In a scathing column in the Washington Post, conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin launched a full-throated attack on evangelical Christian pastor Franklin Graham for his homophobic comments about Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, saying Franklin’s brand of bigotry is fading fast.
According to the conservative, Graham elevated the profile of the South Bend, Indiana mayor — and in a good way for the Democrat.
“South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been rising in the polls and sweeping in fundraising dollars (from Hollywood, among other places), thanks to poised town hall and interview performances, an impressive intellect, his genial and calm demeanor, and his generational change message, which does seem to have resonance,” Rubin wrote. “He has also handled his sexual identity and marriage with such grace and dignity (at the recent Victory Fund gathering, for example) as to impress both straight and LGBTQ audiences.”
Rubin claims that Graham’s vile tweet attacking Buttigieg was an unintended boost to his campaign, coming as it was from an apologist for President Donald Trump’s myriad sins.
“As if Buttigieg had not gotten enough credit for his character, he caught a break: The hypocritical evangelical leader Franklin Graham, who has rationalized Trump’s infidelity and racism, ignored his lies, cheered his inhumane immigration policy and behaved as a political hack rather than a religious leader,” she wrote cutting right to the chase.
Using polling data, Rubin lectured Graham, telling him anti-gay bigotry no longer animates voters –with only evangelicals manning the trenches against the LGBTQ community.
“More than six in ten (62%) Americans say gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry legally, while only about half as many (30%) are opposed.” she reported. “That was a 10 percent increase in support for same-sex marriage from 2015 ‘when a smaller majority (53%) of Americans supported same-sex marriage, and almost four in ten (37%) opposed this policy. And they represent a 26-point increase from 2007, when over one in three (36%) Americans supported same-sex marriage, while a majority (55%) were opposed’.”
Rubin then dropped the hammer on Graham.
“Graham’s generation may be the last that condemns gay marriage. The PRRI report found that 53 percent of young white evangelical Protestants (ages 18 to 29) favor the legality of same-sex marriage, compared to just 25 percent of white evangelical seniors,” she wrote. “Nearly 6 in 10 young Republicans (ages 18 to 29) favor the legality of same-sex marriage, compared to only 28 percent of Republican seniors.”
She then added, “In sum, Buttigieg gets the benefit of being attacked by a right-winger whom progressives revile, gets to underscore a message of generational change and acceptance and gets to demonstrate what a class act he is. The other candidates must be wondering why some GOP hatemonger doesn’t attack them.”
You can read more here.
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