Wed. April 4, 2012
By Waymon Hudson
(Image/CNN: Maggie Gallagher, the former president and co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, was the face of NOM when the controversial internal memos were circulated)
As discussion of NOM's divisive strategy spreads further, it appears that the organization may actually have the exact opposite effect on the public discourse around equality as their plan intended-- they are bringing communities together in solidarity against bigotry. By having their wedge-based plan exposed for all to see, and in such stark terms, NOM has stirred a sense of commonality among the very minority groups they sought to divide. Being demonized for crass political expediency, it turns out, is something that many groups can relate to.
"This memo only reveals the limits of a cynical agenda," NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous said of the memos. "The truth is that no group, no matter how well-funded, can drive an artificial wedge between our communities. People of color understand what it is like to be the target of discrimination. No public relations strategy will make us forget that."
Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition, also blasted NOM, saying, "These documents expose NOM for what it really is—a hate group determined to use African American faith leaders as pawns to push their damaging agenda and as mouthpieces to amplify that hatred."
NOM's exposed strategy has had the effect of forever linking them, and the entire anti-equality movement, to blatant bigotry. Eric Rodriguez, Vice President of Policy for the National Council of La Raza laid out the galvanizing effect of the NOM scandal:
"Even by Washington standards, the National Organization for Marriage's unmasked strategy to drive a wedge between Blacks and Latinos and the LGBT community is stunningly cynical... Fortunately, this truly offensive idea has completely backfired. The documents reveal an organization rife with bigotry, willing to do anything to advance intolerance in our society. If anyone wondered if Black, LGBT, and Latino leaders have woken up to realize that we have common enemies that seek to divide us, these revelations and reactions from civil rights leaders this week show that we have and are ready to work together to defeat those enemies."
Yet the ripple effect, and the long term consequences of having documented proof of NOM's race-baiting and bigoted goals, still isn't over. In fact, the ever-growing NOM scandal has begun to drag down political figures that support them as well.
The pressure to distance the GOP from NOM is even coming from within the party faithful itself. Head of the Log Cabin Republicans R. Clarke Cooper blasted the organization in a recent article the Washington Times, saying, "Putting aside NOM's callous disregard for LGBT families, my party, the Republican party, cannot afford to be associated with an organization that arrogantly seeks to manipulate African American and Latino voters... Crude identity politics has no place in today's conservative movement."
The fallout from NOM's internal memo's is far from over. Poll after poll shows that Americans' views on LGBT people and their relationships are rapidly evolving, with the majority now support full marriage equality. Having the cynical and divisive plan of a major player in the anti-equality game like NOM spotlighted helps in every fight we have as we push for progress even beyond marriage equality-- from bullying protection to employment anti-discrimination laws. Having the anti-equality movement crippled by their own words only moves us faster towards full equality as organizations like NOM delegitimize their own cause and strengthen the resolve of fair-minded Americans disgusted by such divisive and bigoted tactics.
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