Posted by Frank James at 11:20 am CDT

So are we seeing the beginnings of the Mark Foley-related backlash at the hands of religious and other conservatives against Republican gays with important Capitol Hill staff jobs?

When I tried to gauge that last week by phoning religious-conservative groups like the Alliance for Marriage and Focus on the Family, they demurred. Even the Family Research Council didn’t get back to me with a spokesman.

Anyway, I'm not taking it personally that Tony Perkins, the council’s president, devoted his Washington Update yesterday to the very matter I wanted to talk with him about.

In an item headlined, “Party of Whose Values?” he essentially seems to be accusing gay GOP staffers of being a fifth column within the congressional Republican power structure, thwarting legislative initiatives dear to social conservatives.

“Sunday's New York Times revealed that a homosexual former Clerk of the House of Representatives, Jeff Trandahl, was ‘among the first to learn' of Mr. Foley's’ messages to pages. The Clerk's job is described as a ‘powerful post with oversight of hundreds of staffers and the page program.’ This raises yet another plausible question for values voters: has the social agenda of the GOP been stalled by homosexual members and or staffers? When we look over events of this Congress, we have to wonder. This was the first House to pass a pro-homosexual hate crimes bill. The marriage protection amendment was considered very late in the term with no progress toward passage. Despite overwhelming popular approval, the party seldom campaigns as the defender of marriage. The GOP will have to decide whether it wants to be the party that defends the traditional moral and family values that our nation was built upon and directed by for two centuries. Put another way, does the party want to represent values voters or Mark Foley and friends?”

So Perkins is essentially accusing gay staffers of willfully sabotaging the gay marriage amendment while greasing the skids for its own hate-crimes legislation. Perkins doesn’t offer an explanation as to how non-gay members of Congress could be bamboozled to the point that they’d go along with legislative moves that would weaken their position with conservative voters.

But American history is littered with examples of powerful accusations being made in the absence of evidence. Think Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare of the 1950s.

The last line of Perkins’ is an unmistakable challenge to congressional Republicans. He is essentially putting the Republican Party on notice, saying it’s either us or them, the religious right’s agenda or that of gay Americans.

Yesterday also saw a column by Cliff Kincaid, editor of the conservative organization Accuracy in Media's AIM Report in which he shouts a similar rooftop warning about the damage gays in the congressional Republican establisment have done to the conservative agenda.

In the column titled "Homosexual Blackmail on the Capitol Hill, he said: "For the sake of honest and open government, not to mention protection of the children, the secret Capitol Hill homosexual network must be exposed and dismantled. But only Republican leaders can do that. Their failure to do so suggests that the network may go higher and deeper—and have more power—than even the New York Times article indicated."

So is this the start of a movement to purge gays from the senior staff positions on Capitol Hill? Such undertakings usually begin with jeremiads such as the ones we are witnessing that are then transformed into action.

The openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.,) in a recent question-and-answer session with the Advocate, a gay publication, expressed fears of such a result.

“This is a real crisis, since before, gays in the Republican Party were willing to be tolerated, but Republicans will now be more nervous having gay people in positions of power. They have been critical of people who are out and gay—there could be a real purge of gays in the Republican Party now. It's probably just enough for people to be perceived to be gay.”

If Republicans wind up losing the House or Congress entirely, and Foleygate comes to be seen as the event that put the Democrats over the top, the probability of such a bloodletting would seem to rise. It would not be the first gay purge in the nation's capital. More on that in a future post.

(Above photo from an official House website of former House clerk Jeff Trandahl, left, and Rep. G.K. Butterfield, R.-N.C.)

After the purge of gays...we can start to work on the rest of the sinners. If it was said:

“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” John 8:7

How does anyone legislate morality?

I think it's important to draw a distinction between "gay" and pedophile." Being gay does not necessarily make you interested in underage boys, and many pedophiles appear to be straight, with families.

It would be so wrong if all gay people get hung out to dry because of Foley's behavior.

I don't understand why gay people would willingly work for members of the political party that considers them second-class citizens at best, but it's their right to work against their own self-interest. However, this is no longer about a man in his 50s preying on teenagers. It's about the lies and coverups still going on.

Another lame excuse and round of finger-pointing from the Siamese Twins - the G.O.P and the religious right.
When will the G.O.P realize that the time has come to purge not gays, but the shackles around their ankles known as the religious right?

Cheryl,

The reason for that, obviously, is that they believe in the Conservative principles traditionally espoused by the Republicans, not the Right Wing cant of the party's radical wing.

I still have a problem with people applying the label "Conservative" to everything the Republicans say and do.

