Alveda King |
A nonprofit group of African-American faith leaders has pledged $1 million toward an anti-Obama ad campaign encouraging black voters to abandon the president at polls in November, due to his support for marriage equality. The group, which calls itself God Said, aims to strip Obama of 25% of his African-American support, asking voters not to cast a ballot by political affiliation, but rather to vote "their biblical values."On Tuesday, the newly formed group announced its plan to target voters with radio and TV ads in the swing states of Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Florida, according to The Daily Caller .
"The black community is among the most religious in America," founder Apostle Claver Kamau-Imani told The Daily Caller in a statement. "We are offended that President Obama has announced his support of same-sex marriage, that the NAACP has blindly supported the secular views of the Democratic Party, and that their national platform plainly supports same-sex marriage. I am confident this message will be well received and acted upon on Election Day."According to the group's website — which features an ominous video preaching that "God said marriage equals one man and one woman" — its founders hope to "impact the social and cultural climate; to bring about a notable, nonpartisan support of natural marriage and natural family life in the African American community and society as a whole."In addition to Kamau-Imani, the executive board of God Said also includes former Miss America contestant Day Gardner, and Alveda King, the right-wing niece of Dr. Martin Luther King.
So this "group" is targeting Obama in the swing states; states crucial for victory. How convenient.
Personally, I have never heard of these folks except for Alveda King and if this woman is involved then hold your nose so you don't smell the distinctive wafts of a rat.
For those who don't know, Alveda King has made a career out of being the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She has self-anointed herself as the designee of his legacy in civil rights and is almost always called upon if conservatives or members of the religious right needs a token African-American to somehow make it seem that their policies and efforts are universal.
However, other than exploiting her uncle's name, King has done absolutely nothing for the civil rights movement. In an interview I conducted with her earlier this year (in which I confronted charges she made about Bayard Rustin, the openly gay organizer of the 1963 March on Washington), she could not tell me what her participation was in the civil rights movement nor could she defend the charges she made against Rustin. I guess that's why she hung up on me.
Any group or effort which Alveda King is involved in when it concerns civil rights should be taken with a grain of salt. A very small grain of salt.
But even if King wasn't involved in this endeavor, it would fail anyway because of its own ego. The organization made a huge mistake in revealing how much money will go into its effort to undermine Obama's African-American support.
Or to put it in the vernacular of so many African-Americans who will read this article - "where in the hell are they getting $1 millon from?"
This silly organization with a cute name, will, no doubt, be correctly pegged as an astroturfed group which is backed by predominantly white organizations who actually support Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney.
We already saw that with the Coalition of African-American ministers (CAAP), who has received funding from the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage - two group who support Romney.
And we already saw that with Bishop Harry Jackson, a black pastor who received a grand total of $80,000 from the National Organization for Marriage for his efforts against marriage equality.
So there is no question that this new group - thanks to its ego in announcing its funding - will fail.
The only question I have is how much of that $1 million will magically ease its way into Alveda King's purse.
How strange. My Bible always read along the lines of "One Man and as many wives as he wanted."
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