Massachusetts

Last week we noted that a Tea Party rally scheduled for this weekend in Massachusetts collapsed after several speakers dropped out due to MassResistance's Brian Camenker scheduled participation.

Needless to say, Camenker is absolutely outraged, noting that he has been a speaker at several Tea Parties rallies before and was even invited "to an exclusive Tea Party breakfast with Sen. Scott Brown."

Camenker partially blames the Southern Poverty Law Center's designation of MassResistance as a hate group for the debacle, but reserves most of the blame for Christen Varley, a rival Tea Party leader: 

MassResistance has talked to several people and gotten first-hand accounts of what happened.

It apparently started with Christen Varley, head of the "Greater Boston Tea Party", a different Tea Party organization than the Lexington group. Varley is also an employee of Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), a "moderate" pro-family group, through an MFI affiliate that consults with political candidates. (Some would say that is a conflict of interest.) She also has strong ties to the state Republican establishment.

This week Varley contacted the Lexington Tea Party's speakers and advised them -- in fairly strong terms -- not to appear if Camenker was included ... Unlike other Tea Party leaders around the country, Varley is well-liked by the mainstream media. She's considered sensible and moderate by the establishment press. (Not like the other Tea Party "rabble" which the media have only contempt for.) As head of the Greater Boston Tea Party she's had numerous friendly articles published about her in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and even the Wall Street Journal, as well as many "softball" local radio interviews.

By her own admission, Varley tries to exclude discussion of "social issues" from all of her Tea Party events. It's all about fiscal issues, she says.

Hostility to the parents' rights movement. Last year Varley invited MassResistance to speak at one of her Tea Party events, but under the condition that we did not talk about the homosexual agenda in schools. After we refused and told others about her restriction, Varley left several angry phone messages at our office, referring to parents who were battling the gay agenda in the schools as "nut jobs."

Camenker then lists the participants who dropped out by name in a "Hall of shame" before concluding that the entire thing is "an absolute disgrace, and represents the worst kind of anti-family RINO sleaziness": 

We have never seen anything like this deliberately done to a Tea Party anywhere in America. It's an absolute disgrace, and represents the worst kind of anti-family RINO sleaziness. There are hundreds of thousands (and this year possibly millions) of taxpayer dollars going directly to the radical homosexual / transgender agenda in our schools to target children in Massachusetts. The idea that this should not be challenged at Tea Parties -- and that those who do speak out should be demonized -- is beyond offensive.

Last month is was reported that Religious Right groups were trying to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch campaigns against the confirmation of Elena Kagan and that the Family Research Council was planning on spending more than $100,000 on an ad campaign against her. 

Let me just say that, for their sake, I hope FRC's ad campaign is better organized than their current direct mail campaign in which they are asking activists in Massachusetts to contact Senators Kerry and Kirk and urge them to vote against Kagan's confirmation:

You'd think that FRC would know that Paul Kirk was just the interim Senator tapped to fill the late Ted Kennedy's seat and that he was replaced by Scott Brown earlier this year, especially considering that FRC hailed Brown's election as "the culmination of thousands of townhalls, tea parties, and angry voters" a mere six months ago. 

Yesterday, a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional and, not surprisingly, the Right has been outraged.

But I was especially impressed with Bryan Fischer's response explaining that any idiot can see that this ruling is wrong: 

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional because it violates the Constitution's prohibition against the government establishment of religion.

It is so easy to refute this judge on constitutional grounds that a caveman could do it.

Shoot, you don't even need the caveman. The Geico lizard probably knows more about the Constitution than this benighted, misguided, robe-wearing tyrant.

"Establishment" had a quite technical definition at the time of the founding. It meant to grant one specific Christian denomination preference in law, make it the official church of a nation or state, and compel people to support it through their taxes.

The Founders had observed what happened in England with an established church, the Church of England. Many of them experienced the religious oppression that accompanied an official national denomination, fled to America for freedom, and determined that the fledgling nation would not repeat the mistakes of the mother country.

