National Organization for Marriage

In her latest column, the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher openly declares that, having met Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio at a Council for National Policy event over the weekend, she is now madly in love: 

I met Marco Rubio in Naples, Fla., this weekend, where he gave the keynote speech at the Council for National Policy.

Never fall in love with a political candidate, I tell myself; they will break your heart. Besides, expecting more than one Reagan in a lifetime is just plain greedy. Not to mention stupid.

And then I heard Rubio in Naples, and what can I say? I fell in love.

Now that is kind of creepy ... but not as creepy as the final paragraph in which she warns Gov. Charlie Crist that he had better not sully her fantasies about Rubio:

I don't know what dirt he has on Rubio -- or thinks he has -- but, Charlie, I'm telling you: Don't kill our dream. The political blood on the floor will be yours.

When she said she had fallen in love with Rubio, I didn't realize that she meant that literally.

By now, we are all used to out-of-state Religious Right groups descending on places like Maine, Washington, DC, and elsewhere in order to set up shop in their nonstop effort to fight marriage equality ... but I have to admit that I never expected them to start exporting their efforts abroad.

But here they are, setting their sights on now fighting marriage equality in Mexico:

In response to a move to institute same-sex marriage in the Federal District which includes Mexico City (on March 4), more than 120 pro-family/pro-life leaders from 35 countries have signed the "World Congress of Families Leadership Petition To Save Marriage In Mexico City."

The Petition notes that "Mexico's Constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman." Further, that all social ills begin with the decline of the family. Also "marriage substitutes ... undermine marriage and the family." The Petition observes that "children need both a mother and a father" and that those raised by two men or two women are "psychologically and socially disadvantaged."

The Petition calls on the government of Mexico City to refrain from implementing same-sex marriage and demands that the issue be decided at the national level, "with due regard to the nation's religious traditions, the wishes of the Mexican people and the needs of children and families, and consistent with Mexico's Constitution." Click here (www.worldcongress.org/special/wcf.mexpetsig.1002.pdf) to access the full Petition along with a list of signers.

U.S. signers (signing as individuals) include: Gary Bauer (American Values), Allan Carlson (World Congress of Families), Tom DeLay (former Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives), Joseph Meaney (Human Life International), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Michele Velasco (Priests for Life), Don Wildmon (American Family Association), Wendy Wright (Concerned Women for America), Maggie Gallagher (National Organization for Marriage), Dr. Paige Patterson (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary),Yuri Mantilla (Focus on the Family) and Dr. Jerry Newcombe (Coral Ridge Ministries).

Earlier this year when it was announced that the conservative gay group GOProud would be serving as a co-sponsor of this year's CPAC conference, some Religious Right groups threatened to boycott though, in the end, only Liberty University Law School actually followed through.

Now that the event is underway, CNN is reporting everyone is playing nice:

GOProud has a booth at CPAC just two spaces away from the exhibition for the National Organization for Marriage, which wants the government to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

...

Chris Plante, who is running the booth for the National Organization for Marriage, said being two booths away from GOProud wasn't an issue.

As cameras rolled, he introduced himself to Barron.

"I hope we'll have more time to talk over the next four days. Maybe we can have a beer later," Plante said.

"We can have a beer summit later. It worked for Obama," Barron joked.

A meeting, yes. But don't expect a meeting of the minds.

"Gays and lesbians have the right to live as they choose, but they don't have the right to redefine marriage for the rest of us," Plante said.

But off camera, things look a little different, as NOM felt it necessary to send out a far less friendly statement to reporters on GOProud's participation in CPAC:

Many reporters, including Politico, have asked us how we feel about the fact GOProud is just a few booths over from us. We welcome everyone's right to participate in the democratic process, but we have a message for GOProud on marriage: If you try to elect pro-gay-marriage Republicans, we will Dede Scozzafava them. The majority of Americans, and the vast majority of Republicans, support marriage as the union of husband and wife, and NOM is here to make sure these voters and their voices are heard loud and clear.

Time's Jay Newton-Small also reports that GOPround had a run-in with representative of American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property which, just the other day, released a report defending Don't Ask, Don't Tell on the grounds that homosexuality is fundamentally evil and allowing gays to serve openly would destroy the military's honor.  Needless to say, TFP was not every welcoming of GOProud: 

These days, the group is particularly concerned with gays in the military. Beyond opposing the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the organization of lay Catholics would like to see all homosexuals banned from the military, according to a white and green pamphlet they were handing out. The case against gays in the military is laid out in a book, displayed prominently, called An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC, yours for just $14.95.

