Richard Land is the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission – the denomination’s lobbying arm in Washington, D.C. Under Land, the SBC office has aligned with the Religious Right on social issues and frequently works in tandem with the leadership of the Republican Party.

Land is infamous for his partisanship. In 1998, he told The New York Times that the Religious Right was tired of being taken for granted by the GOP. “The go-along, get-along strategy is dead,” Land said. “No more engagement. We want a wedding ring, we want a ceremony, we want a consummation of the marriage.”

In 2009, Land sparked controversy for comparing President Barack Obama’s proposed health-care reform proposals to Nazi genocide.