Anti-Gay Rep. Randy Forbes Slammed from Right and Left

This morning I wrote about my increasingly homophobic former classmate, Congressman Randy Forbes, who appears to be attempting to block campaign funding for gay Republican candidates from the National Republican Congressional Committee.  Forbes motivation?  Obviously, kissing the large bigoted asses of the Christofascist.  And perhaps, in my view, reprising the behavior of former Congressman Ed Schrock.  Since Politico's story hit, Forbes has been getting slammed by both pundits of the right and the left.  On the right, a piece in Bearing Drift, perhaps the leading conservative political blog in Virginia, this statement appeared:

Forbes did himself no favors with his statements: . . . .Notice anything missing? Like say a statement making it abundantly clear that using sexual orientation to disqualify a candidate is a no-no? Me neither, and that’s the problem.

Has the Republican Party of Virginia fallen so far that opposing Bob McDonnell’s tax hike is considered “extreme,” but backroom homophobia is just fine?

Memo to my Congressman: the clock is ticking; I think 24 hours to be sufficient for a much needed clarification. Likewise for the newfound “moderates” who make up the Bolling faction (as it were) of the the RPV: you have 24 hours to practice what you preach, condemn this behavior (if you don’t think Forbes actually did it, you can feel free to blast the concept without touching him), and show me this is about more than giving yourselves cover for tax increases.

The left has been equally brutal.  Here are highlights from a statement by the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes is back in the news. We last wrote about Forbes in October when he was set to fundraise for an anti-gay hate group, the American Family Association (AFA). Now he’s pushing to deny money to gay Republican candidates for Congress – because they’re gay. Unfortunately for Forbes, his anti-gay bigotry is undercutting his effort to become chair of the powerful House Armed Services Committee.

We were hopeful that his decision to skip the hate group event signaled a shift away from anti-gay bigotry. We were wrong.
Forbes, sadly, has a long track record of bigotry, and his latest efforts fit nicely into a career of denying civil rights to LGBT Americans. As Zack Ford points out at ThinkProgress, he argued in 2007 that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prevent LGBT Americans from being fired for their sexual orientation, would “destroy the institution of marriage.” He also supports a constitutional amendment to overturn state laws allowing same-sex marriage and introduced legislation that would allow businesses with a religious affiliation to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

As we’ve noted in the past, Forbes has worked closely with the AFA and appeared numerous times on its radio shows, including with Tony Perkins and homophobe-in-chief Bryan Fischer. One of the first videos on his official YouTube channel, posted in 2008, is an AFA special called the “War on God.”

Forbes’ close relationship with the AFA renders him unfit to chair the committee that oversees America’s modern military. After all, this is a group whose chief spokesperson and head of public policy – Bryan Fischer – argues that we must “bring to an end the practice of putting women in the military” and “stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military.”
Forbes can’t be held responsible for every bigoted thing that comes out of Fischer’s mouth, but he has gone out of his way to work with the AFA – more than perhaps any other member of Congress. He has made it clear that he will use every bit of leverage he has to undermine equal rights. He has no place dictating policy for our military.

   Actions have consequences and I hope Forbes' bigotry ends up biting him in the ass big time.

Randy Forbes Pushing National Republican Congressional Committee to Deny Support to Gay Candidates

As I have noted before, I was in law school with now Congressman Randy Forbes.  You might say that I even counted him as a friend.  I honestly cannot determine what the Hell has happened to the man to make him such a homophobe and such a tool of the Christofascists.  It's as if a "Stepford Wife" transformation was done to him.  Now, Forbes has ratcheted up his batshitery and attacks on gays by pushing the National Republican Congressional Committee to deny any assistance to promising gay Republican candidates.  Given that Forbes is in a safe, gerrymandered district, it's not as if he needs to be pandering so blatantly to the Christofascists at The Family Foundation.  One can only wonder if Forbes is another Ed Schrock - stridently anti-gay to hide the real story.  Politico looks at Forbes quest against gay Republicans.  Here are excerpts: 

Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes, a senior House Republican eyeing a powerful committee chairmanship, is causing friction with some of his colleagues by pushing the House GOP campaign arm to deny support for some of the party’s gay congressional candidates.

