‘Cancer’ Of Anti-Gay Bigotry Leads Gay Republican Group Founder To Quit GOP
var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};Jimmy LaSalvia is not one for who speaks softly by padding or editing his words to make them sound nice.
In a 2011Â Twitter conversation with right-wing FBI informant Brandon Darby, LaSalvia tagged me and wrote, “the gay left is the most hateful intolerant group in the country,” adding, “it’s nothing new, just the way they are.”
Repeating his boilerplate language a few weeks later on NPR, LaSalvia said on “The Brian Lehrer Show,†that the “gay Left is, by far, the most intolerant toward us” — “us” being gay Republicans.
LaSalvia is the co-founder and former executive director of GOProud, a gay Tea Party Republican group that never really accomplished much — except throwing a few fundraisers (including one headlined by anti-gay conservative Ann Coulter, who had no problem then or now attacking and mocking LGBT people) and raising a ruckus every chance they got.
Tossing out verbal grenades was actually just common conversation for GOProud’s co-founders, at least in 2011. “The gay left = the American Taliban. Hateful, angry and dumb as shit,” tweeted GOProud co-founder Chris Barron in January 2011.
“More and more Republican candidates are understanding that” there’s a large conservative gay vote, LaSalvia claimed as well, adding, “and making their case to gay voters.”
But now that same-sex marriage is increasingly becoming the law of the land, LaSalvia is moving on — from the Republican party.
In a widely-discussed post this week on his own blog — “Jimmy LaSalvia | A Voice for the New Majority!,” LaSalvia writes:
Today, I joined the ranks of unaffiliated voters. I am every bit as conservative as I’ve always been, but I just can’t bring myself to carry the Republican label any longer. You see, I just don’t agree with the big-government ‘conservatives’ who run the party now.
But the real reason he is getting the attention he craves is that LaSalvia has finally come to realize what “the most hateful intolerant group in the country” — the “gay left” — has known all along.
The other reason I am leaving is the tolerance of bigotry in the GOP. The current leadership lacks the courage to stand up to it – I’m not sure they ever will.
After years rising through the ranks of the Log Cabin Republicans, LaSalvia quit, reportedly because the decades-old gay GOP group had drifted too far to the left.
And now he’s quitting the GOP altogether — but not without some self-congratulatory reflection.
“I have worked hard to help to create an atmosphere on the right where conservatives can openly support gay Americans and even support same-sex marriage,” LaSalvia continues in his blog post. “In that effort, we have won, but there is more work to do to root out the anti-gay and other forms of bigotry in the party.”
“In that effort, we have won”? Really?
(Barack Obama’s words during the 2012 debates come to mind: “Please, Governor, continue”…)
That’s the same claim of success Chris Barron voiced when he and LaSalvia “quit” daily operations at GOProud, after LaSalvia wrote on  Twitter, “I’ve just about had it with faggots who line their pockets with checks from anti-gay homophobes while throwing the rest of us under the bus.†He later deleted that tweet. Barron shortly thereafter clarified, tweeting, “Rick Perry’s pollster & strategist is a gay guy. Totally disgusting.â€
That outing of Perry’s pollster caused Andrew Breitbart to quit the board of GOProud.
Explaining their “resignations,” Barron at the time told Buzzfeed, “The reason why GOProud has been so successful is because we have brought new ideas and new energy to the arena. At some point, what was the outside-the-box thinking all of the sudden becomes the box, and so now, that’s the way that GOProud does things. It’s our box. It seems crazy to everyone else, but, for us, it’s like standard operating procedure. It’s time for someone else to come in and shake things up.”
Given the extent of anti-gay animus and outright hate on the Right — including from Republicans, Tea Party members, and conservatives in general — it’s hard to accept LaSalvia’s (or Barron’s) claims of being “successful” or having “won,” but perhaps winning is in the eye of the beholder.
GOProud did have one “win,” however.
In fact, it was one year ago this week that GOProud decided to throw in the towel and officially support same-sex marriage. That’s right, the LGBT organization did not officially support marriage equality until last January — after the 2012 election, in which they endorsed Mitt Romney.
Yes, despite Mitt Romney in 2012 supporting a federal marriage amendment to the Constitution that would define marriage as an institution between a man and a woman, despite Mitt Romney claiming that hospital visitation for gay couples are “benefits” and not rights, and despite Mitt Romney telling a group of LGBT parents, “I didn’t know you had families,” GOProud endorsed Mitt Romney. They even claimed Romney was “light years better†than Barack Obama.
Worse, GOProud even had said they would support Michele Bachmann, were she the party’s nominee.
In an exclusive interview with The Raw Story’s David Ferguson, published this morning, LaSalvia “likened being a gay man and ‘team player’ in the Republican Party to being the parent of a crack-addicted teen.”
“I’ve found myself in a situation where I’m beating my head against a wall,†said LaSalvia, “trying to help an organization that does not share my values. My values do not tolerate bigotry.â€
…“That’s the question,†he said, “whether they’re going to go the way of the Dixiecrats, whether they’re going to hold on to their bigotry to the bitter end. And I think they might.â€
“I liken what I did in leaving the party this week,†he said, “to tough love parenting. You try to help your drug-addicted child to the point where you just have to put your foot down and cut them off because they’ve got to hit bottom before they’re going to realize.â€
“I thought that they had hit bottom after the last election. And they even did treatment in the form of an autopsy report,†he said, “but they still haven’t given up their crack.â€
Talking about RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ now-infamous “GOP autopsy,” a report detailing where the Republican Party went wrong during the 2012 election cycle and what they need to do to win elections, LaSalvia told the Raw Story:
“To me, the autopsy kind of seems a year later like they’ve taken a terminally ill cancer patient in for a makeover,†he said. “She feels good, she looks great, but at the end of the day, the cancer’s going to kill her unless you cut it out of her.â€
Curiously, LaSalvia is responsible for bringing RNC Committeeman Dave Agema‘s latest, ugly, anti-gay attack to light.
Agema last year Agema had posted on his Facebook page a link to a website that labels gay people as “filthy,†claims the “median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65),†“Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered,†“25-33% of homosexuals and lesbians are alcoholics,†“50% of suicides can be attributed to homosexuals,†and “78% of homosexuals are affected by STDs.â€
Las week, Agema praised Vladimir Purtin’s anti-gay laws as “Common sense in Russia!”
LaSalvia didn’t mention that in his GOP resignation.
Meanwhile, will LaSalvia’s leaving the Republican Party make a difference?
Perhaps the answer is based on one question: Did LaSalvia make a difference when he was in the Republican Party?
Last March, LaSalvia spoke at the at the University of Pittsburgh:
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Â
Apparently, the answer, less than one year later, to “can you be gay and a conservative,” is, “no.”
Image via Jimmy LaSalvia’s Facebook page
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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”
“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.
Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.
“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).
The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.
A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.
“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.
“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”
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Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”
Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”
In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”
Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”
“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”
The original video is here.
See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.
Caution: the video is disturbing.
Ole Miss taking care of business. pic.twitter.com/JiL9hs2pHz
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) May 3, 2024
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Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.
While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.
But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.
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“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”
The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
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NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.
Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.
“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”
Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.
“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”
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“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.
“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”
One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.
But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”
Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”
Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.
“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.
“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”
Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.
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