Stand For Marriage Maine Cannot Come up With $25K?

by David Hart
MoneybagCombine the victim du jour with a desperate plea for "just $25,000 more in the next 48 hours" and that summarizes today's Stand for Marriage Maine email blast. Given the profligate spending of SFFM, $25,000 seems immaterial; a sum that National Organization for Marriage or the Portland Diocese could fork over with a salad fork. Come to think of it, neither Marc nor Maggie look like they eat many salads but I digress. My guess is that the last minute plea for the small sum is deliberately understated to encourage smaller donors who might feel that their 50 bucks is more consequential to the total requested.

The sad thing is that all these hard working folks have been conned into believing that marriage equality somehow affects them. In point of fact, marriage equality only has a direct effect on the gay couples who choose to wed and their children. Indirectly, gay marriage affects the diocese. Bishop Malone sees marriage equality as an official affirmation that homosexuality is acceptable. For their part, the National Organization for Marriage is just a business — a political consultancy incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. NOM's clients are right wing fundamentalist religious organizations. These include Opus Dei (with which NOM has a direct connection) and the various groups that make up the theocrtatic Dominionism movement across the United States.

The victim du jour is Don Mendell. I wrote about Mendell on Friday. Mr. Mendell is the school guidance counselor who has appeared in a Stand for Marriage Maine TV commercial and who wrote an inflammatory anti-gay letter to the Bangor Daily News. Therein, he indulged in the offensive meme that sexual orientation is really just a "behavior." He also put air to the dog whistle that gays are out to recruit and indoctrinate children. Some non-discerning readers process this as "gays are out to make my kid gay" or "queers molest children." The full inference is predicated upon the degrees of incuriousness and ignorance. It is the same tactic that has been used (often effectively) since the days of Anita Bryant and the contest in California over the Briggs Initiative (the 1978 enterprise that would have banned gays and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay rights, from working in California's public schools).

Mendell's views are at odds with his own professional organization, the American Counseling Association, as well as every other professional education organization. Mendell chooses to work in the public school system. His obvious and admitted homophobia does call into question his ability to be a guidance counselor. He does a disservice to straight kids. In the real world, they are going to have gay co-workers, bosses, subordinates, vendors and suppliers. If, through religious indoctrination, they become wed to the notion that homosexuality is a "behavior," then they are unprepared for what awaits them in college or the workplace. The notion that Mendell counsels gay kids (who he seems to consider perverts) is a very discomforting thought.

By the way, Mendell is already being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund. ADF turns victims into professional Christian victims. ADF is always on the troll for their next idiot who will profess that Christians are an oppressed minority. Undoubtedly, Mendell with appear in the next version of A Gathering Storm. He is probably having lunch with the Wirthlins next week.

To tie Mendell to the anti-marriage equality campaign, Mutty makes a tenuous connection:

We learned just yesterday that the person who filed the complaint against Mr. Mendell works for a school principal who happens to be the husband of the gay activist teacher who appeared in a No on Question 1 commercial!

The next step is to tie this to the homosexual agendaTM:

If this sort of thing can happen before homosexual marriage is even legalized, can you imagine what will happen once they have the law on their side? The message is unmistakable: It's fine to speak out if you support gay marriage, but if you speak out against it, they will punish you. It's just the latest example that if Question 1 fails and homosexual marriage is legalized, those in power in Maine schools will push it on students just as they are trying to punish one of Maine's best educators for supporting traditional marriage.

This, of course is hyperbolic, illogical and senseless noise. This has nothing to do with marriage. It is a consequence of Mendell's intolerant views of gay people.

This is all woven together to form an appeal for funds:

It is outrageous what is happening to Don Mendell. Voters need to hear about it, but we are out of money. We need to raise $25,000 right away so that we can buy more air time and inform voters about what is going on.

Ultimately, what this boils down to is; Gimme money so that we can make voters aware of a complaint filed against Mendell by a subordinate of someone who is married to a No On 1 supporter because Mendell has expressed views that are unprofessional and homophobic. This all probably makes perfect sense to Mutty. What a shock.