Pushing the G.O.P. to Support Gay Rights

For the most part a majority of Republican legislators both at the state and federal level remain little better than tawdry whores when it comes to their pandering to the Christofascists and, to a lesser extent the white supremacists (who are anti-gay as well) in the GOP base.  Polls reflecting the views of a majority of citizens simply do not matter and time and time again these GOP elected officials vote against the party's long term best interests and continue to pander to the religious extremists and ignorance embracing Neanderthals of the party grassroots.  But, as noted before, some in the GOP want this self-prostitution to the Christofascists to end.  And some of these members of the GOP are major players when it comes to fundraising and they have decided to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to fighting for the soul of the GOP.  A piece in the New York Times looks at the American Unity Fund which is seeking to bankroll gay friendly Republicans.  Not surprisingly, hate group leader Tony Perkins is not a happy camper.  Here are some article excerpts:

When the Rhode Island State Senate tallied up the votes against a same-sex marriage bill passed there on Wednesday, something was missing: Republicans. 

All five of the chamber’s Republican lawmakers had voted for the bill, stunning opponents and sending the measure to the governor’s desk and almost-certain victory next week. 

The vote reflected not only the rapidly shifting tides of public opinion on same-sex marriage, but also the influence of a new Republican advocacy group called the American Unity Fund, which spent weeks helping the state’s gay rights organization cultivate Republican senators. 

Now the group is preparing a major push in Washington and in state capitals intended to reshape the Republican Party, by building support for same-sex marriage and bolstering its acceptance among candidates and party activists around the country. 

Founded and financed by some of the country’s leading Republican fund-raisers and strategists, the fund expects to raise up to $7 million this year, officials said. The fund’s organizers include Paul E. Singer and Clifford S. Asness, libertarian-leaning New York investors; David Herro, a prominent Chicago money manager; and Seth Klarman, a billionaire Boston philanthropist and hedge fund manager.

“The concept of gay unions fits very well within our framework of individual liberty and our belief that strong families make for a stronger society,” Mr. Singer said in an e-mail. “The institution of marriage is in very bad shape in this country, yet gay and lesbian couples want very much to be a part of it, to live as committed husbands and wives with their children in traditional family units. This should be what we want as conservatives, for people to cherish and respect this model and to want it for themselves.” 

The fund is one of several advocacy organizations backed by wealthy Republicans and business leaders to shift their party’s stance in recent months on issues like immigration and same-sex marriage. And the new effort traces a rift between Republican elites and grass-roots voters over a handful of hot-button social issues that one group views as handcuffing the party and the other sees as essential to its identity.

[FRC's Tony] Perkins added: “They have money, but they’re small in number. It’s still a tension between those who care about social issues and those who would rather not deal with them.”

Those involved with the American Unity Fund said its initial efforts would be focused on more socially liberal states, like Illinois and Delaware, where a handful of Republican votes could enable advocates to win passage of same-sex marriage legislation in the coming months. The group has already set up shop in Minnesota, where the Legislature may vote as early as next week on a same-sex marriage bill that advocates do not yet have enough votes to pass. 

But the group is also beginning a long-term push in more conservative states like West Virginia and Utah, seeking to build conservative support for nondiscrimination laws that could help pave the way for same-sex marriage in coming years.

Mr. Singer, the fund’s founder, helped bankroll the successful same-sex marriage push in New York two years ago, persuading Republicans in Albany that some of the party’s top donors would be there to help defend them against primary challenges and attacks from same-sex marriage opponents.

Tension over the issue broke into the open at the Republican National Committee meeting in Los Angeles this month, after a task force charged with assessing the party’s failures in the 2012 election recommended that officials rethink their language and approach to young voters, particularly on same-sex marriage. 

A coalition of religious and social conservatives leaders sent a letter to Reince Priebus, the Republican chairman, accusing the party of seeking to marginalize social conservatives who were urging conservative donors to withhold contributions. Party officials ultimately passed a resolution affirming the Republican commitment to heterosexual marriage.  Mr. Perkins was among those who called Mr. Priebus during the debate. 

