One of the hallmarks of the current extremist Right in this country is that they spend their time freaking out about issues that really don’t exist. For example, they’ve been losing their minds lately over the Fast and Furious “scandal,” in which, they allege, the ATF has been intentionally walking American guns into the hands of Mexican cartel leaders in order to cause them to kill more and more people, in an effort to sour the American public on the Second Amendment, so that Obama won’t have such a hard time taking away old white guys’ guns. Yeah, this is actually their conspiracy theory. What’s remarkable about it, though, is that wingnuts’ familiarity with these conspiracy theories, the way they accept them, no questions asked, is so entrenched that their leaders don’t even have to explain themselves or their sources anymore. All they have to do is mention a few words and phrases, which then elicit a Pavlovian response in their followers, and it’s mission accomplished, a solid day’s work, etc.
Here’s Brian Brown of NOM, explaining in one paragraph, a conspiracy theory about how the evil liberals are out to get them via the office of Secretary of State in all fifty states. The conspiracy theory dogwhistles are in bold:
“Perhaps you’ve never heard of the Secretary of State Project. But if you haven’t, you should. With backers including George Soros and Tim Gill, the Secretary of State (SoS) Project is quietly packing Secretary of State offices across the country with left-wing activists…designed to tip the balance in close elections. One of those first SoS Project targets was Minnesota – where with just a few dollars they managed to replace a two-term incumbent with former community organizer and ACORN ally, Mark Ritchie. That race paid Soros and company their first dividends as Ritchie oversaw the 2008 recount between Norm Coleman and Al Franken. And now Ritchie is USING THE POWER OF HIS OFFICE to UNDERMINE the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment, a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between ‘one man and one woman.’”
Oh, Bravo, Brian. I used to have a hard time deciding where to place you on the stupid vs. evil scale, but I’m seeing skills I didn’t know you had. George Soros is the rich guy (though nowhere near as rich as the Koch brothers, who actually finance the Teabaggers and have bought Republican politicians across this country) whose face no wingnut could pick out of a line-up, yet who has become such a Boogey Man figure to the average wingnut that one must merely invoke his name in order to strike fear/resentment into the hearts of greater Wingnuttia. Tim Gill is George Soros for wingnuts who have a prurient obsession with gay sex. “Left-wing activists” is just what it sounds like, but it also reminds one of the phrase “activist judge,” which means “judge who rules in a way I don’t like.” But to follow that up with the Obama reference? Stroke of genius, Bri. Community organizers are an incredibly important part of making change happen in this country, but they’ve been around a long time. I mean, hell, the guy Brian’s religion is named after was a community organizer. But no matter! Wingnuts hear “community organizer” and 2008 and the Fear of a Black Planet comes raging back to them, as if it ever left in the first place. And just for good measure, he namechecks ACORN, the once-great organization which spent its time (quelle horreur!) making sure poor people’s and minorities’ voting rights were preserved and exercised, but which fell because of a racist, right-wing witch hunt. Regardless, by name checking ACORN and community organizing, Brian managed to activate the Two Minutes Hate for his readers in both the homophobia and the racism quadrants of the wingnut brain, thus ensuring that his followers are at least halfway paying attention.
The reason for Brian’s rant is that he’s all butthurt that the wording of Minnesota’s anti-gay marriage discrmination amendment isn’t the way he would like it to be. Also, he’s begging for donations, which goes a long way to explaining why he started with the paragraph quoted above. Gotta make sure those donors are good and freaked out, don’t ya, Brian?
[h/t Joe]
The reason that NOM and the other pro-amendment types are getting all crazy is that Mn Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is using the power his of his office to change the way the amendment will be labeled on the ballot. Ritchie has changed it from what the Republicans had on the bill they passed. The new language can be found here: http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?recordid=635&page=10 .
That’s what’s causing the crazy.
Can you imagine making a living by trying to deny human rights to your fellow human beings? People like Brown are the lowest of the low. My partner and I have been together for twenty one years. As a tax paying citizen it would be nice to have the same rights as the woman I work with who is on marriage number three! “the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman?”. Nah Brian..it’s about whipping up fear and homophobia to increase the money in the NOM bank account! That’s what it has ALWAYS been about..
There are extremists and conspiracy theorists on the Right and the Left, as much as there are rich folks on the right and the left. To somehow say only one side is guilty of any of this and the other side is innocent is simply not paying attention. Yes, I deplore the “Right’s” anti-gay stance — but I do remember clearly during the Soviet era that the “Left” blamed “homosexuality” on Christianity and Capitalism, while the “Right” blamed it on Godless Communism — and we were raked over the coals by both.
@ Jim Hlavac,
I must disagree. The Left you refer to was not the American Left at all — it was an extension of the Soviet Union. I have friends in the Committees on Correspondence, and even they will tell you that the numbers race in the “US Communist Party” was between Soviet operatives and Federal agents — and that often regular citizens were outnumbered by BOTH at public meetings. In the meanwhile the actual American Left was dominated then, as now, by equality activists of various types and by trade unionists.
Science at the time still vilified homosexuality, and groups like the Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society (both may be misspelled) had no place at the table of mainstream politics due to that vilification.
To compare the American Left and the American Right on issues like homosexuality however, you have to compare the actual groups, not Soviet puppets (I would argue btw that the Soviet Communist Party was actually conservative, not liberal in any way, just the conservative of a different system) — and to do it historically is the equivalent of those who point back to Abraham Lincoln (who today would certainly be a Democrat) and say “see the Republicans aren’t racists” — and yes, I’ve seen that done.
TODAY, TODAY. Today and for my lifetime (I remember none of what I’m talking about, although I’ve read about it)the only ally the gay community – or ANY minority community has had in the American political struggle is the American Left.
That is simply a fact.
Regards,
Reyn