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As we reported last year, San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair became the subject of a controversy that began when Concerned Women for America took umbrage at this provocative flyer, which they deemed “open ridicule of Christianity.”

Matt Barber urged that “the mainstream media…cover this event with cameras in hand. There's an unbelievable news story here. The Folsom Street Fair is reminiscent of Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, and the media should document exactly what the city of San Francisco is allowing to occur - in public - in the name of 'tolerance.”

That the media did…or, at least, the story landed on Fox News.

But it doesn’t end there.  Because of the California gay marriage decision, the Right thinks there may be more material to be drawn from the Folsom Street Fair.  As Linda Harvey of Mission America explains, the event is symptomatic of a larger corrupting influence, the “polluting effects of California’s moral decay”:

California’s sexual license is not something we welcome in Middle America.  We don't want same sex 'marriage' legalized, nor to have our children taught to praise homosexuality, as California children now must do after the passage of SB 777 and AB 394. And we don't want naked people having sex in our streets.

Of course, the only way to keep this “corruption footprint” from infecting Middle America is for a few brave souls like Harvey and her allies to wade right into the middle of San Francisco, where they will “protest and expose” the Folsom Street Fair.  For its part, CWA announces that “Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality will return to document the street fair's activities.”

It would be amazing if LaBarbera weren’t there, because his entire career seems to consist of attending these types of events.  Nevertheless, he is already at work attacking Joan Rivers for making an appearance, exposing Gavin Newsom’s cheery letter of greeting to fairgoers, and even imagining “the conversation between leather partners Stephane and Jahn before the big event”:

Jahn: “Oh, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. Who wants to live in one of those prudish cities where you they make you wear clothes in public and where you can’t have sex in the streets?”

Stephane: “What’s extra special is that we’re even allowed to bring Thad and Chad, our three-year-old adopted twins, to come on Sunday to join in the fun! They just love to watch.”

Jahn: “Thank the gods for the California Supreme Court and our new right to marriage equality. Now that we’re married it will be so much easier to adopt our next child!”

For the past few weeks, we’ve been reporting on the “Stop the War on the Poor” campaign, an effort to label “extreme environmentalists” who oppose increased domestic oil drilling as enemies of the poor.  The campaign counts among its leaders a group called Americans for American Energy, which describes itself as “a non-profit, grassroots-based organization dedicated to educating the public about the importance of greater energy independence for America and promoting public policies that support that goal.” 

As we wrote last week, Americans for American Energy was created by Pac/West Communications, a firm with considerable Republican ties, and shares a location with the consulting firm of Jim Sims, communications director for Vice President Cheney’s energy task force.  In 2007, fresh off helping to defeat attempts “to ban bear baiting in Alaska and impose new taxes on cruise ships,” Pac/West received a $3 million grant from the state of Alaska to “educate” the American public about ANWR drilling, that was later stopped by Gov. Sarah Palin because the PAC/West-Americans for American Energy efforts were “not part of an open and transparent process.”  But that was not the end for Americans for American Energy. 

Although its profile has risen along with the “Stop the War on the Poor” campaign, Americans for American Energy has been engaging in suspicious activities in western states for the last several years.  In Colorado, it released a report claiming $1.2 billion in first-year profits for natural gas drilling on the Roan Plateau, an estimate that critics, such as the Wilderness Society, claimed were based on “junk science”

Credible economic studies need to stand up to independent review, list data sources and methods, and at the very least include the names of economists who authored the report. Unbelievably, this industry-backed study does none of this.

In Wyoming, its leaders falsely claimed that Gov. Dave Freudenthal was a supporter of their “powerful new oil and gas campaign,” leading the governor to write a letter disavowing the group.  In Utah, they launched an email attack on Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that compared him to Hugo Chavez and Osama Bin Laden:

Last week, over 160,000 Utah residents received an e-mail letter indirectly comparing a New York congressman to some of the most infamous men in the world.

Along with mug shots of Osama bin Laden, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared a photo of Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.).

Hinchey's crime? Sponsoring the Red Rock Wilderness Act, a bill that would set aside 9.4 million acres of public land in Utah as wilderness.

The letter was attributed to Utah state GOP Reps. Aaron Tilton and Mike Noel, but it was the brainchild of Americans for American Energy, a Colorado-based industry group that has accepted money from, among others, the state of Alaska.

The Red Rock Wilderness Act will "WEAKEN America," the letter states. "How? Because it will hamstring our ability to produce American energy right here in Utah. That leads America to become more dependent on energy from hostile foreign nations -- some of whom fund terrorist organizations that are right now targeting our American men and women in uniform."

An online version of the letter and corresponding Web site go further, for instance with a picture of bin Laden, Chavez and Ahmadinejad. "These terror leaders also want America to continue its foreign oil dependence," reads the caption underneath the graphic.

Now, Americans for American Energy has turned from accusing its opponents of being in league with terrorists to accusing them of fighting a “war on the poor,” and this message seems to have resonated with Republicans on Capitol Hill.  A number of rank and file Congressional Republicans showed up on-message at the kick-off press conference, including Rep. Bill Sali of Idaho, co-sponsor of a bill suspiciously entitled the “Americans for American Energy Act,” which “would open ANWR and the OCS to increase production of American crude oil and give the right incentives to boost conservation, improved efficiency and bring alternative energy online sooner.”