Now, I am not sure just who Fischer has in mind when he says "Founders," but I  tend to think of it as referring to the men involved who signed the Declaration of Independence or drafted the Constitution.

As such, I have no idea where he gets the idea that they "fled to America for freedom" after experiencing the religious oppression of the Church of England, considering that the vast majority of them were all born in America. For instance:

Ben Franklin was born in Massachusetts.

John Adams was born in Massachusetts.

John Hancock was born in Massachusetts.

George Washington was born in Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia.

James Madison was born in Virginia.

In fact, of the 39 men who signed the US Constitution, only five (James McHenry, Pierce Butler, William Paterson, Robert Morris, Thomas Fitzsimons) were not born on American soil.

But according to Fischer, our Founding Fathers so chaffed under the Church of England's religious oppression that they "fled to America for freedom" ... where they were born. 

And failure to understand that makes this federal judge an idiot. 

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott stopped by Nacogdoches last night to speak at Vision America's "Guardian of the Family" Gala and accept the organization's "Texas Guardian of the Family Award" ... and judging by the speech he delivered, it's easy to see why Vision America felt he deserved the honor:

Stoking patriotic sentiments among the crowd, made up of various Christian congregations and local elected officials, Abbott read off a list of politically pointed quips that parodied comedian Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck" one-liners that were popular in the 1990s.

"You might be a true American if it never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase 'one nation under God.' You might be a true American if you've never protested against a public display of the Ten Commandments," he said. "You might be a true American if at Christmas time you still say 'Merry Christmas' as opposed to 'Happy Winter Festival.'"

But on a more serious note, the state attorney general also addressed his appeal to a Texas judge's decision to grant two Dallas men who were married in Massachusetts a divorce this past October. Abbott claimed that because Texas already has a ban on same-sex marriages, allowing the divorce of the two men would retroactively recognize same-sex marriages.

"Marriage is not man-made law. It's man's decision to adopt God's law. Man cannot redefine God's law, and yet they still try," Abbott said. "This is the first time that any judge has ruled that traditional marriage laws violate the U.S. Constitution."

The ruling judge in that case argued that the courts do indeed have jurisdiction to dissolve legal marriages from other states, and just last month, another such same-sex divorce was approved by another judge in Austin. Abbott has also sought an appeal to that case involving two women, also married in Massachusetts ... Abbott then praised his own defense of a 2003 law that requires public school students to begin their school day by observing a mandatory one-minute of silence in order to pray, reflect or remain quiet. The courts upheld the constitutionality of the moment-of-silence law because it did not require that students use it exclusively for prayer.

Abbott had to duck out early because he was scheduled to make an appearance on Fox News' "The Sean Hannity Show."  But before leaving, he made sure to stress the need for Christians to mobilize politically:

"Think what the country would look like if 100 percent of the people who worship God voted their values in each election. Together they would ensure a country that is more reflective of a God that gave us our inalienable rights," he said.

It looks like Ralph Reed has decided not to run for Congress in order to focus on growing the influence of this Faith and Freedom Coalition:

Dear Friend:

I wanted you to be among the first to know of my decision regarding running for Congress in the Seventh District of Georgia. The following statement will be released to the public shortly but I wanted you to have it first:

"After much thought and prayer, I have decided not to be a candidate for Congress in Georgia's Seventh district in 2010. I believe I can best advance conservative principles by continuing to serve as CEO of Century Strategies, LLC, and founding chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Century's voter contact subsidiary and grassroots team will be involved in a number of races in 2010. FFC is growing rapidly, with over 150,000 members and supporters already, currently adding one new state chapter a week and 1,000 new members a day.

In 2010 and 2012, FFC will register an estimated one million new faith-based voters and make tens of millions of voter contacts in what may be the largest conservative get-out-the-vote effort in modern political history. These nationwide efforts offer a much better prospect for changing the direction of the country than winning a Congressional race myself. In the end, I concluded I cannot run for Congress and carry out the plans I have for Century Strategies and Faith and Freedom Coalition at the same time. I had to make a choice. I believe electing 50 to 100 men and women of character and conservative beliefs to Congress and statewide office over the next two election cycles is a more efficacious way to advance the conservative agenda than seeking public office myself in 2010.

