Jim Garlow, the viciously anti-gay pastor who has likened marriage equality to human-horse marriage, compared gay adoption to children losing their parents on 9/11, and claimed that Satan himself is driving the marriage equality movement, has a bit of a man-crush on Ruben Diaz.
I’m sure Garlow was watching the whole time, with his pants down, while Diaz unleashed homophobic tirade after homophobic tirade on the floor of the New York state senate in the lead-up to the marriage equality vote. And now, realizing how utterly irrelevant Diaz has become in light of marriage equality’s victory, Garlow wants to make him a hero.
There’s not much time, though. Diaz has a one-way ticket to an awful, awful abyss (no, not that abyss) known as The Wrong Side of History.
So how does one take an irrelevant, bumbling bigot who tried to block his own granddaughter’s civil equality but was defeated in a grand display of fail, and make him a hero?
Name an annual award after him, of course. And so the "Ruben Diaz Courage Award" was born. Bestowed by the Renewing American Leadership organization, it will only go to the most vitriolic, the most intensely hateful, the most maliciously anti-gay politicians who do everything in their power to stop the tide of social justice and history itself. It’s a messy job, and it ends in a cloud of fail every time, but somebody has to do it. Only these brave souls will join Ruben Diaz’s table on The Wrong Side of History.
But wait! This just in! We have the winner of the very first annual Ruben Diaz Courage Award. * drum roll * …and it is…oh my God, this is incredible, it’s…
Ruben Diaz! Come on down!
Yes, Ruben Diaz won the award for…being most like Ruben Diaz. Wow! I bet nobody saw this one coming!
What a surprise, considering Garlow recently called Diaz “the most courageous pastor in America.”
Who is the most courageous pastor in America? There are likely many candidates for this title, but I would nominate Pastor Ruben Diaz of New York City. After you hear what he stands for and what he has endured, you might want to nominate him, too.
[…]
Pastor Diaz has fought hard for traditional, natural marriage, the only Democrat to stand for one man-one woman marriage in bitterly fought legislative battles year after year.
But Pastor Diaz stood – like a rock. And he has paid dearly.
Here’s the transcript of the radio interview (you can listen to it here) in which Garlow makes the announcement to Diaz and to the world. He just gushes all over Diaz (thank God it’s radio, that’s all I’ve got to say – I don’t think we need to see what was going on in the studio).
Garlow: You know that I am so impressed with your story and there's all kind of details that we can't go into right now. But I'm so impressed with how you have stood that an organization that I'm chairman of in Washington DC called Renewing American Leadership - as soon as we can, I hope in the next few week - I'm going to be with you in New York City and I want to present to you what I think is the first annual Ruben Diaz Courage Award that will go to elected officials each year who are willing to withstand the tide of public pressure to stand for moral and biblical issues. But you are modeling something that is such a huge encouragement to us ...
Diaz: I'm honored and humbled to hear you say that. I'm praying and waiting for that day so that I can meet you and hug you and praise the Lord together.
Garlow: I think anyone listening sees why Ruben Diaz has an award named after him. I'm going to be presenting the first annual to him, the Ruben Diaz Courage Award. Senator Diaz, we bless you, we love you, it's a joy to know you this way and I'll look forward to meeting you in person.
Yeah, I bet Garlow is looking forward to that hugging and praising session.
God, this is just gross.
I just wonder who the award will go to next year. I have a few suggestions, now that we’re officially labeling people as bigots of the year.