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After an openly gay Republican, Greg Gandrud, was elected to the board of directors of the California Republican Party at their convention, anti-gay organizations were obviously displeased. Similar to the debate over GOProud’s inclusion in the Conservative Political Action Conference, when right-wing groups blasted GOProud because it represents gay and lesbian conservatives, the head of the California Republican Assembly has taken issue with Gandrud’s sexual orientation. Celeste Greig of the California Republican Assembly said that Gandrud shouldn’t “bring his personal lifestyle” to the GOP.

The California Republican Assembly represents the state’s hard-right activists that Ronald Reagan called “the conscience of the Republican Party.” The group wants government guided by “moral law as expressed by the Judeo-Christian ethic and contained in the Holy Scriptures of these historic faiths” and said the “government is duty bound” to oppose marriage equality.

Greig told the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow:

The California Republican Party has elected its first openly homosexual board member. One incumbent is hopeful the action will not further enforce a "gay" agenda on citizens of The Golden State.

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Celeste Greig, president of the volunteer California Republican Assembly, says many Republicans did not know of Gandrud's sexual orientation until recently. But she adds that her conservative group will stand its ground, both fiscally and socially.

"I hope that he doesn't bring his personal lifestyle within the party," says Greig. "Of course everyone is welcome to be members, to be productive. If they try to bring up more of their issues and promote more of their lifestyle, I'm sure that's not going to go well at all with members of the California Republican Assembly and with me."

Mike Huckabee tells the AFA's OneNewsNow that he supports reinstating Don't Ask, Don't Tell: 

Mike Huckabee says he would support legislation aimed at reinstating the 1993 law that prohibits homosexuals from serving openly in the military.

In January former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said if he were to become president in two years, he would work to reinstate the prohibition of open homosexual service. Now former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, another potential GOP presidential hopeful, tells OneNewsNow that he, too, would support re-imposing the ban.

"I would -- because that's really what the military wants," says Huckabee. "There's been some talk that the military is fine with having same-sex orientation people. But if you really surveyed the combat troops, that is not at all the case."

According to Huckabee, currently a political analyst for Fox News, politicians should back out of the picture. "...I don't think that these are decisions that politicians should make. These are decisions that soldiers should make," he says emphatically. "And when the soldiers in the foxholes make the decisions, they choose something different -- and we should listen to them."

Only in the worldview of the Religious Right do marginalized Americans like gays and lesbians have excessive clout in government while conservatives have little to none. Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America, one of the most influential right-wing lobbyist organizations, describes LGBT-rights organizations as “bullies” whose crime is raising too much money. She told the American Family Association’s news service OneNewsNow that opponents of the Defense of Marriage Act are “claiming rights that don’t exist” and are trying to “intimidate” public officials. In addition, Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel ranted against the “radical leftists” allied with “extremist, homosexual pressure groups.” Wright and Barber were responding to legislation, the Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Rep. Jerrod Nadler (D-NY) that would repeal the dubiously-constitutional DOMA:

Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America tells OneNewsNow: "The congressmen who introduced this bill are claiming rights that don't exist. There is no right to same-sex 'marriage,' and they seek to confuse people by using language like that. Every time that marriage has come up for a vote in a state, that state has protected marriages between one man and one woman."

Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action, refers to the bill as the "Disrespecting Marriage Act." He says the good news is that it is really an exercise in futility -- and he believes Democrats know that.

"We have a faction of radical leftists in the House and in the Senate who are willing to side and align themselves with extremist, homosexual pressure groups in order to try to take a sledgehammer to the institution of marriage, which is fundamental to any healthy society," says Barber.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds the move by Democrats, calling it "landmark legislation." Wright says homosexual lobbying groups often act like victims, but it is quite the contrary.

"So when you look at how they operate, they are in fact the bullies," says the CWA spokeswoman. "They're the ones who have massive amounts of money. When you look at the budgets of these groups, it's rather shocking the multimillions of dollars they have -- they bring in every year -- and with that, they're able to hire full-time lobbyists who then intimidate not only politicians but corporations."

Jan Markell of the Minnesota-based Olive Trees Ministries, a Messianic Jewish organization, is a noted “Jew for Jesus” preacher and radio host who focuses on “End Times” prophesies. On her show “Understanding the Times,” she routinely attacks gays and lesbians, Muslims, President Obama, and even Mattel dolls. One prominent guest on the show is Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who joined Markell to berate gay rights, lament the “criminalization of Christianity,” and criticize the government for scrutinizing right-wing extremist groups.

Following the deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Markell said that God is sending a “wake-up call” to the Japanese and Americans to convert to Christianity and “get right with the Lord” before the End of days. According to the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow:

Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, is hopeful the events in Japan will open the eyes of many to things spiritual.

"These so-called 'birth pangs' really are intensifying and getting greater and more frequent -- and I think it's a wake-up call, not just for the Japanese," she offers.

"We'd all like to think that the nation of Japan would turn and repent as a result of what happened. [While] we know that won't happen, we know individuals will.

"[The] same is true in America," continues the ministry leader. "We're hoping that some of these horrible things can open up some eyes; that they can see that God allows these things for greater purposes; that time is indeed short, and that people would get right with the Lord."

Markell is encouraging Christians to fulfill the Lord's Great Commission and share the gospel while they still can.

• The LA Times perfectly sums up last night's Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event: "The candidates essentially pledged the same thing, with a few variations in language and emphasis: defending marriage as a covenant between man and woman; curbing abortion; slashing the federal deficit; and shifting power away from Washington in favor of state and local governments."