Should that door open in the future, perhaps I will arrive at a different decision, but I know this is the right decision at this time for me and the Reed family. Jo Anne and I have been deeply moved and encouraged by the expressions of support we have received from so many. We are proud to call Georgia our home and we look forward to continuing to be involved in the civic life of our state and the nation. God bless you as we work together for an historic victory in 2010."

Actually, it seemed pretty clear that Reed was going to pass on running for office after he showed up in Iowa yesterday and vowed that, with a half-million dollars, his Faith and Freedom Coalition would help conservatives completely take over the state:

Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition and a veteran Republican strategist, told a Des Moines crowd Tuesday night that he was helping establish an Iowa-based Christian political organization, and if he could raise $500,000, Hawkeye State politics would be changed for the better.

With that money, Reed said his organization — the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition — can promise results like the nation saw in the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the U.S. Senate campaign in Massachusetts. Reed said the national version of his organization was highly involved in those campaigns, each of which saw Republican victories on Election Night.

“We need to raise about a half a million dollars to execute that program,” he said. “The program that I just described to you that made history in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, if you want to see it happen in Iowa we need to raise a half a million dollars.”

Reed, who was speaking at an Iowa Christian Alliance event, then instructed staff to pass buckets around for people to donate money, promising that any funds raised Tuesday night will be matched by his national organization.

“Tonight, when you give, we’re not a PAC and we’re not a candidate,” he said. “Therefore, there is no limit to what you give here tonight.”

...

“We’re not going to leave the express advocacy during an election to the radical left, MoveOn.org and labor unions anymore,” he said. “We’re going to do it, and we’re going to get people who share our values elected to office, from governor all the way down to the statehouse and school boards all across the state of Iowa.”

MassResistance, which has the distinction of being one of the few organizations classified as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, just sent out an email bragging that the organization was invited to attend a breakfast meeting with Sen. Scott Brown earlier this week which included this photo of Brown with MassResistance head Brian Camenker :

US Senator Scott Brown held an impromptu breakfast Feb. 20 in South Boston to connect with representatives of his grassroots activist supporters. It included key Republican activists, Tea Party activists, and others (even some Democrats). South Boston activists invited MassResistance to join the event as the major pro-family action group.

The Brown people seem well aware who his base is, and he genuinely wants to stay connected with them ... The meeting was at the Playwright Restaurant and Bar on West Broadway. Brown strolled in a few minutes early with just an aide.

Sen. Brown mingled and spoke individually with people for quite a while. He talked about a range of topics. And he wanted us to feel comfortable contacting his office if we needed to, and said that he would represent the average person's interests. Then everyone sat down and had breakfast. Later, he gave a short speech and left for his next appointment.

...

A meeting like this in Massachusetts is really quite astonishing. Although the liberals get this kind of meeting all the time (e.g., the current governor regularly meeting with MassEquality), the idea of a U.S. Senator (or any major politician) sitting down with real conservative activists is simply unheard of. Certainly no recent Republican governor - Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift, or Mitt Romney - would have ever done this. They often met with liberal activists, but they were uncomfortable around conservatives and kept them at a distance.

But Brown's message was that he's willing to listen to us and take us seriously. And despite years of politics and sudden national fame, he hasn't become elitist or condescending -- which also makes him an oddity among politicians here.

I have to say that it comes as absolutely no surprise that the very first Religious Right activist to call for Judge Vaughan Walker's removal from the Proposition 8 trial is the militantly anti-gay Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel:

Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel, released the following statement today on news that the San Francisco Chronicle has “outed” 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Vaughn Walker as an active practitioner of the homosexual lifestyle.

Judge Walker has presided over California’s Proposition 8 case filed by homosexual extremists who seek to manufacture a constitutional “right” to so-called “same-sex marriage:”

“The revelation that Judge Walker apparently chooses to engage in homosexual conduct, if true, would explain much of his bizarre behavior throughout this trial,” said Barber.

