Newt Gingrich's Gay Fascism

by Michael Jones · 2009-03-25 12:07:00 UTC
Topics:

Newt

If only Newt Gingrich could have been a one-hit wonder.  Instead, the former Speaker of the House is stirring the pot with a potential 2012 bid for President, and the formation of a new group - Renewing American Leadership.  What is the goal of Renewing American Leadership?

To combat gay and secular fascism.

Much as we'd like to be kidding, here's Gingrich on Fox News:

[T]here is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it.

So in order to combat this gay fascism, Gingrich's new organization is looking to build and strengthen coalitions between economic conservatives and religious conservatives.  According to Bill Berkowitz over at Buzz Flash, Gingrich will be taking his new organization to an influential group of conservative pastors that were among the leaders of the Bush re-election campaign of 2004, and Gingrich is planning on releasing a film about the late Pope John Paul II's role in taking down the Soviet Union.

Gross.

But it gets even better.  Berkowitz reports that Gingrich has teamed up with the American Family Association (AFA) for a tax-day campaign to urge churches to come together on April 15 and call for less taxes.  The AFA has a huge history of homophobic attacks, most recently organizing protests of Pepsi and Campbell's Soup because of advertising those two companies produce for LGBT customers.  (The AFA also went after Pepsi for financially supporting organizations like Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.)

In all honesty, I find that there's not much "new" about Gingrich's new organization.  His 1994 Contract with America was an attempt to bring economic and religious conservatives together.  It worked then, but sequels are never better than their original.  And railing about "gay fascism" makes Newt sound like former Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, and we all know what her fate was this last go-around.

It's amazing that the GOP goes looking for its future, and finds Newt Gingrich and the American Family Association.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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