Election 2012

William Owens of the Coalition of African-American Pastors and the National Organization for Marriage’s religious liaison is hoping that his anti-Obama, anti-gay campaign will pay off in November by pulling black voters away from supporting Obama. While sitting down with Jamilah Lemieux of Ebony, Owens said that black voters are turning against Obama “because [our site] had nearly 90 thousand hits and 85 percent of the people are on our side on this issue” and also told Lemieux that “there isn’t such thing as separation as church and state.” Owens effectively admitted to Lemieux that CAAP is a single-issue organization dedicated to opposing same-sex marriage, insisting that marriage equality for gays and lesbians must be stopped because “the Black family has been destroyed” and will “help deteriorate the Black family more than anything else.”

JL: Black people are literally on fire right now. You have people--- teenagers, kids---dying in Chicago. Getting shot 10, 12, 30 in a night and you're sending out daily press releases about same sex marriage. Is this the greatest challenge of your generation or my generation? is this the biggest fight that we have in the middle of an election season? Do we have that much to lose from gay people getting married?

RO: I think we do. First of all, the Black family has been destroyed. When I grew up there were more Black men going to college, now there are more Black men going to prison. Something is wrong.

JL: What does that have to do with homosexuality? There are Black men who have went to college and graduate and got married and are gay and also Black men who have women who they’ve been in intimate relationships with who didn’t go to college and who don’t provide for their children. So who is the problem in our community?

RO: We're our own problem right now. We are are own problem and we need good moral leadership and I expected that from Obama. Same sex marriage is not [representative of that]...I felt that that one issue was enough to help deteriorate the Black family more than anything else.

His wife Deborah Owens made a similar assertion in a Washington Times op-ed where she warned that the “homosexual agenda” will “erode the very foundation of our society” and “place our youth on a dangerous trajectory toward a bleak future in which mothers and fathers don’t matter, values don’t matter and children are placed at risk.” She said gays and lesbians “have crept out of the closet, and now they want to take over the entire house,” arguing that Obama is “putting our country on a dangerous path and our children and families in peril” by backing their right to marry, jeopardizing “our future as a nation” and “our freedom.”

Some criticize us for not supporting the practice, but accepting homosexuals and lesbians is a separate issue from redefining marriage for millions of Americans. Homosexuals and lesbians have been around for a long time, though many of them were “in the closet.” Over time, they have crept out of the closet, and now they want to take over the entire house. If a man loves another man or a woman desires another woman, there is nothing in our current law stopping two consenting adults from engaging in a relationship, though it is not normal behavior. We are about to cross a dangerous line, with civil leaders trying to force all Americans to accept homosexual unions and change the historical and biblical definition of marriage.

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The black American community already is plagued with problems related to children growing up in single-parent households. For example, a boy who lacks a father in the home is more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior unless he has a positive male role model to help shape him. The homosexual agenda, which attempts to redefine family and marriage, will erode the very foundation of our society. It will place our youth on a dangerous trajectory toward a bleak future in which mothers and fathers don’t matter, values don’t matter and children are placed at risk.

Evidence shows that the lack of intact families in our society leads to social, psychological and emotional problems for children. Why would Mr. Obama want to make homosexual “marriage” equal to traditional marriage when children already face a multitude of issues? The president and others want to legitimize and normalize homosexual “marriage” and shove it down the throats of those who disagree because he is the leader and he said so.

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What black person would deny the first black man running for the highest office in America a chance to become president? He represented hope for us all, and he was the realization of the dream for many Americans who never thought they would live to see a black president. We were soon disillusioned. Mr. Obama has betrayed us by his endorsement of homosexual “marriage,” putting our country on a dangerous path and our children and families in peril.

On the homosexual “marriage” issue, this black mom is not following Mr. Obama.

Our hope in man, even one man, cannot come at the cost of our hope in God.

Our future as a nation is at stake. Our freedom is in the balance. Mr. Obama has given his followers an invalid command: Endorse homosexual “marriage.” This edict must not be the law of this land. The risks are too great.

Today, the National Organization for Marriage’s religious liaison William Owens appeared on Today’s Issues with Family Research Council head Tony Perkins and American Family Association president Tim Wildmon, who spent much of the time talking to Owens about how because of the President’s stance on marriage equality black voters are now turning against Obama (they’re not) and that there is no way Obama is a Christian. Owens later claimed that not only is Obama not a Christian but also that his Democratic Party is a “demonic party” that must be stopped.

Owens: They haven’t seen anything yet, now I get hate mail now and I don’t know what they’ll say the next time, because I’m going at a party with God out, when it was God who brought black people through slavery, it was God that we trusted in that brought us through the civil rights movement when we were being beaten, put out of our homes, threatened, lost our jobs, it was God that we looked to. For them to take God out its demonic; it is a demonic party and I will call it what it is and I’ll take the heat, at my age what can I lose? I will tell the truth. I’m not trying to win favor with anybody I just want God to be pleased with my life.

