KY Governor Fletcher supporters attack Beshear over endorsement by gay-rights group
PissBottleMan
Union City, TN Posts: 4,155
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/NEWS0106/711060449/1008/NEWS01
In a last-ditch effort to re-elect Gov. Ernie Fletcher, his supporters were focusing yesterday on Democrat Steve Beshear's endorsement from a gay-rights advocacy group.
As Beshear and Fletcher flew around the state looking for votes on the last full day of the campaign for governor, Fletcher's supporters were linking Beshear to the group C-FAIR, which said last week that it was backing Beshear.
By late in the day Beshear's campaign responded with automated phone calls telling people that he opposes gay marriage, that he comes from a family of Baptist preachers and that voters should not believe the "lies" Fletcher, a Republican, is spreading about him.
The attacks by the Fletcher campaign and his supporters were the latest reaction to the endorsement by C-FAIR, the political action committee of the Fairness Campaign, a gay-rights group based in Louisville. It said it endorsed Beshear because he would oppose discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state government and support recognition of same-gender relationships.
Beshear has said consistently that he believes marriage is the union of a man and a woman. But he said he opposes discrimination in any form.
"It's a foregone conclusion that Gov. Fletcher is going to lose decidedly tomorrow, and these anti-gay campaign tactics are not going to save his campaign," said Jimmy Lasalvia, president of the Kentucky chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that favors gay rights. "It's just pathetic," he said of the attacks on Beshear.
Attack intensified
The attempt to link Beshear with gay-rights groups has intensified since the weekend, when the Republican Party of Kentucky made automated phone calls with singer Pat Boone warning that if Beshear is elected Kentucky could become "another San Francisco."
At one weekend event, Fletcher's running mate, Robbie Rudolph, called Beshear and his running mate Dan Mongiardo a "couple of San Francisco treats."
Fletcher, in an interview Saturday, said he didn't know what Rudolph meant by that remark.
The Rev. Jerry Stephenson, chairman of the Values Coalition U.S.A., said his organization was part of a group that aired a radio advertisement over the weekend and yesterday that pointed out C-FAIR's endorsement of Beshear.
The group, African Americans for Morality & Justice, was airing the ad on urban-format radio stations in Louisville and a conservative talk radio station. According to Greg Kramer, an advertising manager at WGTK radio in Louisville, conservative activist Frank Simon's name also appears on paperwork relating to the ad.
Stephenson said his group sponsored the radio ad because it doesn't believe government should establish what he considers special rights for people because they are gay. He also said conservatives believe they are under attack by gays.
"We live in the United States of America, and a person has a right to practice homosexuality if that's what they choose to do," he said. "The problem is the homosexual community is attacking our faith community."
Calls' source unknown
But Stephenson said his group wasn't responsible for automated phone calls made yesterday morning that drew attention to the endorsement.
The calls said in part, "Beshear is receiving major support from out-of-state gay activists and has publicly committed to same-gender relationships, employment of more homosexuals in state government, including teachers, and support for homosexual adoption of children." Those who got the calls said the word "unknown" flashed when they tried to check the originating telephone number on caller ID.
As of yesterday afternoon, it was unclear who was responsible or where the calls came from, a possible violation of state campaign finance law, which requires disclosure of who paid for them.
They were made in such a way that recipients might have been led to believe the Fairness Campaign was behind them. But a Fairness Campaign spokesman said his group didn't put out automated calls.
The Fletcher campaign and the state Republican Party both said they were not responsible for the calls.
The calls prompted some voters to call The Courier-Journal to complain about them.
Mike Grider said that what angered him the most was that his 5-year-old son answered the phone. "I had to tell him what a homosexual was," he said. "I don't have a problem with that but I didn't think he was ready for it … and to hear that from a political ad."
Anita Solomon of Louisville said she too was upset by the call, which she believes came from those backing Fletcher. "Obviously, it's a desperation tactic," she said. "It's appalling."
