GOP trying to use gay marriage issue to alienate minorities from Dem party

[brentspeak]

I'm currently watching a press conference from some pro-marriage "protection" amendment group. The people running the show, some Bush-bots who are almost certainly being funded by a GOP PAC, are going out of their way to highlight the involvement of black and hispanic religious leaders as part of their organization -- plus, the obligatory Jewish, Mormon, and Catholic representatives. Each of these figures are given their five minutes in front of the microphone to hawk this nakedly demagogic con game.

[blm]

1. I saw that this morning - they do it all the time to attack gays - put

minorities front and center to do it. It broke my heart to hear them call on words from old spirituals to demonize gays.

[yardwork]

2. Some southern African-American churches are very homophobic

And I mean that literally - they are terrified of gay people. These congregations are indoctrinated to fear gay people. bushco is definitely pandering to this particular demographic.

[lastknowngood]

3. And it's working. That's why they are spending so much money

on black churches. Remember blacks are more homophobic than rednecks.

[yardwork]

4. Not all African Americans are homophobic!

However, this is an issue that can convince some African Americans to switch from voting Democratic - at least that's what the Rethugs hope. I don't think it will work. After Katrina, the Rethugs approval rating among African Americans fell to something like 2% and it hasn't gone up much.

[jedr]

8. It work for the '04 election; however

What they fail to realize is that they no longer have any credibility on anything. They don't govern, they spin. Most are tired of it. Terri Schiavo was the beginning and I see this as the "jump the shark" move for the last 20 %

[marmar]

7. Kind of a rash generalization, don't you think?

I think church and church doctrines have a much bigger impact in African American and Latino communities than on society as a whole, thus the polling numbers on gay marriage. (But ask individual church members and you'll get a very different picture.) And when it comes to gay rights such as the inclusion of gays and lesbians in hate crimes laws, and job discrimination protection for gays and lesbians, African Americans and Latinos poll higher than whites.
As a heterosexual African American male who supports marriage for everyone, I take some offense to your assertion.

[LoZoccolo]

5. They try to get us to do it for them too.

They tried to establish that the "moral values" segment of the electorate decided the election despite the fact that it was a greatly waning percentage (40% in 1996, 35% in 2000, and 22% in 2004)*. I believe that this was done to cause a backlash against evangelical Christians, which would push more people across the aisle. (Before anyone says there aren't any in our party, look at the exit poll data from the 2004 election and the Pew research study on religion and party affiliation before you make a sweeping and naive generalization. Don't make me look it up for you.)

* http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=3375543

[rodeodance]

6. and many first generation Mexicans are Latin Catholics--adhere to

Church doctrine. So, as sad as this is--they will prob. get some votes from this first gen. group.

[theHandpuppet]

9. Saw evidence of that at Bush's speech this afternoon

The black clergy were seated in the front row, center, and the camera did closeups of them whenever The EVIL BASTID was being applauded. It was really disheartening. Kenneth Blackwell is doing the same thing in Ohio.