While I was flipping through the autobiography, a woman approached the booth. Catherine Sumner, it turned out, was part of GOProud, a group of openly gay Republicans and conservatives that for the first time is taking part in CPAC. “Is this your flyer?” Sumner demanded, waving the white and green pamphlet. Thus launched a debate about gays in the military that pretty much ended when the booth attendee told her that homosexuality is a sin and she's going to hell.

“It's insulting,” Sumner, 31, who edits a military magazine, said turning away. “Across the board the reaction to GOProud's presence here has been positive, but then you have guys like this. Even Dick Cheney came out and says he supports us. Conservatives have to be more inclusive, they have to be.” In fact, just one group, Liberty University, boycotted CPAC over the inclusion of GOProud, though the Catholic crowd weren't the only ones unnerved by their presence: one booth down from GOProud's set up in the fourth row, those manning the National Organization for Marriage, which works to ban gay marriage, kept casting nervous – and slightly envious – glances at the somewhat larger crowd surrounding GOProud's booth.

Considering that a who's who of right-wing leaders, including David Keene of the CPAC-founding American Conservative Union, joined TFP for a press conference yesterday supporting DADT at CPAC itself, its hard to imagine that GOProud or its supporters could have felt particularly welcome at the event:

UPDATE: Via Sarah Posner we see that GOProud's Jimmy LaSalvia is not at all impressed with NOM's tactics: 

UPDATE II: This video from Media Matters is absolutely remarkable: 

I am utterly fascinated by the fact that seemingly nobody on the Right is willing or capable of decrying the fact that Lisa Miller has kidnapped her daughter and disappeared rather than abide by court ordered custody arrangements with her ex-partner.

So far, the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher has been the only one even willing to say that she "cannot endorse what Lisa Miller has done," though even she followed that up by saying "but I understand it."

Others who have weighed in, like Peter Sprigg and Gordon Klingenschmitt, fully support Miller's actions, while Miller's lawyers at the Liberty Counsel have quietly been trying to wash its hands of the case and steadfastly refusing to even comment.

And now, via OneNewsNow, we find yet another activist, Peter Heck, condoning and justifying Miller's action:

It's interesting how "civil unions" are always portrayed as the happy middle ground in the battle over same-sex marriage. Even some pro-family advocates are willing to accept the legitimacy of civil unions as some sort of victory for them since they stop short of conferring the semantic title of "marriage" upon homosexual partners. And yet, this tragic story involving the innocent Isabella demonstrates that "civil unions" are not effective compromises, but rather weapons used by social activists to assist in their ongoing struggle to undo cultural norms and moral standards through legal confusion.

Consider also that Janet's attorneys are attempting to use the 1980 Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act to benefit their client. The PKPA was enacted to prevent a disgruntled parent who lost a custody hearing from taking their child into another state to try to get a different custody ruling. In other words, this law was intended to prevent a rightful biological parent from having their child taken from them. Yet, thanks to what the homosexual lobby has accomplished, this law is now being twisted into a tool to do exactly what it was intended to prevent.

When Hollywood portrays or the mainstream media reports on those practicing homosexuality, they paint a picture of normalcy that does not exist, and they engage in grotesque mischaracterizations that equate sexual behavior (that is always a choice) with genetic identity (that is never a choice). The consequence is a fundamental reshaping of society -- families reconstituted, laws rewritten, mores restructured.

Despite the propaganda campaign to portray homosexuals as passive victims and those with traditional moral values as aggressive oppressors, the "gay rights" movement is seeking this very type of cultural revolution. But don't take my word for it. Paula Ettelbrick, the former legal director for the homosexual Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said: "Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of the same gender, and seeking state approval for doing so....Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality, and family, and in the process transforming the very fabric of society."

Indeed it does. And little girls like Isabella have their lives ruined in the process.

• Joe.My.God: Pastor Launches Boycott Of Houston Over Lesbian Mayor Annise Parker.
• David Weigel: National Organization for Marriage, Taking Credit for Brown.
• Matthew Yglesias: Tebow to Alienate Pro Football Fans During Super Bowl.
• Speaking of which, what exactly is CBS's policy regarding "advocacy advertising"?
• It looks like the American Family Association is going to war with "The Simpsons" again.
• Finally, you know what America needs now?  A whites-only basketball league.

