NOM has an ABYSMAL NY Congressional race record -- so why are they bragging about it?

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07/26/2011

by Jeremy Hooper

In her appearance last night on the Christian Broadcast Network, National Organization For Marriage chair Maggie Gallagher once again gloated about gay-baiting a pro-equality Republican out of politics:

"Ask Dede Scozzafava whether it was a good idea that she voted for gay marriage. She's not a congressman [sic] from New York right now because she voted to pass gay marriage."

Okay, so about that: Yes, moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava dropped out of her 2010 race due to unrelenting pressure from conservative factions much louder than NOM. Screen Shot 2011-07-26 At 8.55.05 Am But in doing so, the anti-Scozzafava crowd gave the party nomination to very far-right conservative Doug Hoffman, who NOM proceeded to back to the tune of $112,730.00 (and with really gross, anti-gay mailers).

So what happened in the general? Well, Hoffman proceeded to lose to Democrat Bill Owens, marking the first time since the Civil War -- Since. the. Civil. War! -- that the NY-23 seat went Democratic. Rep. Owens then proceeded to vote to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, something Hoffman surely wouldn't have done. But even bigger than that, in terms of NOM and what their efforts mean to us/them: Owens has signed on as cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, the bill designed to repeal DOMA! The bill that NOM despises.

Then there's the NY congressional race of summer 2011. When Republican Chris "Craigslist" Lee's seat opened up, it came down to two candidates: Republican Jane Corwin (anti-marriage-equality) and Democrat Kathy Hochul (staunchly pro-equality). NOM backed Corwin, this time with close to $6,000 of their donor's funds. Corwin proceeded to court the NY anti-gay crowd, speaking at "protect marriage" events hosted by NOM's NY allies at the New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms.

But who won? Oh yeah, that's right: Democrat Kathy Hochul, yet another cosponsor of the NOM-loathed Respect For Marriage Act.

These are the only two NY congressional candidates NOM has supported in the past two years. So basically, this organization's recent legacy in terms of NY Congressional races amounts to flipping two seats in favor of the Democrats? Well umm, okay then -- thanks, I guess?!