Truth in Action Ministries has released their “2012 Issues Guide for Christian Voters” [PDF], which argues that federal spending on social services “goes against what the Bible says about caring for one’s own and others” and pushing for bans on abortion rights, stem cell research and emergency contraception. The group also warns of “radical judges” and an “out-of-control judiciary,” the “dangerous and destructive” health care reform law and the “false religion” of environmentalism.

But of course, no Religious Right voter guide goes without a section on gay rights, and Truth in Action Ministries tells members that END will “impose the homosexual political agenda on the workplace” and that the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has started “Maoist-style ‘re-education’ in ‘diversity.’” The group also claims the repeal law will “violate the rights of those serving by forcing them to cohabit and shower with people who may desire them sexually” and “jeopardize the military’s health and blood supply, since homosexual men are far more likely to be promiscuous and to have STDs, including HIV/AIDS”

In 1996, Congress overwhelmingly enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). But in 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down the state’s marriage law, and the state began issuing same-sex “marriage” licenses six months later, despite no change in the law. And in May 2012, a federal appeals court in Boston declared DOMA unconstitutional.

All candidates should be asked how they will defend marriage from this radical assault. It’s not enough to say they favor marriage if they also support same-sex “civil unions,” “domestic partnerships,” or “sexual orientation” laws, all of which incentivize homosexual relationships and devalue marriage. They should also be questioned about:

• The proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would impose the homosexual political agenda on the workplace;

• A constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union only of one man and one woman;

• New policies giving marital benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

Servicemen and women put their lives on the line. They deserve policies that ensure maximum military readiness and the best chance to win wars and return home alive. That’s why Congress overwhelmingly passed a law in 1993 incorporating as policy the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s ban on homosexual sodomy. But now the federal government has overturned “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We believe this is profoundly immoral on several levels. It would:

• Hurt unit cohesion, morale, retention, and recruitment;

• Violate the rights of those serving by forcing them to cohabit and shower with people who may desire them sexually;

• Jeopardize the military’s health and blood supply, since homosexual men are far more likely to be promiscuous and to have STDs, including HIV/AIDS;

• Force chaplains to resign or to jettison God’s Law in favor of political correctness;

• Subject all personnel to Maoist-style “re-education” in “diversity.”

Likewise, Congress should resist any effort eliminate women’s combat exemption.

Religious Right leaders love to proclaim that they are nonpartisan. Rick Scarborough insists he is not a Republican or a Democrat, but a Christocrat.  Samuel Rodriguez repeatedly claims that he is not pushing the agenda of the Elephant or the Donkey, but the Lamb. And yet they are actively involved in attempts to convince Christians that loyalty to biblical values requires a vote against Barack Obama and for Mitt Romney, even though many evangelicals do not consider Mormons to be Christians.  The latest example comes via Rick Joyner’s dominionist Oak Initiative. Joyner sent Oak supporters a long essay by Dr. James Richards of Impact Ministries, which denounces partisanship and says, “This is not about Democrats and Republicans; it is about being a believer, committed to the Lordship of Jesus.”  Richards’ essay concludes with a charge to elect Romney, the “least damaging” option on the ballot, in order to “buy time” to hold off socialism and get the right kind of people in office.

To my knowledge, there has never been a President that could satisfy all the interests of the church. So our only choice is to choose what we will overlook and what we will over emphasize. It is time for us to see the bigger picture. WE ARE ALWAYS VOTING FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS. We must realize that in many instances, not voting means putting someone into office by default who may be a much greater risk to our beliefs and freedoms.

Many will not vote for Obama because he is in favor of gay marriage and abortion. However, those same people oppose Romney on the basis of his Mormon background. Many Christians will feel they have no choice and not vote. But we must remember, in 2008 the 30 million Christian evangelicals that didn’t vote decided the election by default.

We are not attempting to get a perfect man in office. We are attempting the get the least damaging man in office. As such we have peace, something the early church could only pray for, but we can vote for. If we can get a man in office who is not a socialist committed to the reduction of America and extreme leftist agendas, we will buy the time to make changes in Congress, and eventually at the State level. But most importantly, we can get people in office who will uphold God’s values and the Constitution. Based on the words and the track record of the extreme left, in four more years we may be too far gone to make a difference. YOU ARE NOT VOTING FOR THE MAN, YOU ARE VOTING FOR THE TIME TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE!

All sorts of Religious Right activists are stressing the importance of prayer heading into this election and now Harry Jackson has produced a four-minute video on the need for "40 Days of Prayer for our Nation" in which he urges Christians to pray that their local churches as well as those around the nation will "speak to us and give us direction; they need to tell us who to vote for":

This week, on the eve of the first presidential debate, right-wing media, led by the Drudge Report, the Daily Caller, and Fox News, hyped a supposedly secret video that they dubbed “the other race speech.”  Fox News propagandist Sean Hannity tried desperately to portray the video as “explosive” footage that the liberal media had deliberately hid from voters to protect Barack Obama. Religious Right leaders played their part, with Liberty Counsel’s ludicrous Matt Barber demanding, “Romney simply must make ad upon ad out of this devastating video exposing Obama as a white-hating racist.”  Karl Rove, who with a cadre of right-wing billionaires has kept Republican hopes alive by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into the election, piled on, saying Obama’s comments were designed to “stir up racial animosity” and called them “abhorrent.”

