One republican turned democrat was welcomed to the liberal party with open arms.
Who would welcome someone who has an agenda like this?
...."says his religious and intellectual understanding of the "true nature" of homosexuality motivates him to fight and defeat the "homosexual agenda."...."I am accused of being a hatemonger, but I’ve never given anyone AIDS," he says. "I’ve not hurt or killed anyone. Whereas homosexuals, supposedly the great lovers of mankind, continue to engage in activities that are ripping each other apart physically and mentally."
More about our Democrat friend below.
Meet Mike Gabbard. He is a family values Democrat. On August 30, 2007, Gabbard switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party of Hawaii. "My experience over at the Legislature has convinced me that in order to be more effective, it would be best if I were a part of the majority party," Gabbard said. link
Do we really want more Democrats or are we trying to get progressive "better Democrats"? I have a feeling that if we allow everyone under our big tent it will result in Democrats that have an extreme Bush feel and no real upside for our agenda.
Take a close look at this Republican turned Democrat. Mike Gabbard is one of us, really?
In the 1990's he had his own TV show
The Gay Deception is not an ambiguous program: An opening video montage, accompanied by dramatic-sounding music, shows gays and lesbians kissing, touching and holding hands. Fear of gay adoption is implied, as is the increasing (and, by implication, unwanted) presence of gays in mainstream America.
As the montage ends, Gabbard himself comes on the screen, the Pacific Ocean crashing on the rocks behind him. Looking directly at the camera, unblinking in the hot sun, Gabbard explains that his show "sets the record straight" on the true nature of homosexuality.
link
And you thought the mormon church was out to stop gay marriage in California, well how about 1998?
The Mormon church opposes marriage rights for same-sex couples and has actively worked to stop it in the past. In 1998, for example, then-church President Gordon B. Hinckley issued a statement, saying: "We cannot stand idle if [gays and lesbians] indulge in immoral activity, if they try to uphold and defend and live in a so-called same-sex marriage situation. To permit such would be to make light of the very serious and sacred foundation of God-sanctioned marriage and its very purpose, the rearing of families."
In that same year, the church contributed $500,000 to the Alaska Family Coalition and $600,000 to Save Traditional Marriage in Hawaii. link
What is the Save Traditional Marriage group? Well Democrat Mike Gabbard was chairman of the Alliance for Traditional Marriage PAC that received the money.
Here's the steering committee of Save Traditional Marriage-'98, the recently formed political action committee seeking passage of the proposed constitutional amendment restricting marriage to opposite-sex couple:
Co-Chairwoman Diane Ho Kurtz: Executive vice president, Hawaii Biotechnology Group Inc.
Co-Chairman Bill Paul: Former chairman of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce and the Hawaii Visitors Bureau
Treasurer Ronald Choo: Accountant
The Rev. Marc Alexander: Vice chairman of Hawaii's Future Today
Mike Gabbard: Chairman of the Alliance for Traditional Marriage
Jack Hoag: Chairman of Hawaii Reserves Inc. and vice chairman of Hawaii's Future Today
Janice Pechauer: Interior designer
Leon Siu: Entertainer
Vern Ta'a: Plumbers union leader
It is a decade later and same sex marriage is not moving along in Hawaii. Civil unions bill HB444 passed the Hawaii House and word was that there were enough votes in the Hawaii Senate for it to pass. But it had to pass through the Hawaii Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee first, a tie vote in the committee prevented the bill from being sent to the senate. Mike Gabbard was one of two Democrats who shut down the bill on March 25,2009 link.
Additional research into this Democrat from Hawaii takes you down a rabbit hole of extreme religious views, bizairre cult connections, and a disfunctional family of his very own.
Is this what we want in a new Democrat?
I will close with a quote from Mike Gabbard...
"a few last thoughts that may be helpful in defining ‘who is Mike Gabbard,’" he states: "Nature tells us that it’s not a good idea to be inserting penises (or other foreign objects) into the anus/rectum because these excretory organs are designed specifically for eliminating things, not putting things into them."
He continues, "Putting aside AIDS for the moment, public health stats reveal diseases like gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis A and B, cytomegalovirus, amoebic bowel disease and herpes occur at much higher rates in homosexuals than in the general population. Unfortunately, when out of genuine concern and compassion for others, we bring these facts up and say that anal sex is unnatural, unhealthy behavior that should be discouraged in society, homosexual activists and their supporters point their fingers at us, venomously saying, ‘Hatemonger, homophobe!’"