Forbes has waged a lengthy crusade to convince his colleagues and the National Republican Congressional Committee brass they shouldn’t back some gay candidates. His efforts on Capitol Hill were described to POLITICO by more than a half-dozen sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The issue is particularly acute because House Republicans have two promising openly gay candidates in 2014 vying for seats held by Democrats. Richard Tisei, who narrowly lost to Democratic Rep. John Tierney in 2012, is running again in northeastern Massachusetts. And in San Diego, Carl DeMaio, a former city councilman, is trying to knock off Democratic Rep. Scott Peters.

Many senior House Republicans haven’t shied away from giving money to Tisei or DeMaio. The NRCC supported Tisei in 2012, and many top Republicans contributed to his campaign. The political arm of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gave DeMaio $10,000 in June. And Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) chipped in $5,000 the same month.

On Wednesday, Forbes told POLITICO he thinks “GOP leaders can do whatever they want to do,” in terms of giving money to gay candidates.  He said he is more concerned about members being asked to contribute to the campaigns. The NRCC is partially funded by collecting tens of millions of dollars from House Republicans, who pay dues to the organization.

In an emailed statement to POLITICO in response to this story, NRCC Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon said, “Our decisions on the Republican nominees we support will not be based on race, gender or sexual orientation but will be based on the strength of their candidacy and their ability to defeat Democrats.”

Many Republicans seem willing to back DeMaio. Rep. Darrell Issa, a senior California Republican who has endorsed him, said that “he will be supported by the NRCC when he wins the primary.”
“I will see to that,” said Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Although Forbes has been lobbying on this issue for some time, it is becoming public now, as his name is being mentioned for the committee chairmanship. Although he hasn’t announced his retirement, many GOP insiders expect current Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) to forgo another bid for election.

We do not need Forbes in a position such as chairman of the Armed Services Committee.  His anti-gay jihad may warm the icy cold heart of Victoria Cobb at The Family Foundation, but it certainly does jibe with a political party's goal of winning elections.

The Daily Show Does Elaine Donnelly

I previously posted about Elaine Donnelly's deranged and vociferous rant last week while testifying in opposition to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." To anyone who has followed the fanatically sexually repressed/obsessed Donnelly's anti-gay statements over the years, it became readily apparent ages ago that she's not dealing with a full deck. In fact, one cannot help but wonder who in the GOP arranged for her to be a witness. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely happy that she testified. She probably provided the best demonstration as to why DADT needs to go and put an image of indelible lunacy on the face of its supporters. Thus, it is not surprising that the Daily Show did a piece on Ms. Donnelly's performance at the hearings. Needless to say, a number of far right wingnuts are whining about the debacle Elaine Donnelly created, but the bottom line is that if the truth hurts and the anti-gay spokesmen show themselves to be crazy, just maybe the policy DOES need to end.

WP Column Trashes Elaine Donnelly

Regular readers know that I despise Elaine Donnelly, President of the so-called Center for Military Readiness, a Christianist created organization with two goals: (1) demonize gays constantly and keep them out of the military, and (2) push women from the military, apparently so that they remain in the home barefoot and pregnant. Would that Donnelly would take her own advice on the latter issue (although she looks so frigid, I suspect getting pregnant might be a challenge even if she were younger). Fortunately, at the hearings on DADT yesterday, Donnelly seems to have been at her most loopy and and came across as a nut case - which in my opinion is definitely the case - and spouted off lunatic statements notwithstanding her 100% lack of ANY experience in the military herself. Donnelly represents the true face and mindset of today's Christianists. People truly need to understand how crazy and consumed with hate these folks truly are and not just for gays - fortunately Donnelly helped educate the Armed Services Committee yesterday. In today's Washington Post, Dana Millbank lets Donnelly have it. Here are some highlights:

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Don't ask, don't tell. And, whatever you do, don't ask Elaine Donnelly to tell you what she thinks about gays in the military. The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee made just such a miscalculation yesterday. Holding the first hearing in 15 years on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, lawmakers invited a quartet of veterans to testify on the subject and also extended an invitation to Donnelly, who has been working for years to protect our fighting forces from the malign influence of women.

