From left: Tony Perkins, Harry Jackson, Brian Brown, Julius Henson, Derek McCoy.
Much has been said about the unprecedented nastiness and audacious lies coming out of the Romney campaign this cycle. Lies and outrageous behavior is merely business as usual in the world of anti-gay politics, however.
Things have gotten particularly ugly in Maryland over the marriage equality ballot referendum that will go before voters in just over a week. This week Maryland Marriage Alliance, the lead organization challenging the law, convened a discussion panel on civil marriage, a discussion that turned decidedly uncivil. A panelist explained to the gathered crowd that God wants gay people dead, and their supporters, as well. (Please don't let that scare you away, straight allies.)
Sadly, par for course as death threats against LGBT Americans arise with great regularly by these "good Christian traditional marriage" advocates. We previously heard them at National Organization for Marriage events in Indiana and New York, and a particularly colorful one coming out of North Carolina. Also common, Nazi and Hitler comparisons, like that coming out of Minnesota. So, it's not surprising.
But even by the standards of anti-gay hate campaigns, one scarcely sees as disreputable rogue gallery as the pious crew assembled in Maryland. Consider the background of some of the top players pulling the strings in the Old Line State:
Part of Brian Brown's campaign to drive a racial wedge involves getting African American ministers to encourage fellow African Americans to withhold their vote from Barack Obama. At least one of the preachers told press NOM pays him $20,000 a year for his "advocacy," or should we call it political operations? Rest assured there is no evidence this mission is succeeding and substantial circumstantial evidence it failing spectacularly.
Same old players, same playbook. Once again the religious right wing is trotting the same tired false tropes about schools being required to teach gay marriage. It's a classic zombie lie.
The not terribly veiled message is: "If you vote for gay marriage, your kids will become gay." At best, they might come home from school and ask you a lot of uncomfortable questions about the buttsecks.
It's also a dog whistle campaign designed to play to outdated, thoroughly discredited stereotypes that what gay people really want most is to molest your children.
And they repeat these lies even though they themselves know it isn't true. Filmmaker Joe Fox followed around both the yes and no campaigns in Maine in 2009 for his documentary Question One (now playing). In a candid moment, the leader of the anti-gay campaign, Marc Mutti admitted he knew the ads they were running were hyperbolic falsehoods:
Marc Mutty - "Hyperbole" from Fly On The Wall Productions on Vimeo.
We use a lot of hyperbole, and I think that's always dangerous. We say things like, "teachers will be forced to…" you know, that's not a completely accurate statement and we all know it isn't.
Continues after the fold...
The convergence of message around the country is no coincidence. It's all the brain child of the ruthless Frank Schubert whose company, Mission Public Affairs oversees these campaigns in collaboration with National Organization for Marriage. Schubert, a long time political operative didn't show much interest in the culture war until he found a new cottage industry demagoguing gays to pass Prop 8 in 2008. And a lucrative paycheck it's been, Schubert's company has billed nearly $3 million this year for his work in these four states and North Carolina. Nice work, if you don't mind spreading hurtful lies and your part in inciting 1,500+ hate crimes against LGBT Americans each year and countless teen suicides doesn't keep you awake at night.
It isn't surprising they have no compunction about lying, their entire movement is premised on a lie: that they are "defending" marriage from gay people.
The Baltimore Sun endorsed a vote in favor of marriage equality Thursday. But what was interesting was the bulk of the piece was spent on taking the anti campaign to task. The Sun opined the anti-equality crowds claims that they don't really hate gay people just doesn't pass the smell test. The anti-gays' hyperbole seems to have lost them some credibility in the eyes of the Sun's editorial board:
Those who are trying to decide how to vote on Question 6 should ask whether they believe that marriage equality would lead to legalized bestiality and prostitution. If not, why should they believe all of the other supposedly dire consequences the anti-Question 6 campaign predicts?
