Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Religious right to help Obama look moderate

Number one on my weird stuff-o-meter has to be this upcoming press conference by various members of the religious right:

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is organizing a news conference Wednesday, June 17th at 11:00 AM, to highlight President Obama’s radical homosexual appointments and overall “gay” agenda:

Where: 29 South LaSalle Street, Suite 610, Chicago, IL
When: Wednesday., June 17, 11:00 AM
Who: Scheduled speakers:

Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality
Matt Barber, Liberty Counsel;
Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R);
Hiram Crawford, pro-family, pro-life advocate, Chicago;
Mary Ann Hackett, Catholic Citizens of Illinois;
Diane Gramley, American Family Association of Pennsylvania;
David Smith, Illinois Family Institute;
Pastor Larry Rogers, Israel Methodist Community Church, Chicago;
Tom Brejcha, Thomas More Pro-Life Law Center;
Pastor Calvin Lindstrom, Church of Christian Liberty, Arlington Heights, IL

What: press event drawing attention to Obama’s emerging homosexual- and transsexual activist agenda:

Obama’s radical appointments including anti-traditional-Catholic Harry Knox (of the homosexual lobby group Human Rights Campaign) and Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) founder Kevin Jennings;

Hate Crimes bill;

Obama’s radical promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed into law by President Clinton in 1996);

Obama’s ENDA (Employment Nondiscrimination Act) plans to force businesses to approve of homosexuality;

Obama’s plan to homosexualize the U.S. military (repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”);

Obama’s confusion about Christianity, the Bible and homosexual practice;

Obama’s lack of mandate to push the envelope on homosexual and transsexual issues


What? No Carrie Prejean. Somehow I think Sally Kern is a poor substitute.

Just a couple of things I noticed about the press release:

- Calling Knox an anti-traditional Catholic means that Knox “dared” to criticize Pope Benedict’s idiotic statement on condoms. And here I thought this country’s constitution guaranteed Knox that right.

- Thank God when Kevin Jennings' came up, the words “fistgate” didn’t also come up. But then again, I’m sure it will during the press conference.

- Businesses being “forced” to approve of homosexuality? The semantics behind that is just astounding. I guess that means that by hiring me, my employer is forced to approve of my Nina Simone imitations. That being the case, I wonder can I get them to pay for my outfits.

- And that point about President Obama’s supposed confusion about the Scriptures and homosexuality just speaks to what I posted about on Saturday.

I know of some Christian women who will not wear pants in church because they feel it’s a sin for a woman not to wear a dress in "the House of God."

I know of other Christians who don’t go to movies or dance because they regard both things as sins.

I consider myself a good person of faith, but yet I see nothing wrong (sorry Stephen King) with shaking my tail to a hot boogie beat on a Saturday night (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase ever since I read it in Needful Things).

Why should my definition of Scriptures be pushed as THE definition? For that matter, why should LaBarbera’s or anyone else’s be considered as THE definition? Just when did God appoint him or anyone else on the religious right as the decider of correct Scriptural definitions?

What’s so bizarre about this press conference is that it is taking place during a huge disagreement between the Obama and members of the lgbt community regarding his Administration’s defense of DOMA and overall slowness on lgbt issues.

Meanwhile President Obama is set to announce that he is extending benefits to lgbt federal workers. It's a bone but not a big one because he is doing it in a memorandum which means they won't extend after he leaves office.

However all of these situations happening at once only serve to benefit President Obama.

To folks blissfully unaware of the intricacies of this lovely so-called culture war between lgbts and the religious right, he is going to come across as a beseiged president in the middle of a vicious tug of war by two “pushy” constituencies.

While one side is saying he isn’t doing enough for lgbts, the other will say he is doing too much.

Which means he is going to garner major pity points as well kudos for taking the so-called middle road.

In other words, through their stridency and need to be seen and heard, the religious right will be trivializing not only their own cause but also the cause of lgbts who have very real concerns about the direction the Obama Administration is heading.

And thereby helping President Obama look presidential throughout the entire thing - something I know they didn’t intend to happen.

Common sense would have told LaBarbera and company to sit back and watch the fireworks between the Obama Administration and the lgbt community.

But LaBarbera and company is not necessarily known for respecting truth. So why their dealings with common sense be any different?



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