Dear Friends of Marriage,
In New York, the race for New York's 23rd continues to heat up. Dede Scozzafava was hand-picked by GOP leaders to be the Republican candidate for a special election in this district in upstate New York, which has elected Republicans since the Civil War.
A safe, reliable GOP district. So what do the party bosses do? Nominate one of the very few pro-gay-marriage Republicans around. Nice, huh? Then it becomes increasingly clear that Dede is not just a leftist on social issues--she's pretty far out of the mainstream all the way around.
Human Events just published an expose of Dede Scozzafava's relationship with the Working Families Party in New York. If you are in New Jersey or elsewhere, maybe you've never heard of it. But stay with me.
The Working Families Party was founded by hard-left interest groups to promote their positions. Scozzafava is not only one of the few gay-marriage Republicans, she is one of the very few Republicans to get elected by earning the party-line of the Working Families Party (sharing that line with John Kerry!).
But it gets worse than that: Guess who is a founding Co-Chair of the Working Families Party? Bertha Lewis, the head of ACORN. I'd never heard of Bertha Lewis until last week. But when videos emerged of ACORN employees counseling a young man on how to get taxpayer financing to run a brothel for underage prostitutes, all of America watched Bertha Lewis respond by denouncing the videomakers as liars and frauds. Then, as the scandal built, she abruptly reversed course and pretended to be concerned with reform.
Her big "reform"? Accept no new clients while the "investigation" is underway. That means, of course, that no new videos can emerge while the story is hot of yet more taxpayer-funded ACORN employees using your hard-earned money to figure out how lawbreakers can join them at the public trough.
Bertha Lewis is one of Dede Scozzafava's political friends and supporters. (Scozzafava spokespeople told Human Events that she would have voted to defund ACORN. But she has not rejected or repudiated the Working Families Party's powerful endorsement, either.)
None of which would be our business here at the National Organization for Marriage except for one thing: In a backroom deal, without the voters' approval, New York's GOP party bosses hand-picked Dede to be the face, the voice, and the values of a new generation of Republican.
Ronald Reagan must be turning over in his grave.
At the same time, a new poll released by the Doug Hoffman campaign shows that Dede is paying a price in this hard-core GOP district for her extreme views. The number one pick of voters in that district? "Undecided" by 31 percent. Only 30 percent of voters say they will vote for Dede, and the rest are about evenly split between the Democrat and Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman--both of whom are to the right of Dede on gay marriage. (The Democrat has yet to say, however, how he will vote on efforts to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act).
No date for the election has been set, but Novemeber appears likely. Stay tuned!
In New Jersey the Times of Trenton just ran a nice story featuring NOM's New Jersey coordinator, Damon Owens.
In the September 20 story, "State's Catholic bishops oppose same-sex marriage approval," a reporter follows NOM's own Damon Owens as he speaks to church groups throughout New Jersey.
"A same-sex relationship is not the same as marriage. Marriage is rooted in sexual union, and sex union requires sexual difference," said Damon Owens, 43, the New Jersey coordinator for the National Organization for Marriage.
He recently spoke to a crowd of about 40 parishioners at St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church. Owens said there is line between accepting people, which is always a virtue, and tolerating something "that's not true." He added that same sex marriage "is in conflict with reality."
When the reporter asked Mercer County politicians about the widespread rumor that Garden State Equality is going to push gay marriage through the legislature in the lame duck session, they ducked like... lame ducks.
Neither Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, D-Hamilton, nor Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, D-Plainsboro, said they knew of any legislation on same-sex marriage that would be introduced during the Legislature's lame duck session in November, and the non-partisan state Office of Legislative Services said nothing has been introduced.
"Until something comes about, it's not fair to respond," said DeAngelo, adding that he believed in equal rights and resources for everyone but did not say whether equal rights extended to same-sex marriage.
Greenstein she also agrees in general with equal rights for everyone, but would not "put my views out there" on same-sex marriage.
If gay marriage is so popular in New Jersey, why do they want to try to pass it as far away from an election as possible?
NOM has pledged to build a war chest to force a primary contest on any GOP state senator in New York who votes to support gay marriage. Fight back against politicians who think they can dodge, duck, or deal away our voice and our values. When you contribute to our New York PAC, you send a message: New York stands up for marriage.
Until next week, may God bless you, this day and always,
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
[email protected]
This Week's News
"Poll: N.Y. 23rd Congressional District Race Fairly Close"
WCAX.com
September 10, 2009
A new poll shows the candidates for New York's 23rd Congressional District are fairly close in popularity so far.
"Scozzafava Too Liberal for New York Conservatives"
Human Events
September 21, 2009
The Republican nominee for Congress in the soon-to-be-open 23rd District of New York came under harsh fire from conservatives last week for her past acceptance of support from a third party considered "a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACORN."
"State's Catholic bishops oppose same-sex marriage approval"
Times of Trenton
September 14, 2009
"A same-sex relationship is not the same as marriage. Marriage is rooted in sexual union, and sex union requires sexual difference," said Damon Owens, 43, the New Jersey coordinator for the National Organization for Marriage.
He recently spoke to a crowd of about 40 parishioners at St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church. Owens said there is line between accepting people, which is always a virtue, and tolerating something "that's not true." He added that same sex marriage "is in conflict with reality."
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