...

“Any decision favoring plaintiffs in this case will be permanently marred and universally viewed as stemming from Judge Walker’s personal biases and alleged lifestyle choices.

"For these reasons, and in the interest of justice, Judge Walker should do the honorable thing and immediately recuse himself.”

I'd actually be interested to know if this is an official Liberty Counsel position or if this is just Barber's position, since the press release doesn't appear anywhere on the Liberty Counsel website and instead was posted on Catholic Online.

In fact, Barber regularly issues press releases which he attributes to Liberty Counsel via Catholic Online, like this one:

“While citing the specter of ‘equal protection,’ the Iowa Supreme Court today has unanimously joined a leftist gaggle of ideologically driven judges in California, Massachusetts and Connecticut, creating, from thin air, a phantom ‘right’ to the ridiculous, oxymoronic and postmodern ‘gay’ marriage counterfeit.

And this one:

“The good news is that even in one of the most liberal States in the Union, Maine, the people have once again rejected the ridiculous and oxymoronic notion of ‘same sex marriage.’ The momentum has again shifted – hopefully for good this time – in favor of protecting legitimate marriage.

"A counterfeit is a counterfeit. An orange is an orange no matter how much you want it to be a turnip. This isn’t about ‘marriage.’ It’s about hurting and broken people desperately seeking affirmation of an objectively deviant lifestyle. One that, even in their heart of hearts, they know to be a dead end. As for the militant ‘No on 1’ homosexual activists? I’m reminded of spoiled children dressing up and playing house, refusing to come in when mom calls for dinner".

And various others.

Are these Matt Barber's personal opinions or are they official Liberty Counsel positions?  If they are the former, then why are they always attributed to Liberty Counsel?  And if they are the latter, why are they never posted on the Liberty Counsel website? 

It's almost as if Liberty Counsel and Barber are trying to have it both ways in allowing Barber to regularly issue offensively anti-gay statements on the organization's behalf while allowing the organization to avoid taking any responsibility for his vehemently anti-gay bigotry. 

It seems that Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts has turned Mike Huckabee into a Tea Party true believer. 

A few months back, when tea party activists were making the Doug Hoffman/Dede Scozzafava the proving ground for ideological loyalty, Huckabee was conspicuously absent until the very last minute when he jumped in over after Scozzafava had dropped out.

Similarly, in the Brown race, Huckabee basically sat on the sidelines, but in the wake of his win, Huckabee is suddenly climbing aboard the tea party bandwagon, first claiming that members of Congress "should be tarred and feathered as the original tea partiers would have done" and now declaring that "The Tea Party Movement is Changing America" and that he is thrilled to be a part of it:

The 21st century Tea Party movement is changing America. That’s not an overstatement, it is a fact.

The original Tea Party happened on December 16, 1773, when 5,000 patriots gathered at the Old South Meeting House, a site used for both worship and politics. Our Tea Party ancestors tossed the tea overboard to protest “taxation without representation” because they weren’t permitted to elect a member to the British parliament.

Today we have seen our government turn a deaf ear to the people, pushing through bailouts and stimulus spending without representation. For months they’ve tried their best to push through a health care bill that few wanted, only to be stopped again this time by the Massachusetts Tea Party and the election of Scott Brown on January 19.

But mark my words: Congressional Democrats and President Obama haven’t given up.
Now we are hearing rumors that the Senate may try to use reconciliation to get around the filibuster. Just another procedural maneuver to thwart the will of the people. Every member of Congress knows in their heart that the American people don’t want the health care bill that Congress has before it and yet they continue to push for it out of arrogance.

The Tea Party movement was started by Americans insisting on fiscal responsibility in government, limited government based on the Constitution, and the free market system. They played a large role in the town hall meetings in August, at which lawmakers got an earful, they helped propel Republicans to victory in Virginia and New Jersey in November and again this month in Massachusetts. Now it’s time for the Tea Party patriots to step up again and help raise the pressure on Congress to bury Obama-care once and for all. I know they will. And I will step up with them.