But they’ve gained a much higher-profile ally in Senator Orrin Hatch, who mentioned the campaign, quoted one of its leaders, Bishop Harry Jackson, and plugged its website, all on the Senate floor:

Unfortunately for the Democrat party, the poor are beginning to wake up that the liberals they have always looked to are behind the War on the Poor. By War on the Poor, I refer to the movement by the anti-oil extremists to close off every good domestic oil resource, which is a direct cause of the high energy prices Americans face.

Democrats in Congress have been forced to choose between the very well funded extreme anti-oil interests and the poor, because on energy prices there is no compromise between the two. The Democrats have begun to recognize the position they are in, and are trying to have it both ways with today’s vote.

Earlier this month, a group of protesters came to Capitol Hill calling on Congress to Stop the War on the Poor by groups and congressmen who are closing off America's energy resources.

Included in the group were pastors and civil rights leaders calling on this body to unlock America's oil resources for the benefit of Americans, and especially for the benefit of lower income Americans.

One of the Participants was Bishop Harry Jackson. I would like to quote some of his remarks for the record. These are his words:

"I am a registered Democrat, but this has nothing to do with partisan politics. Unless the public understands that there are specific people and organizations that are fueling this war against the poor, nothing will change and the poor will continue to suffer. We will unmask those behind this war regardless of their political party or ideology. Party labels and partisan ideologies are meaningless when it comes to protecting the lives of America's most vulnerable citizens,"

By the way, Mr. President, you can see more about the stop the war on the poor movement on the web at www.stopwaronpoor.org.

Ironically, Niger Innis, co-chair of the Stop the War on the Poor effort, says that U. S. politicians are "being cowered by a very powerful, well-funded environmental extremist lobby that has a great deal of influence over them, and a great deal of influence over policy” and that their primary mission is "’outing’ the extremist groups and the politicians it says are doing their bidding.”

Bold words for a man heading an effort that is itself a phony Astroturf campaign on behalf of energy interests. 

Last week, we reported on a “War on the Poor” rally, led by Niger Innis of the Congress of Racial Equality, Bishop Harry Jackson of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, and Americans for American Energy, in which environmentalists who oppose increased domestic drilling were accused of being “environmental racists, environmental terrorists.”  

Together, Americans for American Energy, CORE, and Jackson produced the appearance of a “grassroots” campaign. From a new press release promising more name-calling:

The national campaign was officially launched at a protest rally last week on Capitol Hill where more than 15 speakers spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 families and advocates for the poor protested with signs and chants of "Stop the War on the Poor" before a phalanx of news media cameras, Congressional staffers and others.

Of course, some of the “nearly 100 families” in attendance (a bit of an exaggeration to begin with) seem to have had varying motives for being there:

While some rally attendees told Mandel about their difficulties "budgeting around today's gasoline prices," others "backed away from a reporter with a notebook. ... One woman, who declined to give her name, said she was demonstrating at her boss's behest."

And as for the organizers behind the “War on the Poor” campaign, they may not be what they seem either.

A gathering led by Niger Innis of the Congress of Racial Equality, Bishop Harry Jackson of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, and the new group Americans for American Energy held a press conference yesterday demanding increased “American Energy” production.  Their contentions were twofold: that high energy costs disproportionately harm low-income families, and that increased domestic oil drilling would solve the problem.  Standing in the way: the “elitist Volvo-driving” environmentalists. Watch:

Although CORE was once a prominent civil rights group, after Niger Innis’s father, Roy, took control in 1968, he led it to the far right, honoring Karl Rove at its Martin Luther King dinner, backing extreme Bush judges, and defending oil companies. According to a Mother Jones article, “Innis has been accused by founder James Farmer and other black leaders of renting out CORE’s historic reputation to corporations like Monsanto and ExxonMobil. (CORE even mounted a counterprotest to environmentalists picketing an ExxonMobil shareholders’ meeting.)”

For CORE, this event was no different. Niger Innis proclaimed his coalition to open up domestic drilling to be “very much like the civil rights revolution in its diversity and in its moral passion.”

Early in the press conference, Harry Jackson defined the enemy: “The fact is that we have environmental groups who are basically elitist, they are trying to dramatically change our lives, they are basically saying that they want to have a wholesale transformation of our culture and society.” Limiting drilling in ANWR, he said, is “a huge problem.”

While he once again claimed to be a Democratic voter, Jackson is a frequent spokesman for groups and causes on the Religious Right, and he’s apparently expanding his portfolio to issues of the economic Right. Jackson took the time yesterday to hawk the new book he co-wrote with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, which included a chapter on anti-environmentalism as a “faith” issue.

A long series of Congressional Republicans followed, extolling the virtues of American energy, gleefully leading the crowd in chants of “Stop the War on the Poor,” and continuing the assault on environmentalists. A representative of Americans for American Energy, Colorado State Sen. Bill Cadman, called out the “environmental racists, environmental terrorists.” Democrats were also a favorite target.

