So many conservative christians - so few lions...

[thoreau]

Catholic Votes is a project of Fidelis. Fidelis describes itself as "a group of Catholic-based political, legal, research and educational organizations whose collective mission it is to formulate, promote, and defend public policies that uphold religious freedom, human life from conception to natural death, and the traditional institutions of marriage and family."

Today - they unveiled a television ad they'll be running on BET - as a way for Catholics across the country to ally with conservative black religious groups to fight abortion rights in America.

This ad - the first of several - is titled "Life: Imagine The Potential" - which shows fetal ultrasound with music and text - then revealing that the baby you are watching in the womb is none other than President Obama. (obviously this is not true, but... nonetheless)

Here is the video:

Looking to create allies with the black conservatives like the catholics did in california around gay marriage issues - this is a startlingly inappropriate ad. I guess I shouldn't be all riled up - because since when did appropriateness and conservative religious activists belong in the same sentence.

But in chatting with notdefined about this video - this is the kind of outright lying and propaganda that the anti-gay marriage campaigns across the country got away with during the last election. How do we combat this kind of stuff? should we? How do we get a national organization (HRC, Lambda Legal, etc) to respond with this kind of heavy hitting unavoidable kind of media placement? How do we slap our national organizations upside the head and say "Time to get to work representing us, Missy!" (MAJOR BITCH SLAP INSERTED HERE)

Comments

Hmmmmmmmm

[sfkev.livejournal.com]

I think this ad will be nipped in the bud because of the implied message that Prez Obama is, in some way or another, "endorsing" this message. Send it to the White House and ask if this is sanctioned by Obama!! ;-)

[joebehrsandiego.livejournal.com]

Robert - I think your question/action demand here is an important one.

Before the success of the Obama campaign, I would have advocated beating the other side at their own dirty game.

Now ... I have no concrete answer, but I think the way to go is to build a media "narrative" using acutal, everyday gay folks telling their own stories, in their own words. This is what Obama volunteers were directed to do when working phone banks and door-to-door canvassing ... and what the Prop. 8 volunteers were explicitly proscribed *from* doing.

We (and I include me in that) sometimes forget that we can't - and in a representative democracy, don't have to - convince everyone to accept us. Enough folks in the "malleable middle" will respect our honest, in-person accounts to give us a chance.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

First off, we think with our heads and not our hearts. Be sure that when we give donations or an organization, regardless of who they claim to be and what they claim the represent, we demand full accountability. The past election should have taught us all a very big lesson. Tens of millions of dollars (yes, TENS OF MILLIONS) was totally wasted on who knows what because it was not for the purpose for which it was donated. We can't just give and then walk away thinking that someone has it all in order. We have to check up on the organizations to be sure they are doing what we expected them to do and if not, demand to know why. I have seen gay organizations mishandle money so much that I am a terminal sceptic and it seems there are others this way as well. We can't succeed if we can't be honest.

[bearwitched.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the idea for the title of this post??

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

it's a favorite tshirt of mine.

[bearwitched.livejournal.com]

You're welcome....

:)

[bearwitched.livejournal.com]

There is a story behind that phrase...

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

oh I know :)

a story on your end though?
your welcome?

I am so confused.

[joebehrsandiego.livejournal.com]

:>

Coyness *can* be charming, in person ...

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

but I truly am confused. (sigh)

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

I spotted that slogan on your T-shirt in the Sundance pictures - I love it! We really do need more lions.

Bitch Slapping Begins at Home

[ozdachs.livejournal.com]

A heavy-hitting, unavoidable kind of media placement takes tons of money. The Catholics and other lion-bait religions give heavily. Statistically, most liberals are dainty givers. We are much heavier in rationalizations than actual contributions. ("If they only did it my way, I'd give more." "I didn't like the compromise on the transgender issue, so I won't give anything." Etc.)

So, while we bitch slap the HRC, remember that bitch slapping starts at home.

(BTW, low_fat_muffin is suggesting a PR event to give to.)

Re: Bitch Slapping Begins at Home

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

um honey - I'm am lowfatmuffin! (but perhaps you knew that..)

yeah - the complacency - bitch on my blog and do nothing else while proclaiming myself an activist attitude of so many liberals makes me a tad crazy. (sigh)