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Candice Gingrich, who recently slammed her brother Newt for his anti-gay remarks, visited the set of Countdown to talk to Keith about the recent shift in opinion after Prop 8 passed and the protests occurred.
What a nice headline from FOX.
I wonder if they got a memo from Newt Gingrich?
GINGRICH: Look, I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion. And I think if you believe in historic Christianity, you have to confront the fact.
Wanda Sykes speaks out about Prop 8 at a rally hosted by the LGBT Center of Nevada in Las Vegas Nov. 15, 2008.
My friends at MM made me this clip. I didn't have a chance to make it, but it's shocking. And Newt Gingrich wants to run for president ladies and gentlemen. This is an issue that America isknown for. It's called "FREEDOM." And it should be fought vigorously. Freedoms have never come easy in America. Women couldn't even vote until the 1920's and we all know about the civil rights movement.
Country Fair:
On the November 14 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, in reference to actions by individual protesters of Proposition 8, the recently passed California ballot initiative amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage, Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich stated
O'REILLY: OK, now, the culture war. I know you've been flying around the country, and you're doing stuff. In the last three or four days, this is really nasty stuff. I mean, you know, hyper -- we're gonna show you some of the video. A woman getting a cross smashed out of her hand. We had a church in Michigan invaded by gay activists. We're gonna show you the video on Monday of that -- we have exclusively. We had a guy in Sacramento fired from his job. We had boycotts called on restaurants.
I mean, it is getting out of control, very few days after the election. How do you assess that?
GINGRICH: Look, I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion. And I think if you believe in historic Christianity, you have to confront the fact. And, frank -- for that matter, if you believe in the historic version of Islam or the historic version of Judaism, you have to confront the reality that these secular extremists are determined to impose on you acceptance of a series of values that are antithetical, they're the opposite, of what you're taught in Sunday school.
Gingrich thinks gay marriage is a very dangerous threat to traditional religion. Can he tell me how they are dangerous? Just because he doesn't believe in it doesn't mean it will hurt anyone. This is ignorance. The right needs an issue to motivate their base, but this lack of freedom for the gay community actually hurts their lives on a daily basis where as in the religious community it hurts no one. Are they honestly afraid that their kids will go gay or something? I know what James Dobson thinks:
They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth."
That is pure lunacy as we know. All gays want to do is part of that institution and have the same rights as all Americans do.
From AC360 Nov. 12, 2008: Anderson Cooper brings on Dan Savage and Tony Perkins to debate Proposition 8 and the protests against it. Savage makes Perkins look like the hapless James Dobson mouthpiece he is.
I'm sorry. This is all about civil liberties in my book. It's all about freedom, something the right-wingers trumpet to the media whenever it suits them. Why are they so afraid of gay marriage?
DAN SAVAGE: Part of the democratic process is if you're going to throw a punch you're going to have a punch thrown back. You don't get to march in the public square, slime people, malign people and demagogue against people and then jump behind a bush and say, no God we're a church. You can't criticize us. You can't bring it back to our frond doors and say we have a problem with what you've been saying about us in public and doing to us in the public square.
The Mormon Church has politicized itself with this movement and -- in California to ban same-sex marriage. And it wasn't just the Mormon Church encouraged its followers. The first prophet of the Mormon Church had a letter read from every temple, every Mormon temple in the land instructing its members as a religious duty to donate time and money to this campaign. You cannot campaign against the vulnerable minority group in this country in the political arena without expecting some sort of response
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Tony Perkins claims on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 that gay people are "rioting" over Proposition 8's narrow success at the California polls:
Perkins: The people have played by the rules. Why will not the homosexual activists quit rioting, quit, you know, attacking Mormons, and using religious bigotry. And if they want to change the laws, get the consent of the people.
Anderson Cooper: Where have the riots been, Tony? Where have the riots been?
Perkins: Well, they've spray-painted churches in California, they've been jumping on police cars.
Lisa Bloom of In Session proceeds to give Perkins hell. You can see from the videotape that these are peaceful demonstrations.
Perkins also has a peculiar definition of "playing by the rules," considering that, as Bloom just pointed out, the rules for amending the California Constitution were clearly not followed with this vote.
Hypocrisy much? The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints is unhappy about the fact that the media spotlight is trained on its participation in making Prop 8 happen.
In an official statement on the church's web site, bearing false witness and hypocrisy is the order of the day.
It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election.
Members of the Church in California and millions of others from every faith, ethnicity and political affiliation who voted for Proposition 8 exercised the most sacrosanct and individual rights in the United States - that of free expression and voting.
While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.
Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same-sex marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, harassed or subject to erroneous information.