And all Democrats aren't Liberals

Devert Devert look at my left hand but don't look at what my right hand did. Damit its about the cover up

hypocritical swine

Denise...The problem is that the extreme right wishes to legislate morality. That would include all that they see as a sin. I believe they are even against contaceptives but I may be wrong. It remindes me of Monty Pythons flying circus.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Sorry, folks, last night on O'Reilly Factor a liberal gay activist said he was going to out DC political gays next week.

I have read no conservative group saying they are going to out or purge DC gays. Having read the columns from Tony Perkins and Cliff Kincaid it seems Rank James is taking some liberties as what they are saying.

But the Swamp here basically is designed to be anti-conservative and anti-GOP and pro-Left.

Hello NewsDesk,

Here's some more red hot ink for your pen. Now help me vanquish the sword!

This Foley fiasco has given people the chance to change the make-up of this government, which will ultimately lead to the end of the Bush-Cheney reign. It may not be pretty, but it is a gift, nonetheless. Don't waste this advantage. Use it wisely to end the more pressing problems that face us all.

Want to better understand some of the desperation among top Christian politicos? Want to know what else they are pretending not to know about? Follow the links and read about who I am and what I have to say. Notice that my last name is Page? Think this "page" scandal is a mere coincidence? The timing and ramifications are much worse than most realize yet.

If Christian political leaders are going to go around attacking others for not living up to their professed values, it's a damn good idea to be truthful and actually walk the walk. Logs and motes in the eye, camels through the eye of a needle, glass houses, kettles and pots, and what goes around comes around, et al. Karma's a bitch when She finally decides enough is enough! This wouldn't have been so bad on Republicans if they hadn't been such arrogant hypocrites in order to corner the so-called values voters! Now the "Two Candlesticks" and "Two Witnesses" (Truth and Justice) are "breathing fire" and "raining hailstones!"

Christian Political Leadership, Hypocrisy, Duplicity, and Purposeful Evil

The current scandal involving Congressman Foley is merely the latest in an amazingly long list of blatant deception and duplicity by Republicans and the Christian Right in recent years. While bedeviling us all with their holier-than-thou pretenses, they consistently support and/or perform blatant greed and abominable evil. Never forget the extent of their arrogance over the last two decades and especially the last 6 years. It is beyond amazing that Christians continue to blindly support such obviously blatant scoundrels, even as they are repeatedly exposed going against the most basic of human values. The level of hypocrisy and duplicity boggles the mind. There is no longer any doubt, whatsoever, that Christianity is little more than a purposeful deception used by political and religious leaders to dupe, manipulate, and coerce entire populations into giving them wealth and power, which they always use for greed, injustice, and abominable evils.

The actions of Foley and those who covered up for him directly parallel the actions of scores of priests that have raped innocent children, preyed upon others for centuries, and had their actions hidden and abetted by the Vatican. Now, in eerie repetition of Vatican history, we have a power hungry Christian Emperor (GW) working closely with the Vatican and Judeo-Christian aristocrats to lead crusades in the so-called Holy Land. Furthermore, to leave little doubt about the reality of this assessment, the USA, as the new Holy Roman Empire, is about to legalize the torture it has perpetrated in recent years while steadily reversing many of the democratic and civil freedoms that people gained when the Vatican and royalty lost control of their European empire at the turn of the nineteenth century. Now we see them following the same old path of evil as they strive to cement the status of the USA as the latest proxy Vatican empire. Make no mistake about it, the new dark ages are looming on the horizon unless we do something proactive to prevent it.

Remember that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it!

Read More:
http://exposing-religious-deception.blogspot.com/
http://www.geocities.com/sevenstarhand/articles.html

Peace...

It looks like the "family values" Christian Conservatives are going to start making their Neocon Republican leaders in Congress get rid of all the "evil" gay people in their midst that are taking over the world.
WWJD - What Would Jesus Do??
Answer - I don't think he would approve of one party (Republicans)claiming that they have a monopoly on god,and holding all others who stand against their beliefs in contempt.

Christian Conservatives = Hypocrisy at it's worse.

I was going to say I saw a ducky and a horsy, but I changed my mind.

Juanito, what is your definition of a liberal?

A gay Republican is surely able to hold many conservative views as any Democrat can hold some very liberal to more conservative ones. (Sorry Juanito,et.al. we don't all feel the same about everything.) It is still difficult to understand how gay Republicans can identify with a party that has been hijacked by people who despise their very existence.

I wondered how people feel on this issue...could you tell me, Do you feel being gay is a choice or genetic?

If the Republicans decide to purge gays from its ranks, they should then work on the alcholics, drug users and people that cheat on their spouses. Why stop at just purging gays?

JohnD:
Of course no Republican group plans to out any gays. They plan to stone them.

It is still difficult to understand how gay Republicans can identify with a party that has been hijacked by people who despise their very existence.

