AFA still attacking Ellen, still showing ugly 'culture war' truth

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02/03/2012

by Jeremy Hooper

The anti-LGBT far-right is of course known for nasty attacks that make mountains out of 'mo heals. But with the latest war against J.C. Penney for doing nothing more than hiring beloved talk show host and Disney fish Ellen Degeneres as a spokesperson, the American Family Association has overplayed its hand in a particularly tone deaf way. And the more AFA staffers like One Million Moms project director Monica Cole continue to dig in on this one, the more opportunities they give us to show just how over-reaching and mean-spirited they are willing to go:

"Yes, DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store," says Cole. "And they're going to be gaining a very small percentage of liberal customers. This will not satisfy or offset their loss in sales. They will be losing more than they'll be gaining."

In hiring a lesbian to sell the public on the idea of shopping at J.C. Penney, the company is making the mistake of turning its back on its base of customers, says Cole.

"[We're] asking J.C. Penney to hire a spokesperson who's more representative of the type of the customers that shop in their stores, such as traditional families," she concludes.
Family group challenges retailer's use of lesbian icon [AFA's ONN]

We are talking about someone who has been a spokesperson for Cover Girl, American Express, and a number of other products. Her successful talk show is considered vanilla, middle America fare. Heck, she was a judge on the red-state-beloved "American Idol," for Seacrest's sake! And yet now, out of either boredom or some sort of personal vendetta against initialized retailers, the AFA has decided to hone in on this, just another mere business contract between entertainer and corporate America? As I said: Tone deaf.

What this shows, here in a year where we are filled with supposed "protect marriage" efforts and GOP candidates who preach the same, is that the organized opposition that propagates these political campaigns against us really doesn't want to stop at just our wedding cakes. They are gunning for our opportunities. Our benign roles within the American fabric. Our ability to do whatever it is we do to earn for both ourselves and our families. In short: They are going after our existences themselves.

It's pretty damn scary, if you dwell. So let's not. For now, let's do what Ellen does: Dance it all away.