Image via WikipediaNot only did GOProud overestimate its own power, it vastly underestimated that of its opposition within the GOP and Tea Party. Assuming that conservative ideas of liberty mean more personal rights, with the main focus on fiscal issues, they now run smack into an opposing conservative ideology: That of the moral order being the foundation of small government idealism.
Anyone doubting the truth of this need only visit some of the heartland Tea Party forums to see, to sense palpably, what anger has risen to the top: and to read the "no sale, perverts!" and other of the literally hundreds and hundreds of Tea Party citizen retorts such as the following sample from Free Republic:
Gay Republicans Ask for Social Issue Cease-Fire | Religion Dispatches
Anyone doubting the truth of this need only visit some of the heartland Tea Party forums to see, to sense palpably, what anger has risen to the top: and to read the "no sale, perverts!" and other of the literally hundreds and hundreds of Tea Party citizen retorts such as the following sample from Free Republic:
"Anyone who is truely a TEA party member will reject these social Marxists.
The agenda of the perversion rights movements are not at all a Constitutional movement or a limited government movement.
These perverts who want perversion rights or the right to murder babies are not worthy of a vioce in the TEA party.
These perverts should be called out and put in their
place.". . . They can screw each other in the privacy of the bedroom but they shouldn’t expect the state to give them any new benefits.. . I totally agree. And I don't want to even hear the words "gay," "lesbian," or "transexual."
“Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.
We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.”
Oh, this is priceless. Thank you, idiots for telling us how afraid you are that YOUR special interests might be in jeopardy by the Conservative landslide.
This is a pure fear reaction. Especially since it was given to Politico first. If you want to sort the gold from the silt you’ve got to shake things up first. The silt is showing itself.
“Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.
We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.”
Oh, this is priceless. Thank you, idiots for telling us how afraid you are that YOUR special interests might be in jeopardy by the Conservative landslide.
This is a pure fear reaction. Especially since it was given to Politico first. If you want to sort the gold from the silt you’ve got to shake things up first. The silt is showing itself.
Gay Republicans Ask for Social Issue Cease-Fire | Religion Dispatches
"GOProud’s letter is at once bold and insulting. Bold because they have walked into the lion’s den and asked kindly not to be eaten for supper. Insulting because it shows that even gay and lesbian people will give up fighting for their civil rights if it means a few more bucks in their pockets or a few more chickens in their pots.
GOProud, however, has sadly underestimated both their influence and their opponents on this issue. While gay voters did help the Tea Partiers in their takeover of the House, they still played a miniscule role—not enough of a role to make them king makers by any stretch of the imagination. Also, they seemed to miss the memo that Tea Partiers are, by and large, religious conservatives.
Polls show that nearly half (47 percent) consider themselves part of the religious right, with more than 80 percent identifying as Christian. Nearly two-thirds say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases and only 18 percent support marriage equality for gays and lesbians. So, while GOProud and the Tea Partiers they helped to elect may agree on many fiscal issues, there remains a wide gap on social issues.
Part of the problem here is that Tea Partiers spent most of their campaigns talking about fiscal issues and not the social issues. Those gay and lesbian voters who wanted their vote to be a “rejection of Democrats” and voted for Tea Partiers because of their fiscal sensibilities have just sent a passel of anti-gay Republicans to the Hill."Gay Republicans Ask for Social Issue Cease-Fire | Religion Dispatches
