Avoid Social Issues, GOP Urged (Homosexualists, Pro-Aborts Co-opt Tea Party Movement)

Politico ^ | Sunday, November 14, 2010 | Ben Smith and Byron Tau

[kristinn]

A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the Republican agenda.

In a letter to be released Monday, the group GOProud and leaders from groups like the Tea Party Patriots and the New American Patriots, will urge Republicans in the House and Senate to keep their focus on shrinking the government.

"On behalf of limited-government conservatives everywhere, we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement," they write to presumptive House Speaker John Boehner and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell in an advance copy provided to POLITICO. "This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue."

The letter's signatories range from GOProud's co-founder and Chairman Christopher Barron — a member of a group encouraging Dick Cheney to run for president and who has been known to post images of his bare torso to Twitter — to Tea Party leaders with no particular interest in the gay rights movement.

As of Sunday evening, the letter had 17 signatories. They include tea party organizers, conservative activists and media personalities from across the country, including radio host Tammy Bruce, bloggers Bruce Carroll, Dan Blatt and Doug Welch, and various local coordinators for the Tea Party Patriots and other tea party groups.

"When they were out in the Boston Harbor, they weren't arguing about who was gay or who was having an abortion," said Ralph King, a letter signatory who is a Tea Party Patriots national leadership council member, as well as an Ohio co-coordinator.

King said he signed onto the letter because GOProud seemed to be genuine in pushing for fiscal conservatism and limited government.

"Am I going to be the best man at a same sex-marriage wedding? That's not something I necessarily believe in," said King. "I look at myself as pretty socially conservative. But that's not what we push through the Tea Party Patriots."

That indifference is essentially the point of the gay conservative group.

SNIP

TEXT OF LETTER

Dear Senator McConnell and Representative Boehner

On behalf of limited government conservatives everywhere we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement.

Poll after poll confirms that the Tea Party’s laser focus on issues of economic freedom and limited government resonated with the American people on Election Day. The Tea Party movement galvanized around a desire to return to constitutional government and against excessive spending, taxation and government intrusion into the lives of the American people.

The Tea Party movement is a non-partisan movement, focused on issues of economic freedom and limited government, and a movement that will be as vigilant with a Republican-controlled Congress as we were with a Democratic-controlled Congress.

This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check.

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.

The Tea Party movement is not going away and we intend to continue to hold Washington accountable. Sincerely,

Christopher R Barron
Chairman of the Board, GOProud

Andrew Ian Dodge
Coordinator, Maine Tea Party Patriots

Pam Stevenson
Coordinator, Arizona Tea Party Patriots

Dianna Greenwood
Executive Director, New American Patriots (Ashland, OH)

Jim Mason II
Chairman and State Coordinator, Nebraska’s Tea Party Patriots

Ralph King
Co-coordinator Cleveland Tea Party Patriots
Co-coordinator State of Ohio Tea Party Patriots

Jack Lien
Coordinator, Tea Party Patriots of Great Malls (Montana)

Tammy Bruce
National Radio Talk Show Host

JP Weber
Coordinator, Annapolis (Maryland) Tea Party

Doug Welch,
Blogger and member Southern Illinois Tea Party

Bruce Carroll
Conservative Activist and Blogger

Pam Stout
Coordinator, Sandpoint Idaho Tea Party Patriots

Dan Blatt
Conservative Activist and Blogger

Everett Wilkinson
Coordinator, Florida Tea Party

Jimmy LaSalvia
Executive Director, GOProud

Paul Crockett
President Santa Clara (California) Tea Party
David Thor Andreasen
Cumberland County (Maine) Tea Party

[little jeremiah]

Your pretense that there is no such thing as the homo-nazi agenda fools no one.

Why should people who are mentally ill and practice dangerous and unnatural sex acts recieve any recognition other than the opportunity for help if they want it?

The mentally ill are not allowed to serve in the military, so why should homosexuals, who are merely a subset of the mentally ill?

Let me ask a question - why should necrophiliacs or those who practice bestiality have any less Constiutitonal rights than you do?

[patriot preacher]

If the RINO’s, perverts and Progressives want to rip apart the Tea Party in the quickest and most efficient way possible, they believe the way to do it is to inflame passions over Social Issues. And they might be right.

First, I’ve heard of NO effort on the part of organized Tea Party groups to make “social issues” their #1 agenda item in January. Really?! :-) That’s not what happening now, is it? We have a saying where I come from — “Don’t pee down my back and tell me it’s raining.”

I, for one, have been a Tea Party supporter FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. Literally from the first day. But I didn’t come into the movement without principles and convictions — I’ve been a Conservative and a Christian for decades. I am a Tea Partier BECAUSE I am a Christian and a Conservative. I would NOT have voted for ANY candidate — whether they wore the “Tea Party” label or not — if they were pro-abortion or pro-homosexual union/gay marriage, etc. I didn’t BEFORE the Tea Party, I won’t AFTER the Tea Party.

That these people are releasing this letter now as a pre-emptive strike indicates they are worried about having their precious sins defunded — or worse, removed from their “most favored abomination” status. Well, let me say, that’s just TOO FREAKIN’ BAD. Those elected as “Tea Partiers” came in with minds and principles and convictions of their own. I’m sure if the signers of this letter don’t like it, they’ll gladly take your votes back on the Democrat side of the aisle, or you can just STOP trying to co-opt (or shall I say pervert?) the Tea Party message to your own ends?