People like Perkins and hate groups like FRC are going to be the long term death of the GOP.  One can only hope that Singer and his allies are successful in their efforts both to support pro-gay candidates but in also breaking the power of the Christofascists and ignorant elements of the GOP base.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Contributed $650,000 to Support Anti-Gay Amendment

While continuing to go to great lengths to protect child rapists, closing long established parishes because of supposed financial deficits, and closing down Catholic Charities operations rather than cease anti-gay discrimination, the Catholic Church hierarchy is none the less finding plenty of money to contribute to support anti-gay legislation around the country. In fact, as the St. Cloud Times is reporting, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis alone contributed $650,000 last year to support the proposed constitutional amendment now pending in Minnesota that would ban gay marriage. The priorities (and moral bankruptcy) of the bitter old men in dresses is striking: close schools and parishes, resist paying compensation to the victims of clerical sex abuse, but spend lavishly to interfere with the CIVIL legal rights of LGBT citizens. Here are highlights from the St. Cloud Times:

MINNEAPOLIS — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says it contributed $650,000 last year to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

The archdiocese said today that it spearheaded a statewide effort of Minnesota’s Catholic bishops. Archbishop John Nienstedt has come out strongly in support of the ban. He says it’s in line with fundamental church teaching that marriage should be between one man and one woman.

The archdiocese says the money comes from investment income.

The largest group working to defeat the amendment, Minnesotans United for All Families, said last week it had raised $1.2 million.

As I have noted often, I do not understand how anyone who is truly moral can remain a Catholic. Loving gay couples are demonized and targeted for second class citizenship while child molesters are protected and the church goes to extreme lengths to compensate the victims of sexual abuse.

California AG: Proposition 8 Not Retroactive

I am a day or two behind on this story, but believe that it is important in that if the legal reasoning holds up - and I believe it is sound - then there will be married gays in California no matter the out come of the vote on Proposition 0 in November. Thus, the Christianists horror of gay marriage being referenced in school, especially government classes, will be guaranteed. What am I talking about? the fact that California Attorney General, Jerry Brown, poked a big hole in the Christianists' balloon with the release of an opinion that concludes that marriages performed before November 4th would continue to be valid even if Proposition 8 were to pass. Thus, thousands of same-sex marriages would continue to exist. This is for two reasons: (1) most legislation is effective from the date of passage and (2) under the U.S. Constitution there are bans against abrogation the right of contracts and ex-post facto laws. Here are highlights from the San Francisco Chronicle on Brown's opinion Also note how the corrupt and hypocritical Catholic Church is supporting Prop. 8 rather than focusing on cleaning its own disgusting dirty linen):

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If voters approve a November ballot measure banning same-sex marriages in California, thousands of gay and lesbian weddings conducted since the state Supreme Court legalized the unions on May 15 will probably remain valid, Attorney General Jerry Brown said Monday. . . . Brown's position is significant because his office will represent the state in lawsuits over Prop. 8's validity and meaning if it passes.

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Brown's office said in a court filing Monday that he believes the ballot measure would not invalidate existing marriages. "I believe that marriages that have been entered into subsequent to the (May 15) Supreme Court opinion will be recognized by the California Supreme Court," Brown told The Chronicle. Noting that Prop. 8 is silent about retroactivity, he said, "I would think the court, in looking at the underlying equities, would most probably conclude that upholding the marriages performed in that interval (before the election) would be a just result."

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Brown defended his ballot language as neutral and accurate Monday, while opponents of Prop. 8 pressed their challenge to a section of the Yes on 8 argument. That argument declares that teachers will be required to tell students as early as kindergarten that "gay marriage is OK" unless the ballot measure passes, a claim that the No on 8 campaign calls baseless.

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n another development Monday, the California Catholic Conference, representing Catholic bishops, endorsed Prop. 8, declaring that "same-sex unions are not the same as opposite-sex unions" and that only a relationship that can produce children should be called marriage.

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I guess per the Catholic Church all marriages of childless couples need to be voided.

Right Gears Up to Fight “Armageddon of the Culture War”

Right Wing Watch has an piece on the battle taking shape in California over Proposition 8 and how for two hours on Wednesday afternoon, July 30, 2008, pastors gathered at 215 sites in California, Arizona, and Florida were exhorted by national Religious Right leaders and local anti-gay pastors to spare nothing in the cultural and spiritual war against Satan and his allies who support marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. National figures included Tony Perkins, Harry Jackson, Maggie Gallagher, and Chuck Colson.