 

• Supporters of Fred Grandy, aka Gopher, claim some nefarious Muslim conspiracy to silence him has cost him his radio show.

 

• Phyllis Schlafly sure does find the oddest things to get worked up about.

 

• Rep. Michele Bachmann says she'll decide about running for president by summer. Could we really be so lucky?

 

• Reminder: Peter LaBarbera doesn't like acceptance of gays.

 

• Finally, Sarah Palin will speak at an "Extraordinary Women Conference" at Liberty University in October.

• The Family Research Council has filed a FIOA request because they are "deeply concerned that officials at the Department of Justice were collaborating with the litigants in the Proposition 8 case."
• Speaker John Boehner says social issues will not be ignored.
• Rep. Eric Cantor says the House will step up to defend DOMA.
• Anti-Islam activist Robert Spencer wants to know why the US doesn't step up and outlaw Islam.
• Remember Larry Grard? He's suing.
• Finally, I am excited that thrice-married Newt Gingrich is forming a presidential exploratory committee and would like to announce my new policy that so long as he maintains this ridiculous charade, I intend to routinely refer to him as "thrice-married Newt Gingrich."

For months now, the Religious Right has been up in arms that gays were allowed to participate in the annual CPAC conference, claiming that it is part of an effort to 'infiltrate" and divide the conservative movement.

And now the same thing looks to be happening to Fox News as well, as Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media reports that some Fox News personalities will be attending the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's "Headlines & Headliners" fundraiser next month ... and Peter LaBarbera sees it as proof that the network has been infiltrated by gays who are working to get Fox to destroy the "pro-family movement":

Peter LaBarbera"Conservatives across the country and pro-family people are counting on Fox to be 'fair and balanced,'" he notes. "And if Fox goes 'pro-gay,' it will be devastating to the entire pro-family movement, because there really is no alternative to Fox."

LaBarbera understands that political lobbyists are pressuring media outlets to show support for the homosexual agenda, but he points out that there is also leverage from within many media organizations.

"I'm hearing from the inside that there is gay staff at Fox [and] at least one...gay producer," the AFTAH president reports. "So, as always, you see that's sort of the role of the [NJGJA]. They have powerful journalists who are homosexuals, and they're working from the inside to push the media to be more and more pro-homosexual."

• Mike Huckabee sounds like a man who loves his millionaire lifestyle more than he does the prospect of a grueling presidential run.
• On a related note, John Thune says he is not going to run for president.
• But Gov. Bob McDonnell is very open to the idea of being someone's VP.
• Benny Hinn is being sued by his Christian book publisher for violating a morality clause in his book contract.
• John Stemberger's hearing on his misconduct complaint will be in June.
• Phill Kline stands by his witch-hunt against Planned Parenthood.
• Finally, the quote of the day from Bryan Fischer: "We will fight to the last ditch, to the last barricade, on the last hill, to defend the institution that is the cornerstone of a healthy society. We will resist to the last ditch, the last barricade, the last hill, the effort to normalize sexual deviancy in our culture."

Following in the footsteps of right-wing pundit Frank Gaffney, David Horowitz is accusing CPAC of having connections to radical Islam. Horowitz spoke at a CPAC panel in 2009, where he was introduced by notorious anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller, and the David Horowitz Freedom Center is a CPAC participating organization. But Horowitz, who recently defended Glenn Beck in his linking of the progressive movement to the Muslim Brotherhood and claimed that public school teachers encourage the indoctrination of students into “Jihadist doctrines," has now joined other CPAC detractors like Gaffney to blast the involvement of Suhail Khan. Khan is a board member of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, and tomorrow is leading a panel on inclusion in the conservative movement.

Gaffney first charged Khan with ties to extremist groups in early January. Now Horowitz and another anti-Muslim activist, Robert Spencer, are joining a coalition of anti-gay Religious Right groups in boycotting the conference.

Rick Scarborough, the head of Vision America, recently placed an ad in The Washington Times attacking CPAC for including the gay conservative group GOProud, and today condemned the gathering for supposedly slighting Religious Right groups (a fear also present at the conference).

The American Family Association’s OneNewsNow, which supports the CPAC boycott, reports:

A full-page ad in The Washington Times -- placed by Vision America -- challenges the direction of CPAC. Vision America president Pastor Rick Scarborough, who initiated the project, notes that the "driving force" in the conservative movement, generally speaking, has been Christians.

"Right now [though], libertarians are trying to force us out -- and I just simply decided that enough is enough," says the longtime Christian activist. "So we're trying to speak out, and we're finding that it's resonating with a lot of folks."

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Islamic influence within CPAC?

Meanwhile, a terrorism expert who is also advocating for a drastic change in the leadership of CPAC believes the event has been compromised by radical Islamic influences. Author and activist David Horowitz says a CPAC board member by the name of Suhail Kahn has not been forthcoming about his ties to extreme Muslim groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

"Suhail Kahn is a member of the board of the American Conservative Union. He's moderating a [CPAC] panel," Horowitz explains. "His father created an Islamist mosque in California that held fundraisers for Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number-two [man] in al-Qaeda. This was in the [19]90s."

Terrorism expert Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, comments as well on Kahn.

"Suhail Kahn has also spoken about how Muslims should be eager to die for the Palestinian question, using the same kind of language that suicide bombers have employed," he notes. "This is not really somebody who should be considered moderate or certainly not conservative."

Spencer is calling for changes. "There needs to be a drastic overhaul at the top of CPAC -- and [for] the American Conservative Union that runs it," he says.