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02/25/2010
Brian, Brown: Overheated MA org shows more proof of personal Scott bond
Before January's special election, we noted that Brian Camenker, head of SPLC-designated "hate group" MassResistance, claimed then-candidate Scott Brown (R-MA) as someone he had "known personally for several years":
(click to play audio clip)
*SOURCE: Faith 2 Action, 1/12/10
It was a point that made us understandably eyebrow-raised, considering the years of thoroughly inflammatory personal attacks that Camenker has waged upon the LGBT community. Brian is part of the fringe anti-equality band that actually seems to take great joy in their hurtful work. He's part of the Matt Barber/Linda Harvey/Peter LaBarbera/James Hartline contingent, the very same coalition that earns praise from folks like Scott "The Uganda bill is a 'step in the right direction'" Lively (whose Abiding Truth Ministries is also an SPLC "hate group" listee).
Well fast forward to this week. The now-senator Scott Brown/ still-extremist Brian Camenker connection is back in the spotlight, with the latter of the duo now bragging about a breakfast that local Brown devotess invited him to attend! The breakfast, according to MassResistance's own materials, was for Brown "to connect with representatives of his grassroots activist supporters," since "[t]he Brown people seem well aware who his base is, and he genuinely wants to stay connected with them." A "them" that apparently includes a group whose hostility has been so highly ratcheted, it's earned them a dubious distinction that's shared by only nine other anti-gay groups (one of whom is Westboro Baptist).
Our friend Kyle from Right Wing Watch has the photo and the rest of the story:
Sen. Scott Brown Dines With MassResistance [Right Wing Watch]
Do we think Brown is a MassResistance level foe of the 'mos? No. We have no evidence of that. And in fact, some on the far-right have even expressed concerns that Brown is a stealth progressive, citing his unwillingness to continue the challenge against Massachusetts' same-sex marriages as one reason.
But is this latest development a cause for concern? ABSO-FRICKIN'-LUTELY! Everyone in Massachusetts who pays attention to politics (esp. local lawmakers) know who Camenker is and what MassResistance is all about. MassResistance admits that even local Republicans typically want nothing to do with the group. Mitt Romney famously went so far as to denounce the group in a press release, referring to Camenker as a "conservative gadfly" who "pushes an extreme ideology." So the fact that Scott Brown, even after years in the Massachusetts political game and a personal friendship with Romney, is continuing to court this group and its leader? Well, we who value equality and/or denounce over-the-top attacks would be fools to not ask questions!
Your thoughts
He did break with the filibustering crowd yesterday on the jobs bill. While that is neither pro- or anti-hatemongerer, it is at least moderate. And, I suspect that a few more acts of moderat-iv-ism is going to show him exactly how much support he can expect from the hatemongering hate-groups. And, he may want to avoid them in the future, because they take 'scary' to a whole new level.
Posted by: Dick Mills | Feb 25, 2010 4:07:00 PM
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