PBM
In a last-ditch effort to re-elect Gov. Ernie Fletcher, his supporters were focusing yesterday on Democrat Steve Beshear's endorsement from a gay-rights advocacy group.
As Beshear and Fletcher flew around the state looking for votes on the last full day of the campaign for governor, Fletcher's supporters were linking Beshear to the group C-FAIR, which said last week that it was backing Beshear.
By late in the day Beshear's campaign responded with automated phone calls telling people that he opposes gay marriage, that he comes from a family of Baptist preachers and that voters should not believe the "lies" Fletcher, a Republican, is spreading about him.
The attacks by the Fletcher campaign and his supporters were the latest reaction to the endorsement by C-FAIR, the political action committee of the Fairness Campaign, a gay-rights group based in Louisville. It said it endorsed Beshear because he would oppose discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state government and support recognition of same-gender relationships.
Beshear has said consistently that he believes marriage is the union of a man and a woman. But he said he opposes discrimination in any form.
"It's a foregone conclusion that Gov. Fletcher is going to lose decidedly tomorrow, and these anti-gay campaign tactics are not going to save his campaign," said Jimmy Lasalvia, president of the Kentucky chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that favors gay rights. "It's just pathetic," he said of the attacks on Beshear.
Attack intensified
The attempt to link Beshear with gay-rights groups has intensified since the weekend, when the Republican Party of Kentucky made automated phone calls with singer Pat Boone warning that if Beshear is elected Kentucky could become "another San Francisco."
At one weekend event, Fletcher's running mate, Robbie Rudolph, called Beshear and his running mate Dan Mongiardo a "couple of San Francisco treats."
Fletcher, in an interview Saturday, said he didn't know what Rudolph meant by that remark.
The Rev. Jerry Stephenson, chairman of the Values Coalition U.S.A., said his organization was part of a group that aired a radio advertisement over the weekend and yesterday that pointed out C-FAIR's endorsement of Beshear.
The group, African Americans for Morality & Justice, was airing the ad on urban-format radio stations in Louisville and a conservative talk radio station. According to Greg Kramer, an advertising manager at WGTK radio in Louisville, conservative activist Frank Simon's name also appears on paperwork relating to the ad.
Stephenson said his group sponsored the radio ad because it doesn't believe government should establish what he considers special rights for people because they are gay. He also said conservatives believe they are under attack by gays.
"We live in the United States of America, and a person has a right to practice homosexuality if that's what they choose to do," he said. "The problem is the homosexual community is attacking our faith community."
Calls' source unknown
But Stephenson said his group wasn't responsible for automated phone calls made yesterday morning that drew attention to the endorsement.
The calls said in part, "Beshear is receiving major support from out-of-state gay activists and has publicly committed to same-gender relationships, employment of more homosexuals in state government, including teachers, and support for homosexual adoption of children." Those who got the calls said the word "unknown" flashed when they tried to check the originating telephone number on caller ID.
As of yesterday afternoon, it was unclear who was responsible or where the calls came from, a possible violation of state campaign finance law, which requires disclosure of who paid for them.
They were made in such a way that recipients might have been led to believe the Fairness Campaign was behind them. But a Fairness Campaign spokesman said his group didn't put out automated calls.
The Fletcher campaign and the state Republican Party both said they were not responsible for the calls.
The calls prompted some voters to call The Courier-Journal to complain about them.
Mike Grider said that what angered him the most was that his 5-year-old son answered the phone. "I had to tell him what a homosexual was," he said. "I don't have a problem with that but I didn't think he was ready for it … and to hear that from a political ad."
Anita Solomon of Louisville said she too was upset by the call, which she believes came from those backing Fletcher. "Obviously, it's a desperation tactic," she said. "It's appalling."
PBM
"We paced ourselves and we didn't rush through it and we tried to be as creative as our collective minds would let us be over some course of time instead of just trying to rush through a record"
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Comments
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
if they support beshears, shouldn't it be known?
EV