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The primary focus of the call was Proposition 8 in California, described by convicted Watergate felon, Chuck Colson (who I view like so many in the Christian Right as an opportunistic charlatan who used a phony religious conversion experience to set him self up with a comfortable income), as “the Armageddon of the culture war.” Not surprisingly, the Roman Catholic Church which has done NOTHING to discipline bishops and cardinals involved in cover ups in the sex abuse scandal, is involved peddling an anti-gay message. I believe that defeating Proposition 8 is absolutely critical because not only will in ensure that ultimately marriage equality will spread nation wide in the USA, but also because it may be the Christianits' Waterloo. If they lose this battle, it may be the beginning of their banishment back to the political and societal wilderness where they belong. Here are some highlights from the RWW bulletin (note how nowhere in the diatribes do these alleged Christianis even acknowledge the humanity of gays):

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Pastors from around the state, and those representing African American, Latino, and Chinese congregations, reported on their mobilization efforts. Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, auxiliary bishop of the diocese of San Diego, pledge the support of the Catholic Church and said the state conference of bishops would be providing congregations with organizing resources and urging parishioners to take part in the broader campaign. Organizers said that they are “blessed to have the full support of the LDS church” – which will help identify anti-equality voters in 21,000 precincts in August.

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While complaining about opponents of the proposition “raising millions of dollars from wealthy gay Americans,” campaign organizers said they have already raised $15 million of their minimum $23 million budget and have plans for special offerings to be taken in churches around the country.

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Rev. Dudley Rutherford, predicted that if Prop. 8 fails, the God-ordained institution of marriage would be destroyed; the engine of hate crimes legislation would be fueled, ultimately leading to it being illegal to read some sections of the Bible; the floodgates would be open to gay couples suing to force churches to marry them; and the polygamists would be next.

Proposition 8 Supporters May Sue Over Accurate Description of Initiative

UPDATED: In more bad news for the Christianists, the Los Angeles Times is also reporting that Pacific Gas & Electric ("PG&E"" has announced it is donating $250,000 to the effort to defeat Proposition 8. Moreover, the utility also said it will spearhead the formation of a business advisory council that will seek to get other businesses around California to to defeat the ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

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What a surprise! The folks who claim to be "Godly Christians" and who should, therefore, support telling the truth are all in a dither because the California Attorney General's Office has revised the description of Proposition 8 to accurately describe its legal impact. God forbid that voters accurately understand what passage of the initiative would mean. Here in Virginia, the Marriage Amendment that unfortunately passed in 2006 was advertised by its supporters as necessary to "protect marriage." What they left out was that ALL unmarried couples, both gay and straight, were targeted. Thus, many unmarried straights to this day do not understand the consequences of the Amendment's passage and how it renders their partner a total stranger under the law. It would appear that the Christianist organizations seek to pull the same trick in California. Or at least they did until the new description was released. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times:

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Supporters of Proposition 8, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, said they would file suit today to block a change made by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to the language of the measure's ballot title and summary.

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In a move made public last week and applauded by same-sex marriage proponents, the attorney general's office changed the language to say that Proposition 8 seeks to "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for the Protect Marriage coalition, called the new language "inherently argumentative" and said it could "prejudice voters against the initiative."

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Steve Smith, campaign manager for No on Proposition 8, applauded the language change."What Proposition 8 would do is eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, which is exactly what the attorney general put in the title of the measure," he said. "It will be very difficult for them to win the case."Political analysts on both sides suggest that the language change will make passage of the initiative more difficult, noting that voters might be more reluctant to pass a measure that makes clear it is taking away existing rights.

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Gareth Lacy, a spokesman for the attorney general, denied that there was any political motivation for the move.Instead, he said, the change was necessary because of the dramatic turn of events that have taken place since the petitions were circulated: namely that the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage and thousands of gay couples have since wed."The title and summary accurately reflect the measure," Lacy said.

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If the Christianists' agenda cannot stand the bright light of day, with voters being able to clearly understand the consequences of a "Yes" vote, perhaps that ought to tell them something. Unfortunately, truth, honesty and integrity are not issues with which these fanatics concern themselves.