As Brian noted yesterday, the Religious Right was unified in its support of Paul Clement for resigning from his position at King & Spalding after the law firm backed out of defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
To hear the Religious Right tell it, this decision by King & Spalding was the result of a campaign of intimidation by gay rights groups – in fact, that is pretty much what the Family Research Council said:
Looking for attorneys that won’t buckle under pressure? Don’t bother contacting King & Spalding. In a stunning announcement, the Atlanta-based firm just dropped the most high-profile client on its books: the U.S. House of Representatives. Barely a week ago, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) hired King & Spalding to go to bat for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) when the Obama administration refused. Within hours, the homosexual community was up in arms. Led by the so-called Human Rights Campaign, activists promised to target the firm until its attorneys dropped the case. Five days later, they did. Unable — and unwilling — to take the heat, King and Spalding took the cowardly way out.
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Once again we see how the activists who are trying to redefine marriage want to shut down any and all public debate. King & Spalding have proven that they are not advocates for the law — but for a small but influential cabal that want to undermine policy and society.
Amazing, isn’t it, how when gay rights groups dare to speak up, the FRC sees it as a campaign of intimidation … but when Religious Right groups do it, FRC hails them for simply exercising their rights:
The Big Mac attack on family values is finally over! After a five-month boycott, Americans finally got what they ordered-McDonald’s agreement to stop financing the homosexual agenda. Back in May, the fast food giant joined the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to the dismay of millions of customers who did not feel served. At the time, company Vice President Richard Ellis refused to back down, even calling conservatives “haters” in a public statement. The American Family Association launched a national campaign to force McDonald’s to eat its words. And eat them, they did! This week, McDonald’s announced that Ellis had resigned from the GLCC. In an email to franchises, the company said, “It is our policy not to be involved in political and social issues. McDonald’s remains neutral on same-sex marriage [and the] ‘homosexual agenda…'” We thank McDonald’s — and those of you who used your buying power to encourage values on the menu and in company policy.
Just last year, Tony Perkins was part of a group called Citizens Against Religious Bigotry that was formed solely protest a proposed Comedy Central program about Jesus Christ called “JC.” The group preemptively targeted potential advertisers and warned them that if they did not promise never to advertise on the show, they’d be labeled as anti-Christian bigots … and the group quickly declared victory:
Members of the coalition wrote to more than 300 potential advertisers for this show. The letters explained the nature of the program and stated how offensive the “JC” project would be, not only to the 83 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Christians, but also to many non-Christians including those who signed the petition. Coalition members then followed up with phone calls to the advertisers, speaking directly with representatives from most of the corporations that received the original letter.
Not one single sponsor indicated their intention to buy advertising time on the “JC” program if the program ever made it to Comedy Central’s air.
“With literally zero advertiser support for this program, the only reason Comedy Central would put it on their broadcast schedule is in an effort to offend Christianity and Christians. There is no valid business reason for airing ‘JC.’
“In light of this demonstration of overwhelming success, the Coalition’s advertiser outreach will stand down. In the event that any advertiser changes its mind, that advertiser and its executives will be publicly called to account for supporting anti-Christian bigotry.”
This group have the support of dozens of Religious Right organizations … the very same organizations who are now complaining about a campaign of “intimidation” against King and Spalding.
