This is that post-election development where Ken Hutcherson accuses NOM of racism

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11/17/2012

by Jeremy Hooper

A few days ago, I wrote a piece in which I asked of groups like the National Organization For Marriage: "Is the 'protect marriage' movement embarrassed of its most dedicated?" I didn't realize how prescient of a question that really was.

The man who led me to pose that query, Washington pastor Ken Hutcherson, is now speaking out to the Christian Post—and this dude's even more pissed than I initially realized! Not only is Hutcherson noting that obvious (i.e. that he was pushed out because he's too open about not caring for LGBT people) but the longtime Washington state activist is also accusing NOM—which, might I remind you, is an organization without a person of color in any leadership position that has directly vowed to divide blacks and gays—of naked racism. Here's a snip:

Now Hutcherson is throwing criticism back on others such as the National Organization for Marriage and Focus on the Family for not being as inclusive and lying down on the fight to protect marriage.

"Initially we had a strong group of people fighting for marriage in Washington [State]. We were unified and it looked like beating our opponents was going to be a cakewalk," Hutcherson told The Christian Post a few days after the election.

"Then these national organizations came into the state and said I was too 'controversial,' and that I should take a back seat. They just waltzed in and stabbed us in the back by first caving in on domestic partnerships and then on marriage. And I lay some of the blame on our legislators for taking their 30 pieces of silver and backing away from the fight. I blame the large churches who were afraid to preach the Bible."

Hutcherson's comments went even further, going as far as to accuse some of the outside leadership of racism, and felt they were excluding him because he was African-American.

"When I knew my involvement was going to generate controversy, I offered to step back and suggested others who were on the front lines do so as well for the sake of unity. They refused, leaving me as the odd man out. If you look at them, they were all the same color with the same moderate views. It just didn't make sense why they would not include a person of color who was willing to fight."

"I believe there are conservatives of all colors, but the leadership from NOM, Focus and Mission Public Affairs, wanted to run being a moderate campaign where everyone felt warm and fuzzy. But we know that sin is never satisfied and always wants more. These guys just looked and acted too much like the GOP – old and white."
FULL (with denials from Brian Brown): Gay Marriage Efforts Gain Steam While Opponents Deal With Internal Conflict [Christian Post]

It's a fascinating development! Hutcherson has been the most active and most public person in Washington's "culture war" for a number of years now. And he's not all that "fringe," either. The man officiated Rush Limbaugh's latest wedding, for Pete's sake! In the conservative world, that's pretty close to godliness—no?

But once again, we saw NOM astroturf four states with its own organizational arrogance. That's nothing new. They've done it in every other state they've hijacked. That was the focus of my last piece—NOM and Frank Schubert's obvious fear of actual locals being too loose-lipped.

But now, for someone on their "own team" to come out with charges of racism, here at the end of a year when we all learned of NOM's racially divisive games and where noted civil right activists like Julian Bond were forced to publicly rebuke this organization's "scary" and "cynical" game-playing? Well, it's definitely a "dangerous and reckless" development, which is what Brian Brown calls it in this Christian Post piece. I'm just not so sure Brian understands who, exactly, is being wrecked or endangered by the never-ending NOM nastiness.

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