Daily Kos: How Much Racial Division And Hostility Did Mitt Romney Buy With His $10,000?
On March 30, 2012, the Daily Kos reported:
When Mitt Romney cut his $10,000 check for Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown's National Organization for Marriage did he know that money would be used to "to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies?" Did he know his money would be used to purposely and cravenly fan hostility between his fellow Americans? It's a question American Bridge 21st Century is asking, and thus far almost 5,000 people have signed their Change.org petition asking Romney to denounce his ties to National Organization for Marriage.
Demand Mitt Romney Disavow NOM's Hateful, Homophobic Strategy
Secret strategy memos from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) reveal that they are actively seeking to "drive a wedge" between the African-American and LGBT communities in order to advance their agenda. A judge ordered that the memos be released as part of a court case in Maine, exposing highly detailed plans for using African-Americans as pawns in NOM's state-level campaigns to fight marriage equality. From the memos:
"The strategic goal of the project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots."NOM was a crucial funder of the Prop 8 campaign to deny Californians equal marriage rights, and the organization continues to use their hateful, divisive tactics to fight equality across the country. In response to yesterday's news, equality advocates across the country immediately spoke out and condemned the group's race-baiting, divide-and-conquer strategy. NAACP's Julian Bond, a civil rights icon, said:
“NOM’s underhanded attempts to divide will not succeed if Black Americans remember their own history of discrimination. Pitting bigotry’s victims against other victims is reprehensible; the defenders of justice must stand together.”Why This is Important Mitt Romney has made a lot of backroom deals with the extreme right wing in order to win the Republican nomination. We need to hold him accountable as a candidate for president of the United States for backing hateful and bigoted organizations like NOM. Does he support NOM's race-baiting, divisive tactics? We deserve to know. Mitt Romney bet $10,000 on NOM and a cynical strategy to divide Americans, and we need your help getting the word out. Sign our petition now -- demand that Mitt Romney disavow NOM's hateful strategy and instead bet on equal rights for all Americans.
Washington Post: Liberal Groups Join In Fla. Ad War Against Mitt Romney
On January 25, 2012, the Washington Post reported:
Broadcast ads aren’t the only tactic available to Democratic-aligned groups hoping to influence the Republican contest. American Bridge for the 21st Century, a liberal super PAC that focuses mostly on opposition research, blanketed Columbia, S.C., with hundreds of hot-pink leaflets trumpeting Romney’s support for gay rights during the Massachusetts phase of his political career. The group said the leafleting was aimed at sowing doubts among Republicans in the state about Romney’s conservative bona fides. “It’s not that we were trying to portray him as a quote-unquote liberal, but to show that he’s flip-flopped on so many key issues,” American Bridge spokesman Ty Matsdorf said. “It’s highlighting his lack of core beliefs.”
NY Times: New Focus On Incendiary Words In Paul’s Newsletters
On December 19, 2011, the New York Times reported:
Emerging as a real Republican contender in Iowa, Representative Ron Paul of Texas is receiving new focus for decades-old unbylined columns in his political newsletters that included racist, anti-gay and anti-Israel passages that he has since disavowed.
AP: NH gay marriage push highlights GOP shifts
On November 24, 2011, the Associated Press reported:
Whether they like it or not, Republican presidential candidates are joining New Hampshire’s intensifying gay marriage debate.
ABC News: Santorum Launches Policy Tour, Pushes Social Issues
On November 4, 2011, ABC News reported:
URBANDALE, IOWA Rick Santorum launched a three-speech, three-state policy roll-out tour Friday beginning with “moral, cultural” issues. The economy and national security will follow, but this was chosen as the first topic because it is the most important to Santorum, according to campaign aides. [...] Democrats responded quickly. American Bridge, a Democratic SuperPac, issued a statement while Santorum was still speaking. “Rick Santorum, and the other candidates running for the nomination, are dusting off the old playbook of using socially divisive issues to reignite the culture wars of the past in a desperate attempt to appease their base. Proposing ideas like disbanding the 9th circuit court will create exactly zero jobs and shows that they are more interested in playing politics than getting our economy back on track,” communications director Ty Matsdorf said in the statement.
North Platte Bulletin: Stenberg wants to amend Constitution, seven times
On October 19, 2011, the North Platte Bulletin reported:
Don Stenberg stopped in North Platte Tuesday proposing seven new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, all of them conservative.
Plain Dealer: Conservative Family Research Council set to endorse Josh Mandel in U.S. Senate race
Henry Gomez from the Plain Dealer reports that Josh Mandel was endorsed by the controversial Family Research Council:
Family Research Council is no stranger to controversy. It cracks the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of hate groups for "defaming gays and lesbians." The New York Times, in its coverage of last week's summit, noted that FRC dismisses the claim as "politically motivated."
POLITICO: Neumann: Gay lifestyle "unacceptable"
Dave Catanese covers Mark Neumann's comments on homosexuality:
Freshly minted Wisconsin Senate candidate Mark Neumann is being confronted again with anti-gay comments he made 15 years ago and later amended.
PolitiFact Ohio: Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland raps Josh Mandel as a flip flopper on abortion, gay rights
Politifact Ohio examines Gov. Strickland's comments on Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel's positions. Despite his support for domestic partner benefits…