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Donnelly treated the panel to an extraordinary exhibition of rage. She warned of "transgenders in the military." She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading "HIV positivity" through the ranks.

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Her written statement added warnings about "inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community," the prospects of "forcible sodomy" and "exotic forms of sexual expression," and the case of "a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault" a fellow soldier. . . . . Inadvertently, Donnelly achieved the opposite of her intended effect. Though there's no expectation that Congress will repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and allow gays to serve openly in the military, the display had the effect of increasing bipartisan sympathy for the cause.

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Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) pointed a finger at Darrah and glared at Donnelly. "Would you please tell me, Miss Donnelly, why I should give one twit about this woman's sexual orientation, when it didn't interfere one bit with her service?" Donnelly said something about "forced intimacy." Shays cut her off. "You're saying she has no right to serve her country because she happens to have a different sexual orientation than you."

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It was tempting to think that Donnelly had been chosen by Democrats to sabotage the case against open military service for homosexuals. But Republicans had consented to the witness panel, . . . . But it was Donnelly, founder and president of the Center for Military Readiness, who amused lawmakers the most.

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She further explained the "absolutely devastating" effect of homosexuals "introducing erotic factors" and made a comparison to Sen. Larry Craig's adventure at the Minneapolis airport. She said admitting gays to the military would be "forced cohabitation" and a policy of "relax and enjoy it." Murphy puffed his cheeks with air to calm himself. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) said she was "shocked." Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) said she was "embarrassed." Shays said it was "scurrilous" of Donnelly to talk about the menace of homosexual misconduct, because it would be punished the same way the military punishes heterosexual misconduct.

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Donnelly said something about her respect for the service of gay veterans. "How do you respect their service?" Shays demanded. "You want them out." Donnelly seemed to have unified the lawmakers -- against her. The next questioner was Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), a retired Navy vice admiral. "I couldn't ask it better than you did," he told Shays.

U.S. House Armed Services Committee to Hold hearing on DADT Tomorrow

I suspect that Elaine Donnelly (pictured at left) is having ultra-frenzied hissy fits and convulsions over the pending U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearings tomorrow on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Like so many of the professional gay-haters, Ms. Donnelly has associated herself with a Christianist organization with an official sounding name - the Center for Military Readiness - to serve as a platform for her efforts to forever condemn gays to less than full citizenship status. When not trashing gays, CMR also works to deny women equal treatment in the military, preferring apparently that women be kept in the home barefoot and pregnant. Would that Ms. Donnelly would stay in her home and keep her mouth shut. Here's what Ms. Donnelly, ever the martyr, is putting out about the hearings tomorrow:

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CMR has the facts, sound principle and common sense on its side, but faces large, well-funded activist groups that are devoted to one radical goal: repeal of the 1993 law, which is constantly mislabeled "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

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Funny that the storyline being reported by USA Today differs significantly from Donnelly's whining. Here are a few highlights:

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Without this hearing, said former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman John Shalikashvili, "you will never repeal the law. It's a great idea." He is among more than 50 retired generals and admirals who have said it is time to rethink the policy. The hearing comes as the volunteer armed forces struggle to retain troops to fight two wars. Changing attitudes are seen in polls such as one by The Washington Post, published Saturday, showing that 75% favor allowing gays to serve openly, up from 44% in 1993.

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The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, has said that if elected, he would work to repeal the bar on open service — and the "don't ask" compromise designed to work around it. His Republican rival, John McCain, wants no change.

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Gay-rights advocates say they are disappointed at the Pentagon's no-show. "At a time when the military is relaxing every possible standard to attract new recruits, and at the same time is losing mission-critical specialists such as Arabic linguists, medical professionals and others, one would hope and expect that Defense Department leaders would be first in line to call on Congress to repeal the law," says Steve Ralls of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

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I guess under Ms. Donnelly's thinking, us gays have somehow recruited former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman John Shalikashvili and the more than 50 other retired generals and admirals who think DADT needs to go. Ms. Donnelly really needs to get a life and get her frigid nose out of the military's business.