Bzzt. Wrong answer. The people protesting the church's significant role in an another state's democratic process -- members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave millions of dollars to remove the civil rights of human beings -- are merely exercising their right to free speech to highlight that role.
And what is this "erroneous information"? Who knows, the church doesn't say. [..]
And the Catholic church is also lying baldly:
Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church was also a target for supporting Proposition 8.
"Proposition 8 is not against any group in our society. Its sole focus is on preserving God's plan for people living upon this earth throughout time," Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles, said in a statement Thursday.
WTF? Wait a minute. Prop 8 just removed an existing right from one specific group of people. There's no way to whitewash this. There's no spin that takes away the fact that religious institutions that backed Proposition 8 did so because of their faith -- interfering with the laws of California.
Sorry, LDS and Catholic Churches, let me pull out my tiny violin for you. You have used the tenets of your faith to infringe upon my secular government to take away rights from people, and I'm supposed to feel bad that protests are targeting you? I just don't think so. Remember Pastor Martin Niemöller? You have targeted the LGBT community today, but what happens when someone targets any faith, because it's not the "right" faith? What if they target you? Inequality is inequality and it should never be tolerated.
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Rachel Maddow talks to Melissa Harris-Lacewell about why so many African Americans voted for Proposition 8 and what needs to be done to change those attitudes.
California voters have passed a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. NBC News has yet to confirm the passage of this amendment, which would overturn a court ruling that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago. The passage of Proposition 8 represents a crushing political defeat for gay-rights activists, who had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough to help them defeat the measure.
It also represents a personal loss for the thousands of couples from California and others states who got married in the brief window when they could. Legal experts said courts will have to resolve whether their unions still are valid. California joins Arizona and Florida, where voters also approved amendments banning gay marriage. Gay-rights forces also suffered a loss in Arkansas, where voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target.
This is really, really disappointing. I think that the dishonest ads Prop 8 ran about children and using Barack Obama's face helped them immeasurably at the end, because it was running behind in the polls as late as the weekend. I fully expect that the proposition, like Prop 22 in 2000 will be challenged in court and meet a similar fate that Prop 22 did.
(cross-posted from Calitics)
Yes, he went there at an official Sacramento Yes on 8 rally yesterday. This is Brad Dacus, an official Prop 8 spokesperson speaking. He is the President of the Pacific Justice Institute, a religious-right lawyers 501c3 organization.
Here is the transcript:
"There was another time in history when people, when the bell tolled. And the question was whether or not they were going to hear it. The time was during Nazi Germany with Adolf Hitler. You see he brought crowds of clergy together to assure them that he was going to look after the church.
And one of the members, bold and courageous, Reverend Niemand (sp?) made his way to the front and (inaudible) said "Hitler, we are not concerned about the church. Jesus Christ will take care of the church.
We are concerned about the soul of Germany." Embarrassed and chagrined, his peers quickly shuffled him to the back.
And as they did Adolf Hitler said, "The soul of Germany, you can leave that to me." And they did, and because they did bombs did not only fall upon the nation of Germany, but also upon the church and their testimony to this very day.
Let us not make that mistake folks. Let us hear the bell! Vote on Proposition 8!"
Dacus is the guy who was the chief architect of the movement to get an opt-out law for parents to take their child out of any school activity that violates their religious or moral beliefs. Like say, if a charter school asks the parents if they want to take their kids on a field trip to celebrate their teacher getting married. You know, the one they are conveniently forgetting about and then lying in their ads about education and teh children.
Heck, you can even find instructions on how to get an opt-out form on his organization's website. This is the guy who is comparing me to Hitler in an attempt to take away my rights.
The best way you can answer back to Dacus is to get out this weekend and election day and volunteer for the No on 8 campaign. There is a special netroots volunteer sign-up form. Fill it out and tell them you came from Crooks and Liars.
The Face of Proposition 8 from Theremina on Vimeo.
And you thought the crazy people were only at McCain/Palin events. These people are getting scarier by the second.
Conservatives are starting to feel very, very freaked out. And they tend to be the type of people who believe violence is the best answer for everything. You do the math. The sheer rage in the voices of the anti-gay marriage people is chilling.
Rishathra has more...
(I'm having trouble viewing some embeds on Firefox lately too.)
(full disclosure: I proudly work for the Courage Campaign, a No on 8 coalition member)
You guys are amazing! Between C&L readers giving via my post Thursday and kossacks from kos's post over $34,000 has come into the No on Prop 8 campaign to preserve equality for all.
