While there is a lot of noise being made over the National Organization for Marriage’s pledge to supposedly “protect marriage,” a passage in that pledge is escaping some much deserved scrutiny. Among other things, the presidential candidates who signed the pledge, should they be elected President, have promised to:
Appoint a presidential commission to investigate harassment of traditional marriage supporters.
In the world of the jaded gay community who has reputedly seen it all from the religious right, even this sentence should raise alarms.
First of all, who would be on this committee? Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown? Or how about Peter Sprigg or Tony Perkins? Or even worse, Matt Barber? I would say Peter LaBarbera, but even I’m not that crazy.
And just what would they investigate, or rather, how would they investigate certain matters? Remember during the Clinton Administration, how investigations of Whitewater “magically” pivoted to other matters having absolutely nothing to do with legal matters but more about Clinton’s personal life?
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Who’s to say that this “commission” wouldn’t turn into a fishing expedition determined to undermine and destroy pro-gay organizations? And I haven’t even mention bloggers.
Imagine being called before a committee and forced to give personal testimony about some false claim (which will no doubt be played up heavily by Fox News, conservative bloggers, and religious right groups) simply because you published a fact as to how religious right groups lie. And knowing the folks who suggested the committee in the first place, it certainly isn’t a farfetched notion.
No doubt, a list of pro-gay organizations and bloggers to be “investigated” is already forming in the minds of NOM and its allies.
The gay community would do well for itself to lose its jaded pose and get itself into the game of the 2012 election. We already seem to have a huge target on our back this election cycle — as unfortunately we always do every election cycle — so it seems to me that the best thing to do is to stop griping about being targets and start establishing a few targets ourselves.
Uh oh. Now maybe I will be investigated for saying that.
To date: Republican Presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Snatorum have signed the pledge, as did Tim Pawlenty, who has already dropped from the race. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who entered the race last weekend, has not yet indicated whether he will sign the pledge.