During an interview with Focus on the Family president Jim Daly, Paul Ryan reassured the anti-gay group that a Romney-Ryan administration will fiercely oppose gay rights. Focus on the Family and its founder James Dobson have a long history of promoting anti-gay policies and ex-gay therapy, and earned a shout-out from Romney earlier this week while campaigning in Colorado, where it is headquartered.

While Romney has moved in his career from backing gay rights to becoming a vocal foe, Ryan has a solidly anti-gay voting record in Congress. Ryan told Daly, whose political arm has been spending money on behalf of Romney and a number of other Republican candidates like Todd Akin, that the ticket is firmly against same-sex marriage and that he was a “big supporter” of a 2006 amendment which enshrined marriage discrimination into the Wisconsin state constitution. He also said the Obama administration’s decision not to defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act hurt the “rule of law” and “contradicts our system of government,” however, a number of presidents including George W. Bush have not defended statutes they deemed unconstitutional.

Daly: Focus on the Family has been behind the scenes working for years to defend marriage and to speak out for marriage and the importance of marriage. I think thirty-two out of thirty-two states where we have helped put a ballot initiative or some other mechanism in front of the people, we have won that thirty-two out of thirty-two times. It seems like when it’s in front of the people they vote for it, if it’s the state-level judges they will try to do it by fiat or if it is simply some other mechanism, the State House passes it without the vote of the people. For the Romney-Ryan ticket, when you look at marriage, what do we need to do in the culture to lift up and strengthen the very core building block of society and that’s family.

Ryan: It’s the foundation for society and for family for thousands of years. First of all, Mitt Romney and I — I’ll just say it, it’s worth repeating — we believe marriage is between one man and one woman, that’s number one. Number two, you know where I come from we had one of those amendments in Wisconsin, I was a big supporter of it and we passed it like you say, where it’s put on the ballot it passes. The second point is, President Obama gave up defending the Defense of Marriage Act in the courts, I mean, not only is this decision to abandon this law the wrong decision, it passed in a bipartisan manner, it is very troubling because it undermines not only traditional marriage but it contradicts our system of government. It’s not the president’s job to pick and choose which laws he likes. A Romney administration will protect traditional marriage and the rule of law and we will provide the Defense of Marriage Act the proper defense in the courts that it deserves.

Bishop E.W. Jackson has embarked on a campaign following his failed Senate bid to convince black voters to reject the Democrats’ “anti-God” views and partake in a “mass exodus of Christians from the Democrat party.” Today in an opinion piece in the Washington Times, “Blacks are abandoning the Democratic Party,” Jackson asserted that African Americans will abandon the Democratic party over the issues of abortion rights and gay equality, incredulously asking how Democrats have “managed to hold on to black Christians in spite of an agenda worthy of the Antichrist?” “Mr. Obama’s commitment to the radical left’s anti-Christian, anti-God politics may cost him the election,” Jackson writes, “because a constituency he has taken for granted has awakened to the truth that being the first black president is not enough.” Of course, recent polling shows that Obama has a commanding 94-0 lead among black voters.

I was raised to be an FDR Democrat because my father was a young man during the Depression and credited President Roosevelt with saving him from starvation. “The Republicans only care about rich people,” I was told. This was more than 40 years ago. In spite of my childhood indoctrination, as a young man newly committed to my Christian faith, I had a crisis of conscience in the late 1970s. Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank was pushing the homosexual agenda. How could I, as a Christian, be committed to a party led by Mr. Frank? In the end, I could not. My desire to be in a right relationship with God and my faith was greater than my desire to be approved by my father, my family or the black community. My wife and I, then Massachusetts residents, left the Democratic Party in 1980 and never looked back.

Democrats now have fully embraced an abortion policy that amounts to infanticide. They have also made the lesbian-homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda their vision for America. How have they managed to hold on to black Christians in spite of an agenda worthy of the Antichrist? They have shown a ruthless willingness to frighten black voters with outright lies about the plans of conservatives and Republicans. Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s “they gonna put y’all back in chains” was not a gaffe. It is part of the Democrats’ strategy of using fear to keep blacks as a captive audience. I always have believed that such lies could not distract black voters forever or keep them from noticing the increasingly anti-Christian radicalism of the Democratic Party.

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Now black churchgoers are being told to suppress Christian conscience and remain beholden to a party that demands their loyalty while insulting their faith and blaspheming their God. For the first time in 50 years, there is a discussion going on in the black community as to whether their loyalty to the Democratic Party is deserved. Many black pastors are telling their members to stay home, rather than vote for a black president who has done more to advance the cause of homosexuality and abortion than that of black Americans.

We are hearing the rumblings of a fissure between black Christians and the Democratic Party. My organization, Staying True to America’s National Destiny (Stand), is calling for a mass exodus of Christians from the Democratic Party. We held a news conference at the National Press Club on Sept. 10 and produced several videos. This not only has prompted discussion, but perhaps has launched a movement. Mr. Obama’s commitment to the radical left’s anti-Christian, anti-God politics may cost him the election, because a constituency he has taken for granted has awakened to the truth that being the first black president is not enough.