While President Bush conceded yesterday that any short-term effects of new drilling would be “psycholog[ical],” a poster prominently displayed throughout the event promised that Republican policies would lower the price of gas to $2.13 a gallon. The Democratic plan, according to the poster, would only reduce the price of gas by five cents. Cost estimates were attributed to “various sources.” 

Oil companies were mentioned only once, by Leland Hogan of the Utah Farm Bureau, who asserted that they make their decisions “by what the political climate is,” not “business decisions.” Hogan and his compatriots evidently hoped that the political landscape would change enough to allow the white knight of the poor, Big Oil, to roll over the “extreme environmentalists” and roll out $2.13 gas.

The Wisconsin Family Council demands that state authorities charge gay couples who marry in California under an “obscure” 1915 law that “makes it a crime for Wisconsin residents to enter marriage in another state if that marriage is illegal” in Wisconsin. The law “carries a fine up to $10,000 and nine months in prison.” Julaine Appling of WFC, a state affiliate of Focus on the Family: “You purposely left the state for another state and you get married and you know it's not going to be legal where you reside and you have every intention of returning, that's defrauding the Government."

The American Family Association launches a boycott of McDonalds “in response to the fast-food chain’s support of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). McDonald’s “contributed $20,000 to the organization,” which describes itself as “the LGBT business voice in Washington, on Wall Street, and down Main Street USA.” The AFA, of course, “feels it is ‘inappropriate’ for McDonalds, as a family restaurant, to clearly endorse one side of the culture wars.” Tim Wildmon: “What we’re talking about is taking $20,000 of corporate money and making a donation to a gay and lesbian activist organization. We think that’s wrong and we want people to know what McDonald’s has done here.”

The Christian Defense Coalition ramps up its campaign against Obama on abortion with a press conference and an eye-catching new graphic. Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney: “Senator Obama would become 'The Abortion President,' with the most extremist policies on abortion of any President in history. Senator Obama's views on abortion are so radical that he even wants American citizens to pay for them. This would include Catholics, Evangelicals and all people of faith.”

According to the Washington Post, some right-wing activists fear that McCain will make “wholesale revisions” to the Republican platform, a hundred-page document where “all but nine pages mention Bush’s name.” Specifically, groups like the Eagle Forum are “preparing to do battle…to prevent his views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research and campaign finance from becoming enshrined in the party's official declaration of principles.”

Kathryn Jean Lopez explains why Huckabee woudn’t “give divine strength to the GOP ticket”: “The problem with Huckabee is that he is not conservative… Although Huckabee struck an attractive populist tone, his solutions tend to be statist…Huckabee ran on identity politics — usually a mainstay of liberal Democrats…With McCain’s own troubled past and record with conservatives, he doesn’t need to add to the ideological muddle.”

In a recent op-ed, Gary Bauer suggests that the gay marriage issue can help the GOP again: “Since June 17, hundreds of same-sex couples have flocked to California, married and returned to their home states, the vast majority of which have laws that prohibit such marriages. But with no legal way to invalidate these weddings, chaos may ensue, creating an environment ripe for an electoral backlash on Election Day.”

In an interview with David Brody, Tim Pawlenty worked to reassure the Right that McCain’s “value system” would “make evangelicals proud,” explained that “we want to make sure that he is speaking on issues of concern to them and I think you’ll see perhaps more of that in the summer and fall," and placed his own faith front and center: “I don’t think people in public life should shy away from sharing their faith perspective…My beliefs are shaped my faith and my faith in Christ and I think that is informative for people to know and I’m not bashful about that.”

A number of right-wingers, including Mat Staver, Steve Curtis, and Janet Folger, held a press conference to express their displeasure with Colorado SB 200: “I do believe that the Bible is banned, under the plain language of this new statute," says Steve Crampton of Liberty Counsel. Like Folger, Steve Curtis planned to break the law in protest: "We will also violate SB200's prohibition on publishing certain biblical teachings on homosexuality cohabitation."

The Boston Globe reports that “most of the big-money backers who helped reelect Bush in 2004 haven't pulled out their checkbooks for McCain.” Ralph Reed, however, is not one of them: "I am not sitting it out. I will be on the host committee for a McCain event in Atlanta in August and will contribute and raise."

Peter Wehner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center criticizes James Dobson’s attacks on Barack Obama: “There are certainly reasons for evangelicals to have concerns about Obama…But critics of Obama have an obligation to provide a fair and honest critique, and the attacks leveled by Dobson fall terribly short of that standard. If Christian conservatives want to be taken seriously, they need to make serious arguments and speak with intellectual integrity. In this instance, Dobson didn't. He has set back his cause and made some of us who are evangelicals and conservatives wince.”

While “Americans face rising gasoline prices; and brave American soldiers are being killed on the battlefield to fight Islamic terrorism,” Andrea Lafferty wonders, “Why is the House of Representatives wasting taxpayer dollars to discuss whether or not drag queens or she-males are offended because of their cross-dressing or sexual behaviors in a business environment?” Of course, “I already know the answer: Because liberals…are aggressively promoting the normalization of cross-dressing and transsexualism in our culture.”