Gays and Mormons and Evangelicals, OH MY!
Well, Mark Steyn begins a post on the abomination that circulated yesterday called “Prop 8 The Musical” (WARNING: It is not funny and could be considered offensive) with a cute post titled “Ethel Mormon” so why can’t I? Steyn summed this one up well:
As I said, Mr. Shaiman is a talented guy. But this is a feeble and dishonest work of which he should be ashamed.
Lowell interjects: As I said to some friends yesterday, I wish the opposition to Prop 8 had published this video during the campaign. We’d have won by 5 additional points.
I liked this from Mr. Steyn:
If every single Mormon in California had voted for Prop 8, it would have been overwhelmingly defeated. Instead, it passed – in part because of Obama’s coat-tails: He drew a large black turnout, and regrettably for Mr. Shaiman the majority of those blacks voted ”anti-gay”. What, no “Ol’ Man River” parodies about homophobic stevedores?
How about the Hispanics? “Ev’rything’s Straight In A-me-ric-ca!” And, if it’s religious intolerance you want to take a swipe at, where’s the big dance number set at the Oakland Halal butchers?
Ah, but then you might get a more motivated crowd waiting at the stage door, right?
Also of interest was this post out of a California Republican outlet.
There is one particular argument for restoring the Republican Party that merits some scornful attention, however: the idea that religious conservative, or cultural conservatives, are to blame for the GOP’s woes.
This one is circulating a lot. In a sound bite world, this is going to be a difficult fight. Those that advance it are, like the left, unwilling to understand the many and varied expressions of religious faith. There is a segment of the Religious Right that needs to be tamed. On this blog we have called them “bigots,” but that group almost universally excludes Catholics and mainline Protestants, and represents only a subset of Evangelicals that cannot see beyond the end of their theological noses.
Putting Truth To The Lies
This story circulated widely yesterday:
Niederauer said that after the state’s Catholic bishops endorsed the measure, staff from the California Catholic Conference told him the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had actively supported a similar ballot initiative eight years ago.
Niederauer, who previously served as bishop of Salt Lake City, said he sent a letter to Mormon leaders.
“I did write to them and they urged the members of their Church, especially those in California, to become involved,” he said.
We knew this, but it caused apoplexy amongst some. Now, suddenly, it’s not just those “weird Mormons” it’s an inter-religious “plot.” Speaking of bigots, has anybody besides me noticed that when the left takes on these conspiratorial tones about the religious they sound remarkably like the radical right that we tagged as bigots above? Could it be . . . ?
Lowell again: Prop 8 was supported by a coalition of Catholics, Evangelicals, and Mormons, and Orthodox Jews. It was a one-time effort in response to the California Supreme Court’s overturning of Prop 22 from 2000, and imposing same-sex marriage on California. There’s nothing conspiratorial about the effort. To paraphrase Admiral Yamamoto, the Supreme Court simply “awakened a sleeping giant and armed him with a terrible resolve.” The members of the Prop 8 coalition were not looking for a fight; someone came up and poked them in the eye.
Back to John . . . .
Which leads me to this gay-viewed examination of the CJCLDS. Not being LDS myself I should not comment on the validity of much of what it says, but while being far more intellectual and factual than the average pieces we have seen from such outlets lately, it still strikes a remarkably conspiratorial tone.
Lowell: This statement demands a response:
Because the church requests that members tithe 10% of their annual income, LDS leaders are able to gain an accurate picture . . . of how much their congregants earn. With this information in hand, bishops in local communities went from house to house in California asking for specific amounts of money for the Yes on 8 campaign — an incredibly effective fund-raising tactic.
That, folks, simply did not happen. No one was forced to donate. Bishops did not go house to house. I personally donated, after a lot of thought, but no one came to me and asked me to do so, and no one ever thanked me for donating. I could have not donated anything and no one would have ever said anything to me. I also know practicing Mormons who donated to “No,” although they are admittedly a tiny minority.
Back to John . . . .
They also see ulterior motives behind every action – and, of course, some always have to expand, like Andrew Sullivan.
Put all the elements of the LDS church together and turn them into a political movement and you can see why Hugh Hewitt sees it as a vehicle for future political power
OK, how do I put this? This is not a political conspiracy, it is a stance on an issue and allies are made over such stances. Hate to burst your bubble “gentlemen,” but the thing about us religious folk is we REALLY BELIEVE THIS STUFF! Politics is a means to an end for us, not an end in and of itself.
Speaking of Hugh Hewitt don’t miss the video Lowell posted last night of a speech by Hugh’s good buddy the late Neal Maxwell.
Finally . . .
Pure conjecture, I just hope and pray no one finds any evidence.
UPDATE from Lowell:
Well, this post on The American Thinker is timely. The opening paragraph:
Supporters of gay marriage have reacted with anger at the passage of California Proposition 8, which amended the California state constitution to provide that only marriages that fit the traditional definition (one man, one woman) will be recognized. The resulting protest movement has devolved into anti-Mormon bigotry which has been met with silence by liberal civil rights groups. The anti-Mormon fervor has become so nasty, and is growing at such a pace, that it is time to speak out against the “Mormon boycott.”
The author then goes on to detail a number of anti-Mormon activities. I found the post quite interesting; I wasn’t aware of all the anti-Mormon activity that is apparently planned.
I’ll just pose my favorite question: What if the Orthodox Jewish community had gotten behind Prop 8 in a big way, raised lots of money, and were prominent in grass-roots organizing? Subsitute “Orthodox Jewish” for “Mormon” in the activities and statements chronicled on the American Thinker post. Would America find that acceptable?
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CarlH on 05 Dec 2008 at 9:01 am #
Writing at American Thinker yesterday, Cornell Law Prof. William A. Jacobson says, “It’s Time to Speak Out Against the ‘Mormon Boycott’,” which includes links to what Prof. Jacobson says is only a “sampling” of activities directed specifically at Mormons, but also to non-LDS boycott targets including a link describing an interesting pre-vote dust-up within the Association of American Law Schools over their upcoming convention in San Diego.
His American Thinker article concludes:
Greg on 05 Dec 2008 at 4:22 pm #
You may also want to be aware of La Shawn Barber’s comments about the targeted attacks on Mormons. She wondered why Mormons were singled out despite the fact that 70% of blacks supported Prop 8 – see Prop 8 – Blacks and Mormons.
La Shawn is a prominent blogger and “a Southern California-based freelance writer, blogger, and blog consultant.”