American Family Association of Maine

Maine's Mike Heath Longs For the Days of "Christianity, Charity and Shared National Values"

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Monday, 5/3/2010 11:30 am

Given that Mike Heath of the American Family Association of Maine has made a career out of attacking gays and claiming that marriage equality causes graffiti, vandalism, and crop failure, you'll have to forgive me if I don't buy the "can't we all just get along" vibe of this op-ed he published in the Portland Press Herald, especially considering that buried beneath his lament for our national "memory loss" is a not-so-subtle longing for the good ol' days when right-wing Christian values dominated and before gays got all uppity and started demanding equality: 

Memory loss has dire consequences for nations as well. Long gone is America's sense of unity and purpose. A society that inherited the maxim "In unity is strength" is now told that diversity is the preeminent goal of its civilization.

The words "union" and "united" once inspired men from Maine to fight on the battlefields of Gettysburg and Bull Run. Today the word "union" calls to mind something vastly different.

...

A loss of historical memory results in a confusion in values. An appeal to diversity manifests itself in the political realm as a proliferation of competing and contradictory ideas. Moral relativism undermines the values the West has held for centuries. Post-modernism takes an even more extreme position, and denies the possibility that any truth can exist at all.

Certain outcomes are predictable for such a divided and confused society. The inability to share a common frame of reference impairs communication among groups. Where communication fails, there is opposition.

And where there is opposition, citizens will impute the wrong motives to political opponents. Extreme skepticism in the realm of politics turns out to be a very poor substitute for Christianity, charity and shared national values.

...

The task that lies before us is to unite all our people -- be they left or right, Republican or Democrat -- on the basis of shared ethical values ... We can indeed have a civilization which promotes community over self-interest, respect for ethical values over unbridled greed, health over indulgence, beauty over chaos. The day will come when America is once again renowned for its houses of worship, its common values, its communal festivals, its respect for women and family!

Unity will be restored; and the spirit of lawlessness and rebellion will be forgotten -- a storm in the night, followed by a clear, bright morning.

It is well-said that a society that obeys God's laws comes to look like heaven. This, I predict, will be the future of America, and it is the goal toward which we must all strive.

Mike Heath Files To Run for Governor

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 4/14/2010 10:04 am

It was just a few weeks ago that we were noting that Mike Heath, formerly of the Maine Family Policy Council, had suddenly reappeared on the scene as the head of the American Family Association's affiliate in Maine.

During the fight over marriage in Maine, Heath had repeatedly embarrassed the right-wing effort by claiming that gay marriage leads to things like graffiti, vandalism, and crop failure and eventually found himself cast aside by the movement entirely.  As a result, he resigned his position as the head of the Maine Family Policy Council, announcing that it was time for him to do something else with his life and declaring that he was going to get involved in the manufacture and distribution of solar cookers in Africa.

Then he disappeared for several month, only to reemerge in March, leading the state's AFA affiliate.

And now, via Pam's House Blend, we see that Heath has even bigger plans: 

Michael Heath, former executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, has registered with the state ethics commission as a gubernatorial candidate.

Heath, a resident of China, is listed as an unenrolled candidate, which means he has until June 1 to get at least 4,000 signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Heath recently announced the formation of a group called the American Family Association of Maine. At the time, he said he was "re-entering public life to continue the fight against the gay-rights lobby."

Heath spent 15 years working for the Christian Civic League, and became its executive director in 1994. He twice led people's veto efforts to overturn gay-rights laws.

Heath was not a visible part of last year's fight over same-sex marriage, which ended with voters repealing a state law legalizing it. He announced his resignation in September from the civic league, which is now called the Maine Family Policy Council.

There are now 24 people running for governor. Of those, 12 are Democrats or Republicans who will compete in the June 8 primary for the right to represent their parties on the November ballot. For the other 12, June 1 is the deadline to determine who among them will qualify to compete in November.

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American Family Association of Maine Posts Archive

Maine's Mike Heath Longs For the Days of "Christianity, Charity and Shared National Values"
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Monday 05/03/2010, 11:30am
Given that Mike Heath of the American Family Association of Maine has made a career out of attacking gays and claiming that marriage equality causes graffiti, vandalism, and crop failure, you'll have to forgive me if I don't buy the "can't we all just get along" vibe of this op-ed he published in the Portland Press Herald, especially considering that buried beneath his lament for our national "memory loss" is a not-so-subtle longing for the good ol' days when right-wing Christian values dominated and before gays got all uppity and started demanding equality:... MORE >
Mike Heath Files To Run for Governor
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 04/14/2010, 10:04am
It was just a few weeks ago that we were noting that Mike Heath, formerly of the Maine Family Policy Council, had suddenly reappeared on the scene as the head of the American Family Association's affiliate in Maine. During the fight over marriage in Maine, Heath had repeatedly embarrassed the right-wing effort by claiming that gay marriage leads to things like graffiti, vandalism, and crop failure and eventually found himself cast aside by the movement entirely.  As a result, he resigned his position as the head of the Maine Family Policy Council, announcing that it was time for him to... MORE >