Hate group leaders think they know who God will judge

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

The prize for blatant chutzpah has to go to the Family Research Council head Tony Perkins and American Family Association head Tim Wildmon. During a recent AFA radio program, they claimed that God will "judge" America because of the gay community and legal abortion:

Perkins: You and I Tim as Americans have been given a very unique role in the history of mankind to be a part of that process and choosing our leaders, but with that opportunity comes a responsibility and an accountability. I think we’ll give an account for who the leaders of this nation, who the leaders are, and the policies that they adopt. We can’t simply wash our hands and say ‘oh just because we have a pro-abortion president, a Democratic president, we don’t have anything to do with that.’ No my friends, we do. When only fifty percent of the church-going population is registered to vote and only half of them are actually voting, I have some really somber news: I believe God is going to hold us accountable for the death, the destructive policies of this country that have devalued human life and are redefining marriage.
…
Wildmon: Folks keep in mind the overarching principle here we need to look at is a Biblical one, in that it is immoral, it is evil, it is wrong in the eyes of God to kill unborn babies.

Perkins: And as long as it’s happening in the United States we’re a party to it.

Wildmon: We’re a party to and we are being and we will be judged and held accountable for it, as a country.

Tim Wildmon, the American Family Association

Are they serious? While Wildmon is busy pointing the finger at gays and legalized abortion, he conveniently forgets the action of his group, the American Family Association, which include:

• inaccurately linking lgbts to pedophiles (a classic case of bearing false witness),

•  employing the rabid Bryan Fischer who has- when he's not claiming that gays made up the Nazi Party in German:

• made an ugly racial slur about President Obama, 

• viciously attacked a Medal of Honor recipient, and 

• wrote a ridiculous piece about the supposed lack of morals of Native Americans;

• and continuing to sell the fraudulent video "It's Not Gay," featuring the testimony of supposed "ex-gay" Michael Johnston (even though Johnston, an HIV-positive man, was discovered in 2003 to be having unprotected sex with various men). The AFA, by the way, is still selling the tape (seen here with Johnston's face is on the cover in this link).

And Perkins and the Family Research Council aren't exactly slouches in the bearing false witness or hypocrisy departments themselves.  I had trouble narrowing the number of lies they tell down to 16.

But the lies include distorting research, making false claims about GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network), which FRC was forced to take back after GLSEN handed them a cease-and-desist letter, and relying on the junk data of a discredited researcher who believes that gays stuff gerbils up their rears.

These are the main reasons why the Southern Poverty Law Center named both FRC and AFA as anti-gay hate groups.

If you ask me, I think that both Wildmon and Perkins need to worry less about how God will judge others and worry more about He will judge them.

NY clerk needs to do her job or resign and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Ledyard, New York Town Board Fails to Uphold NY Marriage Equality Act - This does not need to be long and drawn out. There is no paradox to this nor is this woman's actions noble. Either do the job you were ELECTED to do or resign.

AP: 53% support equality; future moving one decided direction - More proof that NOM's money can buy them spin but not truth.

General Foresees Muted Response To Gay Ban Repeal - That ought to cheese off the religious right.

Justice Dept: Bullying Complaints On the Rise - This is NOT good. Or rather the bullying isn't good. That folks are complaining about it more is good.

Gay candidates win in Conn., N.C., and N.Y. - Yesterday wasn't all bad.

NOM's sad attempt to steal credit in the New York special election

  . . .when it looked as if Turner would win - he was leading in the polls coming into the final stretch - the hogs came to the trough. And the lead hog was the National Organization for Marriage.

Last night, Republicans won a special election in New York to replace former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Weiner had to resign after a ugly scandal regarding him allegedly sending lewd pictures over twitter.

This victory is considered an upset because it was supposed to be an easy victory for Democrats. Of course this is a ridiculous notion. There is no such thing as an easy victory in politics.

But still, folks didn't count on the Republican, Bob Turner, capturing the seat over David Weprin. And when it looked as if Turner would win - he was leading in the polls coming into the final stretch - the hogs came to the trough.

And the lead hog was the National Organization for Marriage. Weprin had voted for marriage equality earlier this year when the state passed the law allowing it. And now NOM wanted payback for that vote to the tune of $75,000 it spent on Turner's campaign. The organization also utilized a series of mailing and robocalls attacking Weprin.

But more than payback, NOM was trying to foster a claim that a vote for marriage equality in New York will get come back to haunt politicians. Brian Brown, NOM's president, had this to say after Turner's victory:

"NOM played a major role in this election, helping to organize the Jewish and Hispanic communities to coalesce with Republicans, conservative and other pro-family voters. We mounted the first and largest independent expenditure campaign in the race to make marriage a key issue, and we succeeded. David Weprin is not going to Congress for one reason: he listened to Andrew Cuomo, Michael Bloomberg, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and a few billionaires on Wall Street and went along with them to redefine marriage.

. . .Our message to the rest of the politicians in Albany who voted to redefine marriage is this: 'You’re next.' Once again voters have said: 'Don’t Mess With Marriage!"

Very few people are buying NOM's statement, seeing the organization as trying to salvage the embarrassment of losing the fight to stop marriage equality in New York, as well as trying sow seeds in its campaign to repeal the law.

Brown's statement omits several things. One was the fact that Turner was clearly leading before NOM interjected itself into the race. Secondly, the prevailing feeling is that the New York vote was decided not about marriage equality but sending a message to President Obama.

The Advocate had this to say:

Ask any analyst, and they will say the special election turned on the economy, opinions about President Obama, and to a lesser extent, U.S. policy toward Israel (a theme stirred when former New York City mayor Ed Koch, a Democrat for marriage equality, endorsed Turner in July to warn Obama to be a better friend to America’s closest ally in the Middle East). One week before the election, a Siena Research Institute poll showed Turner in the lead by six points, where 30% of voters listed the economy as their primary concern, followed by federal entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare at 28%, with Israel at a distant 7%.

Of course the retort would be that "The Advocate is a pro gay publication. Of course it will play down the marriage equality issue." But that opinion about this race was also expressed by the right-wing One News Now via an Associated Press piece:

Voter frustration over the sour economy and President Barack Obama's policies made the improbable a reality, as a Republican political novice, Bob Turner, scored an upset victory in a special election Tuesday over David Weprin, a Democratic assemblyman from a prominent local political family. The surprising results in the Brooklyn and Queens-area district portend a perilous national environment for Obama as he prepares to seek re-election next year.

NOM is simply trying to take credit for a victory that was already in the bag before it dropped its much-moneyed tentacles into the mix.

We will probably hear about it for a while. But like so much of its other claims, NOM taking credit for Turner's victory is a false narrative.

Marriage equality is a reality in New York and that's the bottom line.