The blogosphere is stepping up for marriage equality in California in a big way and it could not come at a more important time. That is especially true with the great news from the Connecticut Supreme Court on marriage equality today. Losing here in CA would just embolden the right in CT to try and take away rights there. We can't let that happen.
The Yes on 8 campaign honestly surprised us with the strength of their fundraising. For a while, we weren't quite sure how much they were up on us, because they broke the Secretary of State's reporting system. Their report was too large for it to handle. The reporting system is fixed, but the numbers are still jaw-dropping.
They have raised $24.3 million to our $15.4 million.
A lot of that has come in from small donors. LAT:
But the "Yes on 8" campaign also is particularly successful at mining small donors. It raised $4.5 million in increments of less than $1,000, and $8.6 million in donations of less than $10,000. That works out to about 46% of its money.
We are $34,000 closer to matching them thanks to the netroots response in the last 24 hours. But we still need your help.
The No on 8 campaign is fighting the right's lies with the new ad, just released yesterday. We need your help to get the word out to voters about their lies. They are flooding the airwaves and we need to answer back. That takes money. So, give what you can. Remember, ballot campaigns in California have no contribution limits. Large and small donations add up and -- to get our message out and win this battle for equal rights -- we need those donations in a big way ASAP.
(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)
For a while, the fight to keep equal marriage rights in California seemed to be humming along just fine. The polls were looking good, the other side had a ridiculous field strategy (knocking on doors without lists) and they were so incompetent that their big day of action had to be canceled, because their million lawn signs never arrived from their outsourcer in China.
But things have changed. The two most recent polls taken after "Yes on 8" TV ads hit the airwaves show us behind and them surging. And here is the really bad news: their TV ads are working and we don't have the cash to match their ad buys. EdgeBoston:
Earlier polls had shown Proposition 8, which would eradicate the right for same-sex couples to marry in California, trailing by about 5 percentage points. This week, a Lake Research poll paid for by the campaign of 1,051 likely voters showed the proposition winning, with 47 percent saying they supported the measure and 43 percent saying no. The polling period was Sept. 29-Oct. 2. That finding is reinforced by a SurveyUSA poll of 670 likely voters showing the proposition winning 47 percent to 42 percent. That poll was taken Saturday and Sunday.
They have simply seen an unprecedented surge in donations, mostly from Mormons. LAT:
Steve Smith, campaign manager for No on 8, said he wanted to be able to "match [opponents] dollar for dollar. If we don't get there, voters won't hear our messages."
Smith also said his forces are being outspent in part because of a surge in contributions from Mormon Church members.
"I don't think we have ever seen a single religion in the state . . . so significantly participate in one political campaign," Smith said.
Right now we are down anywhere between $7-10 million dollars to the Mormons and others. They are out-raising us and it is hurting us in the polls.
Here is the deal: we need donations, volunteers and help spreading the word to vote No on Prop 8.
If you have money you can contribute, please give to the campaign. If you can volunteer, contact the campaign or show up at an office and they will put you to work talking to voters.
The one thing just about everyone can do is talk to their friends and family members that live in California about voting No on Prop 8. To that end, the Courage Campaign has created the above video called "Gender Auditors". It's a "keep the government out of your pants" message, a libertarian argument, if you will, for voting "No on Prop 8".
Pass around the link. Use it as an icebreaker to make sure your friends and family know to vote No on Prop. 8.
We can win this race, but we need everyone's help.
I have to admit that my respect for Katie Couric has grown immensely this week for her surprisingly comprehensive and very damaging interview with Sarah Palin. Should the McCain/Palin ticket lose in November (oh please, let it be so), I think that there's a fairly strong argument that this interview really was the first nail in the coffin.
It hasn't gotten as much splash as her reading lists or inability to recall a single Supreme Court decision, but this little exchange definitely caught my attention, especially since in my state of California, we're fighting a proposition to eliminate the right of gays to marry:
I have, one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay. And I love her dearly. And she is not my "gay friend." She is one of my best friends who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I have made. But I am not gonna judge people. And I love America where we are more tolerant than other countries are. And are more accepting of some of these choices that sometimes people want to believe reflects solely on an individual's values or not. Homosexuality, I am not gonna judge people.
So Sarah Palin chose not to be homosexual? C'mon...this is the 21st century. Catch up. It isn't a choice and it's not something you can pray away. Nor should one need to. The Human Rights Campaign went to Wasilla to see how the LGBT population felt about Palin as mayor and then governor:
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Ironically, Palin's running mate just gave an interview to the Washington Blade, an LGBT publication, the first such interview by a presidential candidate. In it, he reiterates his anti-gay stances. I'm guessing he's written off the Log Cabin vote.