Once again, Sarah Palin will be skipping CPAC, traditionally the biggest conservative political gathering of the year, apparently because she's a maverick who doesn't want to be associated with those who place "special interests over core beliefs": 

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Pain is turning down an invitation to speak at one high-profile conservative gathering while accepting another.

Palin is declining an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference next month because, a source said, she does not want to be affiliated with the longtime organizer of the traditional movement confab.

At issue is the role of David Keene, head of the American Conservative Union which organizes CPAC. In September, POLITICO reported that Keene asked FedEx for between $2 million and $3 million to get the group's support in a bitter legislative battle with rival UPS.

A source close to the Palin camp says that request led to a decision to stay away from the upcoming CPAC conference, calling it a forum that will place "special interests over core beliefs" and "pocketbook over policy."

"That's not what CPAC should be about and people are tiring," the source said. "Palin is taking a stance against this just as she did in Alaska."

When asked about the move, Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said: "We support those who advance our core beliefs and lead by principle."

Interestingly, Palin seems to be the only one taking this sort of "principled" stand dozens of conservative groups have signed on as co-sponsors of the event, including Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Eagle Forum.

Even more interesting is this fact:

While Palin was turning down CPAC, she accepted an invitation to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this April.

"I'm looking forward to addressing conservative activists from across the south at the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference," Palin said in a statement announcing her attendance. "This is a great opportunity to listen and speak to those who are helping to set the direction of our party."

Well, take a guess who else is co-sponsoring CPAC.  That's right, the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

So Palin doesn't want to associate with CPAC because its organizers don't "advance our core beliefs and lead by principle" ... but will speak at a conference hosted by a group that is co-sponsoring CPAC?  

That makes a lot of sense. 

And apparently she believes the folks putting on the National Tea Party Convention do share her core beliefs and lead by principle, which is why she is eager to share the stage with people like Joseph Farah and Rick Scarborough.

As we look back at 2009 and prepare for the year ahead, we are doing some end-of-the-year fund-raising and so I thought I'd take a look back at some of the posts that ranked among my personal favorite from the last year.

Here is just the first installment, in no particular order:

• Robinson's Participation in Inauguration Might Cause God to Destroy Washington DC
• Alan Colmes Talks To Wingers So You Don't Have To
• Worst. Book Burning. Ever.
• The Great and Powerful ACORN
• Janet Porter Reveals The Coming American Genocide
• Does Anyone Understand the Meaning of "Used"?
• Dead-Ender's Game: Sci-Fi Writer Joins Board of National Organization for Marriage
• The Big Con: How Matt Barber Swindled Me Out of $30
• And finally, I am linking to this post just because I am particularly proud of the title - it's not every day I get to drop Jay-Z references.

Without your support, we cannot do this work  ... and then where would you turn to learn that Matt Barber's book was nothing more than a regurgitation of his columns and complete waste of money or that Judge David Hamilton's "ties" to ACORN consisted entirely of working for the organization for one month some thirty years ago?

If you appreciate the work that we do and the content we provide, please consider making a donation.

• Sarah Posner says that Rod Parlsey's latest plea for money "seems more like a classic prosperity gospel gimmick: the devil is about to wipe me out, and God will bless you a hundred times over if you bankroll my battle with Satan."
• James Dobson teams up with the National Organization for Marriage.
• Steve Benen on "the dumbest story of the week."
• Pam's House Blend: Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James refuses to apologize for his 'homo' comments.
• Radley Balko on "Haley Barbour's Bizarre Pardon Record."
• Finally, Rep. Steve King says Tea Party protesters are "working Americans" unlike all those "non-working Americans" who protested President Bush.

• The National Organization For Marriage declares war after the DC Council passes marriage equality legislation while Bishop Harry Jackson says they have an "airtight legal case" for getting the issue put to a vote.
• The Tulsa Word remembers Oral Roberts, who passed away today at the age of 91.
• Janet Porter is trying to get a movie made about herself.  Seriously.
• Mat Staver says that the custody fight between Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller is nothing more than an effort to claim a "political trophy [for] the homosexual agenda."
• Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition announces that it is launching a "campaign to defeat [the] health care bill in U.S. Senate."
• Finally, the Christian Defense Coalition held a "pray-in" at Senator Robert Casey's office this afternoon to let him know that he "cannot make the claim that [he is] pro-life" if he votes for cloture on the healthcare reform legislation.