Last June – after New York became the sixth and largest state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage – the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) searched for a way to explain why its campaign in the Empire State had ended in defeat.
Eventually, NOM found a talking point it was happy with: pro-equality legislators had been bribed with campaign cash in exchange for pushing the bill through.
The group accused legislators in Albany of rampant corruption, with NOM president Brian Brown asserting that pro-equality Republicans had “sold their vote to the highest bidder.”
NOM even launched an online “Money Dance” ad campaign targeting the four GOP senators who voted in favor of marriage equality:
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The advertisement, called “Money Dance,” is modeled after the practice of some brides and grooms dancing for money with supporters at their wedding. In this case, the four Senators — Roy McDonald, Mark Grisanti, James Alesi and Stephen Saland – are dancing with wealthy contributors like Michael Bloomberg and Tim Gill who purchased their allegiance during the recent legislative session. [emphasis added]
Now that the focus has shifted away from New York, however, it seems NOM is doing exactly what it accused gay activists of doing: buying votes. In New Hampshire, the organization has pledged $250,000 to “reward” politicians who “stand up for restoring traditional marriage”:
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation’s leading pro-marriage organization, today announced that it will spend $250,000 in legislative races to help legislators who support HB 437 restoring traditional marriage and hold accountable anyone who opposes the Same-Sex Marriage Repeal Bill. The Bill, HB 437, will be up for a vote in the next few weeks.
“Sixty-one percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters support a legislative definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman alongside of a provision for civil unions,” stated Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “We intend to hold every legislator accountable for his or her vote on marriage. Those who support HB 437 will be rewarded, while those who don’t will suffer the consequences in the next election.” [emphasis added]
This isn’t the first time that NOM has pledged money to effect a certain outcome in favor of its politics. After criticizing gay millionaire Tim Gill for pledging to oust anti-equality politicians in Colorado, NOM set aside $1 million to defeat pro-equality legislators in Maryland.
NOM’s history of hypocrisy goes beyond financial matters.
The group has routinely attacked state legislatures for bringing up pro-equality legislation instead of focusing on reviving their local economies, all the while encouraging other state legislatures to prioritize initiatives that restrict relationship recognition for gay couples.
And though NOM frequently champions its “let the people vote” mantra in response to pro-equality legislation, the catch phrase doesn’t apply in states where voters aren’t on NOM’s side.
Reprinted by permission.
