Truth Wins Out - FRC Unapologetic for Lying about Mehlman’s Orientation

FRC Unapologetic for Lying about Mehlman’s Orientation

Posted August 28th, 2010 by Michael Airhart

For at least six years, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins lied to the public about Ken Mehlman, the gay chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Mehlman’s homosexuality was well-known among Republicans, and he was outed to the general public by blogger Mike Rogers in 2004.

Perkins wasn’t alone in covering up Mehlman’s homosexuality, of course; CNN edited its news coverage to cover up Mehlman’s orientation.

Perkins danced around his own organization’s half-decade of lies this week, when he declared that he was “saddened” that Mehlman is now being honest. Instead of apologizing for the deception, Perkins

criticizes Mehlman for having “chosen to identify himself”
makes the unsupported and unsupportable claims that sexual honesty harms society and that safer sex has “negative physical and mental health consequences”
scapegoats Mehlman’s resistance to the GOP’s worst antigay hatemongers for the GOP’s war- and economy-related election losses in 2006 and 2008
lies about the percentage of the population that is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, offering an absurd estimate of “two percent” that is not exclusively heterosexual

Perkins concludes that it would be foolish for the GOP to adopt policies reflecting fiscal and social responsibility, policies that support real families, “thereby alienating the majority of conservative voters.”

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There Goes The Neighborhood…

Posted June 8th, 2010 by Wayne Besen

Kenny Apparently, Ken Mehlman is my new neighbor. For those who don’t remember, he was the Bush administration’s campaign stooge who resigned as chairman of the Republican National Committee not long after he was accused of being a two-faced closet case.

Mehlman presided over a nasty presidential campaign where marriage equality was written out of the constitutions of several states and divisively used as a wedge issue to help propel Bush to a second disastrous term.

Now that Mehlman has profiteered from the pain of LGBT people and attacks on liberalism, he has conveniently moved to our little gay/liberal enclave to take advantage of the gains made by the very people bashed by his beloved Republican Party. (To his credit, he did try to make the GOP more racially and ethnically diverse, so he wins points on that front)

Mehlman just paid $3.775 million for a 2,200-square-foot 2BR/3BA loft the Chelsea Mercantile, where neighbors include Marc Jacobs and Lance Bass. He should love it! I hear the place has the most fabulous walk-in closets. However, the GOP spin doctor paid $100k above the asking price. So much for fiscal conservatism!

In any case, we don’t want to be be accused of intolerance. So, now that I have given him shit — in the most loving, neighborly way possible — I will officially welcome Kenny to the hood. Plus, in Chelsea we like to pride ourselves on diversity — and having an admitted, practicing Republican operative is true to our values of inclusion.

WELCOME KENNY!

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Social Conservatives In Tizzy Over Gay Republican Group Sponsoring CPAC

Posted January 3rd, 2010 by Wayne Besen

Social conservatives are apoplectic because the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is allowing the LGBT organization GOProud to co-sponsor the annual Washington event. Once again, the self-righteous morality police are doing everything in their power to undermine the Republican Party and shrink the already shrunken tent.

Mark Barna reports in The Gazette that GOProud supports gay rights and marriage, but still considers itself a conservative Republican group because it is for smaller government, lower taxes and strong national defense. Still, this is not enough for anti-gay organizations that demand party purity.

“We’re fully engaged in making our objection known, both to the CPAC committee and to the parent organization, the American Conservative Union,” said Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy for Focus Action, the political arm of Focus on the Family. Minnery did not say if Focus Action would pull out of CPAC if GOProud remained a co-sponsor.

Gary Glenn, president of the faith-based American Family Association of Michigan, said GOProud’ inclusion is a mockery. “It does damage when CPAC gives its seal of approval of a group exploring a hard-left agenda,” Glenn said.

Kevin Roberts is executive director of Catholic Families for America, a CPAC co-sponsor. He told Barna that he will make his displeasure known over the inclusion of the gay-rights group during his CPAC speech. “I will be speaking on traditional values (during my speech),” Roberts said.

I don’t suppose Roberts’ speech will include chastising priests for sexually molesting children and how the Catholic Church covered up such heinous crimes. After the church spent billions of dollars paying off victims, I’m really in no mood to hear some Catholic ideologue lecture me on traditional values. Roberts and others of his ilk have no moral authority to discuss such topics. He can do us all a favor and save his breath.

Formed in April, GOProud has 2,000 members who believe fiscal conservatism can exist alongside gay rights activism. Jimmy LaSalvia formed the Washington. D.C.-based group after learning that 1.3 million gays voted for Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.

Whatever one thinks of LGBT Republicans, it is good to see GOProud stand up for itself and demand a place at the Republican table. In doing so, it may just save the party from destroying itself by kowtowing to an intolerant group of narrow-minded zealots. If the GOP were smart, it would embrace diversity and tell the fundamentalists that they are part of a broader coalition and that they do not own the party. Only by widening the circle of supporters (gays, city dwellers, immigrants, African Americans, young people) will the Republican Party remain viable in the future.

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