The particularly irksome part of all this is the airs of pious condescension this crew puts on. It's bad enough they've pointlessly tasked so much time, money and energy to stripping civil rights from their fellow Americans. But just imagine how LGBT Americans feel being condescended to as "morally unworthy" by the likes of admitted liars, felons, campaign finance cheats, race warriors, tax cheats and Ku Klux Klan Kollaborators.
And the worst part is they also get to win, too.
But maybe not in 2012. The all the four marriage related campaigns in MD, ME, MN and WA the equality side is currently polling in the lead. (Minnesota, the softest lead is a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality, the other three would deliver marriage equality.)
But no one needs to work like they are ten points down more than marriage equality proponents. No pollster has managed to definitely identify why marriage equality polls are frustatingly overly optimistic, even when compared to candidate polls taken simultaneously in the same state by the same pollster. In general, for some reason, undecideds break against equality at a much higher than average rate.
The good news is polls do seen pretty accurate in gauging definitive support. In other words, you can plan to lose the lion's share of undecideds but not that many people flip from yes to no. And these polls are showing marriage equality consistently breaking fifty percent, some by as much as six or even eight points.
The power of the bully pulpit on this topic has been affirmed here. Obama voiced support and re-iterated on Thursday via press releases and mentioning it to crowds on the campaign trail.
Anecdotally, it's pretty obvious Obama has had a big influence. Time and again we hear sentiments like those voiced Thursday by previously conspicuously quiet Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland:
“Ultimately, I identify with President Obama’s evolution on the topic of same-sex marriage. When you come from a religious background where you’ve been taught all your life that marriage is between a man and a woman, and then you find yourself looking at how a society is changing and how many in your own community are seeing the issue in terms of fairness and equality, it makes you re-think your position.”
Obama's announcement also kicked off a avalanche of "Hey, me too!" from everyone from the NAACP, and the Democratic party to Jay-Z and Colin Powell.
We've also seen the data. Shortly afterward data guru Nate Silver said: "There's been a dramatic zero-point shift in the polls since Obama came out for gay marriage." Nate crunched the numbers later, and there were big moves. And Maryland immediately moved double digits between polls, moving affirmation from an iffy prospect to likely.
I have to believe the near constant drum beat of Defense of Marriage act and Prop 8 falling in court as unconstitutional—eight, ten or more times depending on how you tally it—has had a impact on people's thinking.
The news coming out of the equality campaigns seems relentlessly chipper with big fundraising announcements and impressive endorsements. The campaigns report of proactive efforts to educate news media about the truth behind Schubert's recycled campaign of zombie lies. The grassroots efforts are ever more sophisticated, and some, old fashioned. E.J. Graff writing on the Maine campaign's response to their loss in 2009 in The American Prospect:
The pro-equality side never stopped campaigning. The day after the vote, Mainers United for Marriage continued knocking on doors, making phone calls, and working on public education, just as they had the day before the vote. The opposition went home to worry about other things. Our side didn’t have other things to worry about. These are our lives we’re talking about.
Lives like that of
Liz and Angela, and their son Mekhi in Maryland. This would be the big threat these pious gentleman above have bandied together to protect the state of Maryland from.
Not your Grandfather's Nazis: Liz and Angela of Maryland, and their son Mekhi.
Having been together for over 6 years, and embarked on the mutual endeavor of bringing their 11-month old son into the world, they would like their family to be recognized by the state of Maryland and be able to avail themselves of the same legal protections that other families take for granted.
If you haven't chipped in yet, please consider sparing a few buck for the good guys who play by the rules, the old fashion way, telling the truth, knocking doors, making phone calls.
It's worth noting voter demographic studies show the marriage equality supportive voters these campaigns will be working their fannies off to get to the polls obviously lean on the left side of the scale. Mostly Democratic leaning, often young, almost all certainly sane, no teabagger need apply. In short, their GOTV operations will help us send President Obama back to the White House and return the Speaker's gavel to Rep. Pelosi.
Daily Kos for Marriage Equality ActBlue account is here. Please, give $3 to each of those four campaigns. You can donate to one, two, three or all four campaigns there.