Gay Rights

Steve Baldwin, the former executive director of the Council for National Policy, an influential conservative policy group founded by Tim LaHaye, went on the Steve Deace show yesterday to discuss why he thinks a President Romney would be disastrous for the country and the Republican Party. Baldwin’s major gripe is his dubious claim that Romney was “obsessed” with gay rights as governor of Massachusetts.

Baldwin expressed frustration that Romney has been given a “free pass” by conservative media, which he chalked up to “conflicts of interest” in the right-wing press. Among those he claimed are biased towards Romney is the publisher of the far-right Human Events, whom he identified as a “homosexual who likes Romney.” Although he didn’t name names on the show, Baldwin has previously asserted that Jeff Carneal, president of Human Events' publisher, is an “avowed homosexual” who has supported pro-equality causes.

But Baldwin’s gay-baiting did not end with his attack on conservative media. He let loose on Romney’s tepid pro-gay rights record as governor of Massachusetts, saying, “His whole administration was characterized by an almost obsessive devotion to the homosexual agenda.” Romney, he fumes, was involved in “gay proclamations, gay dances, gay proms, gay assemblies, gay this, gay that,” adding obliquely, “You gotta start wondering here.”

Baldwin: Our conservative media won’t write negative stories about Romney. They won’t even investigate him. I’ve submitted story after story to National Review, to Human Events, to American Spectator, and every once in a while they’ll do a story with a few negative things about Romney, but a full-scale investigative piece about Romney has not appeared in most of the conservative movement’s media. And you’ll find out there’s conflicts of interests, you’ll find out National Review endorsed Romney last year, they like him this year. You’ll find out that the chairman of Regnery Gateway, that publishes Human Events, is a homosexual who likes Romney. You find out these editors have various biases. And as a result, they have collectively, along with talk radio I have to add – Sean Hannity likes Romney, a lot of our radio talk show hosts have been very hands off when it comes to Romney’s record, even though they have all been briefed and all been given information about Romney’s background. Coulter and other national columnists and Hannity and even Mark Levin say very little about Romney’s record and refuse to dig into it. So you hear nothing from our own media, so the mainstream media, they’re too lazy to dig up the stories. And so as a result, Romney’s getting a free pass here.

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Deace: Does Mitt Romney have a history of supporting homosexual issues beyond the gay scoutmasters thing that we saw from 1994? What did he do in Massachusetts when he was governor?

Baldwin: Oh my goodness. Gay proclamations, gay dances, gay proms, gay assemblies, gay this, gay that. He had an entire commission called the Governor’s Commission, which served at his own discretion, and they funded gay events and programs in the schools. He promoted all kinds of laws, rules, internal, a lot of internal things, like his department of social services awarded Family of the Year, Parents of the Year, to a gay couple. He appointed homosexual leaders to key positions throughout his administration. I mean, his whole administration was characterized by a an almost obsessive devotion to the homosexual agenda. I would venture to say that Mitt Romney was the most aggressive pro-gay governor in American history, either party. Period. I mean Amy Contrada wrote a thousand page book documenting hundreds of actions by this man to advance the homosexual agenda. Hundreds. He was obsessed with it. You gotta start wondering here.

Although you won't find it on Carly Fiorina's campaign website's list of endorsements, the far-right Government Is Not God PAC is going all-in for Fiorina's race for US Senate. Government Is Not God PAC's official blog lauds Fiorina's ultraconservatism, and says that "if someone with the support of Sarah Palin, who is as socially conservative as Carly Fiorina wins in California it will mark a huge shift in American politics and send a wave of fear over the far left. We must win this seat!" They have already contributed $1,000 to Fiorina's campaign and ask donors to contribute more.

According to their website, "GING-PAC supports only candidates who affirm that they are pro-life, pro-family and stand firmly against the unbiblical welfare state that is destroying the spiritual and economic greatness of our nation" and that "Candidates seeking GING-PAC support must complete a questionnaire concerning their stand on issues such as abortion, gambling, drug use, home schooling, school prayer, property rights, Second Amendment rights, welfare, defense and taxation."

So what does Government Is Not God PAC believe in? Their survey asks candidates if they "oppose laws allowing homosexuals to adopt children" and "believe clergy should have the right to support or disapprove of candidates for political offices from the pulpit." Candidates are also asked if they "support the right of students and teachers to publicly acknowledge the Creator" and support "eliminating the U.S. Department of Education."

During the 2008 campaign, Government Is Not God PAC launched the website soundthealarmnow.com, which claimed that Barack Obama's presidential campaign was supported by terrorists and his election victory would be celebrated by the "Death to America Coalition." The fictional news video also suggested that President Obama would meet with Osama bin Laden and sound the Muslim call to prayer five times a day in The Capitol.

Will Carly Fiorina stand by an organization that is fundamentally opposed to gay rights and a purveyor of discredited conspiracy theories about President Obama?