Posted by: Catherine | Oct 10, 2006 1:37:46 PM

Granted. It's not my place to speak for Gay Republicans, but I have to assume that what they want the party to be about is fiscal responsibility, small government and defending the liberty and dignity of the individual citizen.

Obviously they're not signing off on the Right Wing agenda because the religious right is not conservative, and THEY ARE.

Catherine,

I am a republican, but am not a member of the religious right. I don't think all republicans if any want to stone gay people. Nice try with your lame post. Way to offer nothing, but an insult.

The Biblical term for modern day Christian conservatives would be "Pharisees".

Those Christian zealots sound a lot like the people in history they condemn for persecuting Jesus. If hypocrisy could be bottled they would be swimming in it. I do not know what GOD they serve but My GOD doesn't believe in bigotry of any kind. They do not represent God; they represent a fanaticism that other bigoted leaders followed. Their misguided perception that they and only they have all the answers is called Fascism. The G.O.P. by following these Christian zealots appear more and more like fascists then a democratic machine. You are not right and your way is not God's way.

Oh lord-n-a-half.

The group that "believes in tolerance and individual dignity" is demonstrating their beliefs by equivocating "conservative" to "bible-thumping moralist" and demonizing.

Yawn.

"bill r" asks:
"How does anyone legislate morality?"

Dunno. Maybe by deciding what you like and don't like, and agitating for laws that criminlaize what you don't like? Good god, man, wake up. We've been doing that for eons, and from every conceivable political stripe.

And yes, "liberals" do it too.

"Liberal" morality, though, is not so superficially reducible to religious dogma. It's called, instead, "progressive" or "enlightened" or other such euphamism.

It's the same thing: "I believe 'x' is wrong, so I want a law that prohibits 'x'." It hardly matters where you get your beliefs from. A 2000 year-old book [substitute a 4000 year old book, or a 1400 year old book if you are jewish or muslim] or a modern political tract or some wild fantasy you dreamed up last night. You are trying to impose what *you* think is best upon everyone else -- and getting a majority of "everyone else" to go along with it.

It amuses me greatly when folks indignantly whine about "legislating morality". There is no other basis for laws, ever, in the course of human history apart from "morality".

What you mean to whine about, bill, is the *choice* of morality that others wish to legislate; you do not like their morality and prefer your own. Go ahead; say it.

bill r,

The concensus of scientists is that it is usually genetic.

Catrherine, you are a truly vile piece of human sickness. As a devout Christian, you are an insult. I have no desire, no thought, no need to harm or insult gay people whatsoever.

You, however, I'm sure would stone any conservative if given the chance. Leftists today are the true racists, true haters, true discriminators. You are the true enemies of free speech as displayed once again by Columbia University students toward members of the Minutemen border patrol.

"The GOP will have to decide whether it wants to be the party that defends the traditional moral and family values that our nation was built upon and directed by for two centuries. Put another way, does the party want to represent values voters or Mark Foley and friends?"

Interesting. Too bad the GOP doesn't have the, er, manhood, to take the religious right up on that ultimatum. I mean, what exactly would the religious right do if the GOP gave up all this hypocritical minding everyone else's sex life? What if the GOP were to say to the religious right, y'know, fiscal conservatism and limited government are a lot more important to a lot more of our constituents than legislating your narrow views of morality? What would the religious right do about it? Vote Democratic?

Richard S.,

Why even stop there? Why not purge those who work on the Sabbath day, those who eat shellfish, those who cut the hair at their temples, etc.

this is way too intense for my blood -- please, exercise a little restraint -- this is just getting way too mean -- can we diffuse the tension with a little humor ??

definition of liberal ==== conservative that just got arrested

definition of conservative ==== liberal that just got robbed

I've studied and studied the Bible and the Koran and I'd like to express one rigid point of view on my part about Christians ---- If you live in America and you don't make a concerted effort to love repubs, dems, independents, gays, straights, rich, poor, arab, jew, black, asian, young, old, free, imprisoned, sick, smokers, non-smokers, freaks, geeks, healthy and everyone in between, then you may be a lot of things but you are not a Christian --- though many may aspire to such a standard, most fall short but that does not mean you should lump them (Christians) all together as gay bashers (no matter who they vote for).

It is no more correct to define all Christians as gay bashers than it would be to say all Muslims are terrorist.

The Koran also teaches tolerance (see Sura 33), so do not judge all followers of Mohammed based on the violence of the minority.

Some of you hate all religion period for various reasons, but that doen't make it right for you to engage in hate speech towards one religious group -- you may have that "right" (thanks to this being a nation founded for the purpose of allowing that pluralistic "right" of both expression and the free expression of religious views) but that does not make it ethically correct.

Stereotyping is stereotyping and bigotry is bigotry.

Peace Brethren and Sisters