[DJ MacWoW]

LJ isn't a troll.

Do you believe that they have less Constitutional rights then you do?

They have the same rights as anyone. They can marry anyone of the opposite sex that will have them. What they CAN'T do is demand special rights and be a specially protected group. And that's what they're working on.

[metmom]

While libertarians drone on and on about how an ideal society should operate, we're getting steamrollered by actual society as designed and implemented by liberals. Save your breath, roll up your sleeves, and FIGHT, damn it!

That's exactly right. It's no different than communism in that respect.

The idea that everyone work together, share in everything and it's all equitable would work if everyone had the morals and work ethic to do so. But that's not the world we live in. From the time of the Common Store system in Jamestown that failed so abysmally, till now, nothing has changed.

We don't live in the kind of ideal world libertarians say should exist for their system to work, therefore their system will NOT work, ever.

That is why libertarianism will lead to anarchy.

[MrEdd]

SoCons need to put their “issues” on the back burner

No they do not.

It pays them best to hold their course.

You see, prosperity is not the highest goal for social conservatives - social issues are.

The left wants to control people and force their agenda of reduced population and government control on the population.

As the population gets squeezed, people eventually have to align with one side or another.

If neither the social conservatives nor the hard left budge, who do you think the apolitical will find more attractive?

You do not have an intellectually sound position And I have been successfully teaching social conservatives in my area to see these points for several years now.

Compromise, ain't happening.

[little jeremiah]

I just posted this above, here it is again:

There was a thread not long ago with an article from the Official Libertarian Party website with the Official Libertarian Party Agenda in detail.

“Gays” in the military.

“Gay” marriage.

“Gay” everything else.

Legal abortion.

Legalized all drugs.

Legal porn without restriction.

IOW, forcing leftist social crap on everyone whether they want it legal or not.

Libertarianism is yet another utopian fantasy pipe dream in a long line of similar utopian fanatasy pipe dreams. None have ever worked, and none ever will.

[BykrBayb]

Liberals try to enact utopia here and now, because they don’t want to wait for the paradise they refuse to believe in.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

You have a rattlesnake poised to sink its fangs into your ankle, and a constrictor about to coil itself around your neck. Which battle do you attend to first?

Well, I would have to say that you just did a wonderful job of explaining how it can sometimes be necessary to immediately react to two threats at once...

[onedoug]

Appeasement.

[RedMDer]

Another ZOT on site!

Really coming out of the woodwork now.

[LomanBill]

[The primary reason the Tea Party has been so successful is it has avoided social issues altogether.]

 

There was never any hesitation to include the word "UNDER GOD" in the pledge at the events I attended.

 

Seems to me the success of the Tea Party, both in 1776 and now, is derived from the Conservative American recognition that Freedom is a Gift from God -- not something manufactured by idolatrous worship of a man-made system of economic, "Fiscally Conservative", self-gratification.

It wasn't the SIZE of government that was at issue in 1776: But the PURPOSE.

Reform the purpose, and the size will follow.

[steveab]

“Let me ask a question - why should necrophiliacs or those who practice bestiality have any less Constitutional rights than you do?

Your question is a cop out.

Answer the question. Do gays they have less rights under the Constitutional than you do?

[DJ MacWoW]

Your question is a cop out.

LJ's question is the whole point.

Answer the question. Do gays they have less rights under the Constitutional than you do?

They aren't "gay", they are homosexuals. Homosexuality is a sexual behavior the same as necrophilia and bestiality.

They already HAVE the same rights as everyone else.

And if you are pushing for special rights for them, I see a zot in your future.

One more time: FR's God-given Life & Liberty constitutional conservative activism agenda!!

[little jeremiah]

First of all, “gay” means happy and carefree.

Homosexual means a practitioner of same sex sodomy (although that itself is a term invented by a sodomy practitioner to connote a sense of special community).

Second, since anyone who practices same sex sodomy - aka a homosexual - is mentally ill and of bad character, there should be some curtailments of opportunities such as serving in the military that should not be open to them. But serving in the military, or for example teaching in public school, are not Constitutional rights, and therefore there is no infringement on their Constitutional rights in disallowing them from such (or other) opportunities.

As far as Constitutional rights, I can’t think of any that would not accrue to practitioners of same sex sodomy - they have the right to free speech, association, religious expression, owning fire arms, the right to a jury trial, not have soldiers quartered in their homes, the protection from unlawful search and seizure, and so on.

[little jeremiah]

And DJ is right.

The desire to have sex with animals, corpses, members of the same sex, blood relatives, coprophilia, etc are all paraphilias - mental illness in the field of sexual desires.

The are related.

[RedMDer]

IBTZ?

[gidget7]

Log Cabin Repugnants is a much more appropriate name for them, thanks for the suggestion!! LOL

[cradle of freedom]

Why don’t they let everyone of the Tea Party candidates decide for themselves how they will deal with social issues. This is nothing more than a defacto promotion of the left social agenda. The more I hear about GOPride the more my stomach turns. These guys a just wolves in sheep’s clothing.

[steveab]

“What they CAN’T do is demand special rights and be a specially protected group”

I agree with you 100%. That’s why we must keep an eye on our Elected Elites so we know whats in the “Bill” before it gets passed.

[DJ MacWoW]

I’m going to bed. I’ll catch up on the fireworks tomorrow.