September 24, 2014
Ad Urges RNC Chair to Denounce Upcoming Hate Groups' Event
EDGE READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Does Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus have the clout to ask fans of GOP superstars Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee, to miss seeing their idols by skipping this weekend's anti-gay hate group sponsored Value Voters Summit?
Leaders of several prominent LGBT and civil rights organizations took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post, calling on Reince Priebus, chairman of the RNC to urge members of the GOP not to attend the annual Value Voters Summit scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. this weekend.
The full-page ad, titled "Open Letter to Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus - Where Does the GOP Stand on Gay Bashing," which was signed by officials with the NAACP, People for the American Way, GLAAD, SPLC, HRC, Faithful America and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in part read:
Dear Mr. Priebus,
Fifteen years ago, your predecessor called for party members to shun the Council of Conservative Citizens because of the group's "racist views."
"A member of the party of Lincoln should not belong to such an organization," GOP Chairman Jim Nicholson said. His comments had their intended effect: Senior members of Congress distanced themselves from the group.
Today, Chairman Priebus, we ask that you take a similar stand and call upon Republican officials to disassociate themselves from the groups behind the upcoming Values Voter Summit.
The reason is simple: These groups engage in repeated, groundless demonization of LGBT people - portraying them as sick, vile, incestuous, violent, perverted, and a danger to the nation.
The Family Research Council, the summit's host, is vigorously opposed to extending equal rights to the LGBT community. Its president, Tony Perkins, has repeatedly claimed that pedophilia is a "homosexual problem." [..] He has condemned the National Republican Congressional Committee for supporting three openly gay candidates.
Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, a summit sponsor, has said the U.S. needs to "be more like Russia," which enacted a law criminalizing the distribution of LGBT "propaganda." He has also said, "Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine, and six million dead Jews." ...
This kind of extremism should not be legitimized by elected officials, because it is contrary to our nation's highest ideals. As you have said, "People in this country, no matter straight or gay, deserve dignity and respect." [..] So, the question now is: Will you live up to your own words and tell the members of your party to shun groups that demean other people and deny them dignity? Will the GOP condemn anti-LGBT bigotry as vigorously as it opposed racism 15 years ago? Political leadership makes a difference. We ask that you urge the members of your party not to attend the Values Voter Summit.
While there is a slim chance that Chairman Priebus will act on this request, there is an even slimmer chance that any action taken by him will affect the line-up of speakers scheduled to take part at the Value Voters Summit.
In addition to providing a stage for far right-wing pundits and anti-equality activists, the Value Voters Summit has long been considered a "must attend" event for conservative Republican politicians and candidates looking to stir-up the far and fringe right-wing base. Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and Bobby Jindal are just a handful of republicans scheduled to appear at this year's event.
