockets, Gawker shared that David bought multiple buildings for Bill and the IBLP to use. The store owner has also attended numerous conferences. David has also spoken alongside Bill, which were attended by the Duggars. He was also a keynote speaker and is often featured on the IBLP's Embassy Media website.
David and his store Hobby Lobby have often fought for conservative rights, which have included denying paying for their employee's contraceptives. In 2011, Feed the Children, a non-profit organization, accused David and the Green family of pushing them out of their own charity. Hobby Lobby has also been accused of antisemitism, and David was blasted for trying to teach the Bible in public schools. In recent times, David and his company were found guilty of smuggling biblical artifacts from Iraq.
1 Madison Cawthorne
In the final Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets episode, "Arrows Activated," the series turned its focus to how the IBLP is playing the long game when it comes to their dream of world domination. The crux of the argument claims that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are but a cog in a wheel, with the end game being turning the United States into a Christian fundamentalist nation. One of the IBLP's biggest claim to fames is with former Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
Madison won a seat in Congress, but only served one term. He was accused of sexual misconduct during college, according to NPR. The young Congress member also claimed at the January 6 attacks that there would be more "bloodshed" if there were more stolen elections, and he even was charged twice for driving with a suspended license. With each connection, the IBLP and the Duggars were able to spread their fundamentalist teachings to a much wider audience.
Source: The Rogue/Amazon, Gawker, Embassy Media, NPR