FRC President Tony Perkins
There's a charming little phrase, oft cross-stitched and hung on suburban kitchen walls, that goes, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."
"Mama" in this case is Tony Perkins, president of the anti-gay Family Research Council. Perkins has been throwing tantrums ever since the filibuster compromise was struck in the Senate last week.
The Republicans who brokered the filibuster deal are under particular fire, with the right-wing calling for their heads. Perkins called them "defectors" and "sellouts" and promised that "there will be repercussions."
Perkins was particularly irked with Sen. John McCain, who has repeatedly shown that you can survive politically without bowing to the conservative right's demands. On "Hardball," Perkins accused McCain of betraying Senate Majority Leader and right-wing boy-toy Bill Frist (TN) and "the conservatives that gave the Senate expanded majorities."
In other words, "We made you, we can unmake you."
Because the right-wing owns the Republican party, damn it. And not getting their way is making them absolutely crazy. Don't expect this to be the last you hear of the "nuclear option," folks.
There's another saying that comes to mind: when you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. Which is why it's important to examine the backgrounds of the right-wing leaders holding the reigns of the GOP. Folks like Perkins.
On April 26, in an article on The Nation's website, Max Blumenthal revealed that Perkins has not-so-subtle white supremacist ties.
"Four years ago, Perkins addressed the Louisiana chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), America's premier white supremacist organization, the successor to the White Citizens Councils, which battled integration in the South," Blumenthal wrote. "In 1996 Perkins paid former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke $82,500 for his mailing list. At the time, Perkins was the campaign manager for a right-wing Republican candidate for the US Senate in Louisiana. The Federal Election Commission fined the campaign Perkins ran $3,000 for attempting to hide the money paid to Duke."
Of course, this doesn't stop Perkins from trying to fuel his political objectives by standing beside black preachers and condemning gays and "gay marriage."
It's a brilliant scheme, really. Though it should be pointed out that it's not the so-called "homosexual agenda" that's eliminating funding for Head Start and incarcerating young black males at alarming rates while folks like Enron crook Ken Lay (that's "Kenny Boy" to George W.) walk free.
If you want to take a look at the right-wing base, it largely doesn't look like Detroit, and it largely isn't interested in Detroit's problems. I've a hunch "Mama's" boys look a lot more like the David Duke mailing list.
Why not cross-stitch Tony Perkins a message and send it to FRC's Michigan office: 11311 James Street; Holland, MI 49424. You can also call them at 1-800-225-4008.
