National Organization for Marriage's Sleazy Tactics Exposed

A huge story broke late last night.  HRC was able to obtain a copy of a "confidential" internal document outlining the strategies to be pursued by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). 

Especially damning are their plans to divide gays and blacks by fomenting homophobia among the latter.  They also target President Obama in order to expose him as a "social radical."

Their strategy is explicitly racist, targeting blacks and hispanics in order to fan the flames of hatred and "defend" marriage.

Additionally, their status as a non-partisan, single issue advocacy group is clearly questionable, as they are specifically targeting Democrats -- and on issues other than marriage equality.

You can see the document here:  NOM Internal Document

from the Human Rights Campaign: HRC

Confidential NOM Documents Reveal Dark Underbelly of Anti-Gay Movement

HRC exclusively obtained copies of the National Organization for Marriage’s confidential strategy documents yesterday. As part of a continuing investigation by the state of Maine, this court-ordered disclosure shows NOM fighting a losing battle with strategy and tactics that are racially and ethnically divisive, filled with false political calculations, and out of touch with the majority of fair-minded Americans. The Maine Ethics Commission launched a formal investigation into NOM’s fundraising tactics in late 2009.
The key themes that emerge from the documents are:
Racial Politics

• NOM’s admitted key goal is to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks.”
• NOM aims to manipulate Hispanic communities by “making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity” and “to make opposition to gay marriage an identity marker, a badge of youth rebellion to conformist assimilation to the bad side of ‘Anglo’ culture.”

Facing a Losing Battle

• They were 0 for 3 in their 2010 priority: “Roll back gay marriage in New Hampshire, Iowa, and D.C.”  Marriage equality remains on the books in all three with the New Hampshire Republican legislature just last week rejecting a move to repeal their law.

Huge Coffers Fund Phony “Research”

• NOM outlined a plan to spend $100,000 on a “study of what schools are teaching in gay marriage/civil union regimes.”
• $150,000 is earmarked for videotaping stories of those supposedly harmed by marriage equality called “The Face of the Victims” project.
• $60,000 in salary earmarked for an “outreach coordinator to identify children of gay parents willing to speak on camera.”
• $50,000 earmarked for “Expert Witness Project” that couldn’t cultivate a single credible witness to stand up in the Prop 8 trial for example.

Painting Themselves as Victims

• NOM pushes the false notion that Americans are under attack: “Gay marriage is the tip of the spear, the weapon that will be and is being used to marginalize and repress Christianity and the Church.”
• Embracing marriage equality supposedly “affects economic performance, expands the regulatory and taxing powers of government, and threatens the family businesses that generate economic growth and prosperity.”
• Despite every court to hear the issue finding no evidence of any harassment or intimidation, NOM continues to claim “gay marriage advocates have focused relentlessly on harassing and intimidating local donors.”

Ignoring Campaign Finance Rules

• NOM brags that “one key advantage we now have is the capacity to protect the identity of our donors.”
• Worried about disclosure laws, NOM encourages donors to give to a slush fund for use around the country saying, “It is critical that we have a reserve fund to give to these efforts to ensure victory and protect donor identity.”

Small Movement with a Big Voice

• Recognizing that they are a fringe movement, they brag about having wide media exposure writing: “there is an opportunity for a small countercultural community to have a disproportionate cultural impact.”

It’s Not Just About Marriage

• NOM can no longer claim that they’re only focused on marriage.  Their “American Principles Project” seeks to “Expose Obama as a social radical” by “develop[ing] side issues” like “pornography” and veering off into issues around the Guantanamo Prison and opposing administration appointments.
• As part of their “cultural strategies” they suggest “raising the negatives on homosexuality.”
• Their state affiliate in Rhode Island “hopes to introduce divorce reform legislation in an effort to strengthen Rhode Island’s marriage and families.”

Taking their Movement Internationally

• “The movement for gay marriage is global.  The counterrevolution protecting marriage needs to have a similar international reach.”