Bias Watch

Religious right turns on GOP over “tone deaf & offensive” Pride tweet

Religious right turns on GOP over “tone deaf & offensive” Pride tweet
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Tony Perkins, the head of the anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council (FRC) is calling on religious conservatives to boycott the Republican National Committee (RNC) after chair Ronna McDaniel sent a tweet wishing LGBTQ Republicans a happy Pride Month.

“@GOP is proud to have doubled our LGBTQ support over the last 4 years, and we will continue to grow our big tent by supporting measures that promote fairness and balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs,” McDaniel tweeted last week.

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That didn’t sit well with many LGBTQ people on Twitter, as Republican lawmakers have filed dozens of bills to roll back transgender rights in dozens of states this year while Senate Republicans refuse to pass a ban on anti-LGBTQ discrimination and Christian conservatives try to get federal judges to rule against LGBTQ rights by expanding religious exemptions.

It didn’t sit well with Perkins either. A staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and friends with former Vice President Mike Pence, Perkins was a major force behind the scenes during the last administration and had his fingers in most of the anti-LGBTQ policies implemented.

Perkins also points out the slew of anti-LGBTQ laws that swept through Republican-dominated state legislatures this year as validation. Another religious right hate group was responsible for writing most of the legislation and helping legislators get them passed. FRC assisted in the nefarious effort that focused primarily on transgender women and girls.

“If McDaniel was looking for a way to end her party’s record-breaking fundraising, she nailed it,” Perkins wrote in his weekly column. “Right now, there are few things she — or any Republican — could have said that would have been more tone-deaf and offensive than applauding the woke agenda her base is trying to combat. In case the RNC hasn’t noticed, there’s a wave of red states in line trying to cut off the same gender extremism the RNC is intent on supporting.”

“But what’s even more confounding about McDaniel’s tweet is that the other side is on the run. Ever since the Georgia election law fiasco, conservatives everywhere have decided to rise up and fight back.”

“And instead of harnessing that momentum and meeting Republicans where they’re at,” he added, “the RNC sends out an alienating tweet that irritated everyone.”

And in a message for any Republican legislators who might consider straying from the demands of the religious right, Perkins had a pointed message.

“The reality that McDaniel – and any other Republican tempted to stray on this issue – need to understand is that the idea of “fairness” sounds great in a tweet, but religious freedom is being endangered by extremists who don’t actually want it,” he wrote. “They’re demanding forced acceptance (and punishment for the non-conformists) everywhere from elementary classrooms to corporate board rooms and anything in between. And that’s not going to change no matter how many rainbows the Republican Party flies.”

“So until the RNC gets its act together and decides to represent real conservative values, my advice is this: send your hard-earned dollars directly to candidates who have a track record of fighting for the principles you believe in.”

Perkins has regularly decried “cancel culture” as a danger to Americans everywhere. In April, he called for a boycott of Skittles candy over the candy’s Pride advertising. He’s also urged a boycott of Coca-Cola recently.

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