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Remember Yes on 1's Marc Mutty, who recently admitted to "inadvertently" misleading Maine voters? Well, he's at it again in his newest email to supporters, saying that the "homosexuals" are imposing their will on Mainers.Uhm, if I remember correctly, it was the Democratically elected legislature and Catholic governor of Maine who passed marriage equality.
I'm sorry, Mr. Mutty, you can't xerox EVERY page of the Prop 8 rulebook. It doesn't work in this situation.
Anyway, here's the email for your scrutiny. Oh, and try not to get TOO upset at the "any two will do" reference to our marriages.
With less than two weeks before Mainers go to the polls to decide the fate of the institution of traditional marriage, the battle for the hearts and minds of Mainers from every social, economic and religious background continues to be a hard-fought one between people with totally different views of marriage and its value.NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality has wasted no time calling Mutty out on his misleading statements in the following press release:
Our opponents view marriage as a legal contract that only affects and is therefore the "right" of the two people involved. Our side is made up of people like us who - while we support our gay family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors - know that marriage between a man and a woman has been for centuries and since Maine became a state the optimal situation for children and society as a whole.
We also believe - based on substantial evidence of what has occurred elsewhere - that there will be profound consequences to society, families, people of faith and, especially, children if we strip our historic understanding of marriage from the law and replace it with "any two will do" marriage which exists solely for the benefits of consenting adults.
As you probably know, our opponents have amassed a war chest from the homosexual political elite from nearly every corner of the country to impose their will on Mainers like us. It exceeds our resources by a large margin. They are poised to spend outrageous amounts of money in these final two weeks to do whatever it takes to eliminate traditional marriage completely.
We simply cannot afford to fall further behind in fundraising and let this issue be decided because the other side is able to buy themselves an election. Please donate whatever you can TODAY to bridge the gap between our two campaigns and fight to preserve marriage between a man and a woman.
Despite their financial advantages, this race is very much winnable for our side. Our polling is encouraging, but we can't risk slipping in these final two weeks.
We simply can't continue to air our powerful ads that make it crystal clear that homosexual marriage WILL be taught in public schools as it is in other states that legalized same-sex marriage; that those with a conscientious objection to homosexual marriage CAN be punished by the government whenever acting on their beliefs comes in conflict with the demands of same-sex "married" couples; and that religious organizations RISK their tax-exempt status if they refuse to accept same-sex marriage as part of their ministry.
We are asking for your help in these final days to help guard against marriage becoming a genderless contract that exists solely to meet the desires of adults, a future of "any two will do," and a radical social experiment that will ultimately jeopardize the well being of our most precious Maine resource: our children.
Please give whatever you can right now to push Question 1 over the top on November 3rd. . There is no doubt that as voters hear our messages, they move to our side. But the messages can be delivered only so long as supporters like you make financial sacrifices to preserve marriage. Please, even if you have already given, do so again today. Our campaign - and God's very design for marriage - is counting on your support.
Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality called on Mark Mutty, the Question 1 campaign manager, to stop advertising false statements that even Mutty concedes have misled Maine voters. In addition, Connolly called on Mutty to “rein in his supporters and end the anti-gay attacks” that have run in local newspapers and faxed anonymously to offices and homes across Maine.
This week, in response to questions from the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN), Mutty acknowledged that the political ads asserting a link between marriage equality and schools are misleading. Nonetheless, in the same interview, Mutty made clear that the misleading ads would continue to dominate their political advertising.
“We understand that schools will not be mandated to provide one curriculum or another,” Mutty told MPBN. “We never said that schools will be mandated, or actually, perhaps, we did in one ad, or certainly led people to believe that inadvertently.”
“Even Marc Mutty can’t spin his way out of these falsehoods. He knows these ads are wrong and do a disservice to Maine voters,” said Connolly. “It's becoming increasingly clear that accuracy and truth-telling are not part of their campaign.”
At the same time, Connolly pointed to two advertisements based on homophobia and hate and called on Mutty to rein in his supporters and end the anti-gay attacks.
One full page ad by a group called the Maine Grass Roots Coalition appeared in more than a dozen newspapers including the Lewiston Leader, Auburn Highlights and Greater Lisbon Ledger. It suggests that “homosexuals now appear to be put in line for adopting children ahead of heterosexual parents,” among other offensive statements.
The Maine Grass Roots Coalition was founded by Paul Madore. The organization’s website notes that Madore “joined with the Christian Civic League of Maine and the Christian Coalition of Maine in multiple statewide battles between 1994 and 2000” and that his new organization’s mission is to “save Maine families from the horror of homosexuality.”
Another leaflet, this one faxed to homes and businesses, targets Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and President Barack Obama for supporting the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The flyer condemned the legislation as part of a “homosexual agenda” that is “liberal” and “godless.” It also urges readers to “check out the Obama killer song on You Tube.”
“These ads and flyers are not only despicable, they are disturbing at every level,” said Connolly. “To not only debase Mainers in this way, but to directly attack our two senators and the President is deeply troubling. We urge the Question 1 campaign to call a halt to these hateful missives.”
Madore Newspaper Ad 10-10-09
Leaflet Fax
Don't let this "misleading" campaign win. Get involved. Go to NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality!
I think it is good when these nuts are given free reign. The thing that is really misleading is when Mutty says, with a straight face, that the Roman Catholic Church has been in the forefront of assuring equal rights for gay men and lesbians. It is much better for voters to see the craziness of these people than those who put on a "Mormon nice" face and say they are all in favor of gay rights just not the word marriage.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at an old post of Nate Silver's on fivethirtyeight.com in which he points out that when pollster frame the question of gay marriage something like this "Are you against the government refusing to permit same-sex marriage?" our side wins. When the question is phrased, "Are you in favor of same-sex marriage," we lose. I wonder why No on 1 hasn't incorporated this insight into their commercials. Wouldn't a commercial that showed gay couples and then said, "why should the government forbid this couple for marrying?," be effective (as well as truthful)? People dislike governmental interference in people's lives.