Marc Mutty, who ran Yes on 1 in Maine, will be featured in a documentary later this year on the campaign to repeal marriage in that state, and in the trailer, he’s on camera admitting what we all already know — they lied in their campaign. They always lie:
“We use a lot of hyperbole and I think that’s always dangerous,” says Mutty during a Yes on 1 strategy session, at the time on leave from his job as public affairs director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine.
“You know, we say things like ‘Teachers will be forced to (teach same-sex marriage in schools)!’ ” he continues. “Well, that’s not a completely accurate statement and we all know it isn’t, you know?”
“No,” interjects a woman off-camera. “We don’t say that.”
“Let’s look back at our ads and see what we say,” Mutty persists. “And I think we use hyperbole to the point where, you know, it’s like ‘Geez!’ “
Indeed! I would go so far as to say that not only Mutty, but the entire Religious Right, flat makes sh*t up, their hatred of gay people runs so deep. More than that, they seem to know that facts are not on their side:
“I know we need to do what we have to do — not only slam people over the head with a two-by-four, but a two-by-four with nails sticking out of it,” he says. “And it’s nuts … unfortunately, I think it’s a lousy approach. But it’s the only thing we’ve got — it’s the only way. That’s the way campaigns work.”
Well, like I said, we already know they’re liars, but it’s refreshing to see one of them admit it, and perhaps, it seems from the article, feel a little bit of remorse over it. Like any good Christian, though, Mutty’s biggest regret is that he was caught on camera saying potty words, because, as we all know, potty words are worse than lying about an entire class of people in order to deny them and their families constitutional rights.
[h/t Jim Burroway]
Waybne– here’s a petition project for you. I will forward it to everyone I know if you decide to take it on,
A petition to the Muttster that says basically this.
You want forgiveness, shithead? Here’s what you do.
You stand up, appear before the television cameras and the reporters, and you say this:
People of maine: I lied to you in order to get you to vote against same-sex marriage. I deliberately appealed to bigotry in order to further the political goals of conservative religion.
Everything i said was lie intended to deceive you. to make up for that, i am sponsoring a new initiative campaign in Maine to put same-sex marriage back into our laws.
I will do everything i can to undo the damage I did. I ask the people of Maine to forgive me. I ask especially the gay and lesbian couples in our state, to whom I intentionally did great harm in the name of prejudice, especially to forgive me.
We need to use some “hit over the head” tactics of our own. Because we don’t and try to “play fair,” we lose all these marriage equality campaigns. During the next one, we need to use some of anti-gay activist Mutty’s quotes admitting they lie, in a commercial of our own. We have everything we need right here to “hit” them back in a commercial. Or….will we let another opportunity go by?
Play this every time the bigots make a move in one of their campaigns.
I agree with Michael – We have been playing nice for way too long…if we’re going to get any rights, we need to fight fire with fire.
This is no surprise, but how pitiful do you have to be to lie to keep rights from people who have never harmed you and whose right to legal marriage would not impact you in the least.
I agree–if he really wants to make amends, he must publicly admit that he lied about us in order to defeat marriage equality. And he must do something concrete to help marriage equality.
What does “fighting fire with fire” mean concerning this issue? If it means fabricating fantastic lies in lieu of the truth, I respectfully suggest: No Way. Our fire is the actual truth; we just need to hammer them continuously with the fact that they have/are making things up and shoot back with the truth loud and clear. Force them to state what is the basis of such things as: Teachers will have to teach 1st graders about homosexuality. Show the proof. Play a recording of the actual lessons with the real teachers and real students. Show where in the law it states such preposterous things. Now, if one is talking a high school sex ed class, then yes, I expect those lessons of explanation to include the facts of homosexuality – that it is a reality for some people and is no less or more deserving of respect than heterosexuality.
Truth is a good thing.
I think the purpose of TWO is interesting: something like turning information into action
Basically–that is an “edit” function.
And edits can simplify/clarify truth; or twist them into propoganda.
Wherever there is a public fight–there will be a propogandist ready to take sides. No side is immune. And every side, whether Marc Mutty or Lee Atwater is responsible for our words.
Lies are evil.
I agree truthlovetruth, lies are evil. The lies that gay people are either diseased or sinful are evil. The lies that gay people can and should fight against their orientation are evil. The lies that gay people can become straight are evil. The lies that gay people should be celibate are evil. The lies that there is a God who cares about whether gay people act on their orientation are evil.
truthlovetruthiness:
Lying as a form of editing is present in most reparative therapy and ex-gay ministry huckstering campaigns, but it is, agreed, a perennial.
Lee Atwater I’ll cut a little slack, since he could’ve pleaded “brain cancer,” but apologized sincerely – and besides, the wretch is dead (to mangle Marlowe). Too bad that the damage he did lives after him (Shakespeare was right about so many things).
Andrew Breitbart, James O’Keefe, George Rekers, Paul Cameron, (et al) will get no slack from me – they’ve no excuse.
“Lies in the name of God are still lies.” ~~ Alvin McEwen