Iowa's leading anti-gay activist Bob Vander Plaats has had his last cup of Starbucks because the company endorsed marriage equality in Washington state.
Watch Vander Plaats call for a boycott of the coffee chain, AFTER THE JUMP...
We suggest you listen to Vander Plaats and do the opposite.
(via good as you)
The Family Leader's Bob Vander Plaats, who endorsed Rick Santorum last week, is under fire for reportedly asking for money for that endorsement, and some are saying the amount he was looking for was close to $1 million.
An Iowa Christian conservative leader who bestowed his highly sought-after endorsement on presidential candidate Rick Santorum this week is now at the center of a controversy over whether he asked for cash in exchange for his public support.
Less than 48-hours after receiving the backing of Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the prominent evangelical group The Family Leader, Santorum disclosed that the prominent Iowan told him he needed money to make the most out of the endorsement.
And sources familiar with talks between the conservative heavyweight and representatives from several of the Republican presidential campaigns went a step further, describing Vander Plaats’ tactics as corrupt.
“Clearly the endorsement was for sale — without a doubt,” one source said.
Iowa Conservative Leader Mired in Controversy After Rick Santorum Endorsement [abc news]
Appropriately, Rick 'Frothy mix' Santorum gets an endorsement from Iowa's leading gay-hater, Bob Vander Plaats:
Bob Vander Plaats, who has sought to put his imprint on the Republican presidential race for months, announced Tuesday that he would support Mr. Santorum. Mr. Vander Plaats and other evangelical Christians have talked openly about their struggle to unite behind one candidate, but he urged others to follow his lead.
At this late stage in the campaign, it remains an open question how the endorsement will affect the Iowa caucus campaign. Mr. Vander Plaats’s political activity, including leading the effort to remove three judges from the Iowa Supreme Court last year in a battle over same-sex marriage, has made him a lightening rod in some Republican circles.
Vander Plaats' group, The Family Leader, will not be giving an endorsement:
The Family Leader said Tuesday that it would remain neutral in the race, a decision that was reached after several lengthy meetings with members of the board, according to Republicans familiar with the discussions. But in the end, participants said, Mr. Vander Plaats decided to make a personal endorsement.
Right Wing Watch adds:
Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center also endorsed Santorum. Speaking as an individual and not on behalf of his organization, Vander Plaats lauded Santorum as the “Huckabee in this race” and a “champion of the family.” Echoing Huckabee, who frequently reminded Religious Right voters, “I come from you,” Vander Plaats concluded, “I believe Rick Santorum comes from us, he’s not to us, he comes from us, he’s one of us.”
Watch Vander Plaats give his endorsement, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "Iowa's Leading Anti-Gay, 'Pro-Family' Activist Endorses Rick Santorum: VIDEO" »
Thrice-married adulterer Newt Gingrich has written to The Family Leader, Iowa's leading anti-gay group, in support of its Marriage Vow, which Bachmann, Perry, and Santorum have already signed.
Gingrich's response to the group comes in the form of a promise to "strengthen and defend" family by defending the unborn, religious liberty, the right of the people to rule themselves, and defend against debt.
He also says he'll defend marriage:
"As President, I will vigorously enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, which was enacted under my leadership as Speaker of the House, and ensure compliance with its provisions, especially in the military. I will also aggressively defend the constitutionality of DOMA in federal and state courts. I will support sending a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the states for ratification. I will also oppose any judicial, bureaucratic, or legislative effort to define marriage in any manner other than as between one man and one woman. I will support all efforts to reform promptly any uneconomic or anti-marriage aspects of welfare and tax policy. I also pledge to uphold the institution of marriage through personal fidelity to my spouse and respect for the marital bonds of others."
Bob Vander Plaats is pleased with Newt's promises. The group has yet to endorse a candidate.
(via think progress lgbt)
Bob Vander Plaats, head of Iowa anti-gay group The Family Leader, which was instrumental in the ousting of three judges who legalized marriage equality in the state and who has made candidates sign a "marriage vow", is willing to forgive thrice-married adulterer Newt Gingrich for his infidelities, Think Progress LGBT reports.
Last July, Iowa’s FAMiLY Leader unveiled “The Marriage Vow: A Declaration of Dependence upon MARRIAGE and FAMILY,” a 14 bullet pledge presidential candidates will have to sign to secure any “future endorsement” from the organization and its influential leader, Bob Vander Plaats. The document asked candidates to vow “personal fidelity to my spouse,” claimed that same-sex marriage undermines the family, and contained a bizarre reference to slavery.
Said Vander Plaats of Gingrich in an MSNBC appearance this morning: "...we also realize that the cornerstone at the hart of our faith is a thing called forgiveness. We all fall short, but we want to know, is he truly repentful, is he learned, is he ready to move on, is he more mature? And I believe he’s addressed this in a lot of situations and I think he will again on Saturday."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
Mitt Romney has "dissed" a Republican presidential forum in Des Moines this weekend organized by Iowa's leading anti-gay "pro-family" group The Family Leader, according to its president Bob Vander Plaats:
"Mitt Romney has dissed this base in Iowa and this diss will not stay in Iowa," Bob Vander Plaats said in an interview with Fox News. "This has national tentacles. ... This might prove that he is not smart enough to be president, " Vander Plaats continued, clearly miffed. "I think what will happen is what happened in 2008. He's been in this position before. He's been on top of polls only to find his campaign tanking and sucking air."
In related news, Think Progress has been pointing out Romneys flip-flops on gay rights.
TP notes Romney's views on gays in 1994:
According to several articles in the Boston Globe in the mid ’90s, just before launching his senate run, Romney told an audience of Mormon Church members that homosexuality was “perverse” and “reprehensible.” From the Boston Globe, July 15, 1994:
“He said he was appalled at the incidence of homosexuals in the congregation,” said Rick Rawlins, a 32-year-old Mormon who had previously served as a counselor to the ward’s bishop. “He went on to say that he found homosexuality both perverse and reprehensible.”
And later, in 2002:
Eight years later, during his 2002 run for governor, Romney took a similarly progressive position when he proclaimed, “All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of sexual preference.”
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