Comfortably NOM?

So, when I was reading about the internal documents that were brought to light recently about NOM’s strategy to influence the marriage equality debate—you all know what jumped out at me:

“A pro-marriage president must be elected in 2012,” the document says, although Obama has offered tepid opposition to same-sex marriage. 

The same document, an update to the group’s board, described a $1 million plan through the conservative American Principles Project to “expose Obama as a social radical.” 

The section, headed “Sideswiping Obama,” suggests raising “side issues” including pornography to attack Democrats’ flanks.

If only I knew of an anti-gay presidential candidate who raised side issues like pornography.  (Or for that matter, knew of any conservatives who were—let’s call it “vetting”—Obama and his administration with the spin that he’s radical.)

Oh. Wait.  Those are real things. It isn’t just a NOM agenda.

I’ve long pondered what kind of people get up in the morning and actually make a job of trying to oppress other people. I don’t mean casual oppression, checkbook oppression, slacktivist/petition-signing oppression.  I mean people like Brian Brown or Maggie Gallagher, who actually roll up their sleeves and think “I’m going to label ‘denying marriage to other people’ as ‘protecting marriage’” or “I’m going to divide communities that have experienced civil rights denials—so that they in turn will deny others civil rights’”. 

If I ever had any doubt, I’m pretty much persuaded now that they aren’t just mistaken or confused by religion.  I used to wonder if they were conflicted by the discrepancy between the objective reality of LGBT people as people, versus their own horrible propaganda.  Now I don’t wonder. I just think they are bad people now. It’s kind of nice to get that out of the way.

(X-Posted at Rumproast)