Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Christian Family Coalition's Attack on Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen. By Geniusofdespair

You have to hit on this press release to read it. It really should be read by every friggin' politican in Miami Dade County who goes to this group for an endorsement. You should be ashamed, Democrats and Republicans alike. This press release is a travesty.
Yeah, I really don't have much use for Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen but I would never call her corrupt like the Christian Family Coaltion did in this press release. Corrupt is a very harsh word. I never called Natacha Seijas corrupt, I don't even think I ever called David Rivera corrupt. Hell, this is a blog and if I am not using that word I'm damn sure that a group that calls itself 'Christian' should NOT be calling a Congresswoman corrupt. Lets look at the meaning: Having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money.

Why is the Christian Family Coalition calling the Congresswoman corrupt? Because of a vote Ileana Ros-Lehtinen cast that they didn't like. If I used the same barometer, every single politician whoever served anywhere in Miami Dade County would be corrupt, including Katy Sorenson. Katy cast a few votes I didn't like.  I am just not that extreme.
 
There are always going to be some votes I won't like that is life. Granted the Christian Family Coalition are pretty much a two trick pony, their issues are Anti-gay and Anti-choice and their mouth piece is Anthony Verdugo (If he disappeared so would the group). I do recognize that with only 2 issues, the group would put great importance on a vote they didn't like. But there is a way to phrase displeasure that is not hateful and vengeful.  Especially if you want to act like a real Christian.

I,  of course, am following a lot more issues. Some votes I get madder at than others. I just put the politician on my shit list. But I still don't call them corrupt.

Frankly, I am shocked that any politician or judge would want to be endorsed by a group that releases threatening, nasty press releases against fellow politicians and sitting judges. Be strong public figures: stand firm and boycott this group when they reach out to you. You owe it to U.S. Congresswoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen and to County Commissioner Dennis Moss. I wrote about the CFC's nasty press release on Dennis Moss on Saturday.   Also, do it for the judges. In a Press Release from the CFC dated 9/22/2010 (in response to the 3rd DCA opinion upholding Judge Lederman in the Gil adoption case) Anthony Verdugo said:
"Corrupt Appeals Judges VIOLATE Oath of Office, Irrationally Attack Law Protectng Children! Florida Voters: Lawless Judges Must Be Impeached!"
Whoa! I implore every reader to send an email or call their county commissioner, their city officials and their State officials: Tell them "Don't go for a Christian Family Coalition endorsement." If a politician comes to your door, ask them if they have the CFC endorsement or if they have gone to a Christian Family Coalition meeting to speak. If they have, say thank you and close the door.

There is a way to behave and even I behave better than this...hard to believe. Read the damn press release! and hit on the link.

To see an older list from 2010 who supported/was supported by the CFC, hit read more:

Below is a list of our Host Committee members, Special Commemorative Ads and the candidates who spoke in 2010:

The Honorable Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Peter Adrien
Airboat USA
American Care
Carla Ascencio-Savola, Candidate, State Representative District 115
Eddy Barea, Candidate, Miami-Dade School Board, District 7
Phillip J. Brutus, Candidate, U.S. Congress, District 17
Paul Crespo, Candidate, U.S. Congress, District 25
Cummings-Grayson Co. P.A.
Carlos Curbelo, Candidate, Miami-Dade School Board, District 7
David R. Custin & Associates, Inc.
Jose Felix Diaz, Candidate, State Representative District 115
E-Z Paint, Inc.
Karen Harrington, Candidate, U.S. Congress, District 20
Robert Kuntz, Candidate, Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Group 52
Robert M. Levy & Associates, Inc.
Manny’s Formal Wear
Carlos Manrique, Candidate, State Representative, District 116
Miami Baptist Church
Jeanette Nunez, Candidate, State Representative, District 112
The Honorable Perla Tabares-Hantman, Member,
Miami-Dade School Board, District 4
ParentalRights.org
Punancy & Cosentino
Tauler Law Firm
Carlos Trujillo, Candidate, State Representative, District 116



Special Commemorative Ads:
Frank Artiles, Candidate, State Representative, District 119
Michael Bileca, Candidate, State Representative, District 117
Daphne Campbell, Candidate, State Representative, District 108
The Honorable City of Miami Commissioner Richard P. Dunn, II
The Honorable State Representative Eduardo “Eddy” Gonzalez, District 102
Monica Gordo, Candidate, Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Group 52
Ana Rivas Logan, Candidate, State Representative, District 114
Morgan J. McPherson, Candidate, State Representative, District 120

Candidates who spoke:

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES:
Philip J. Brutus - District 17
Karen Harrington - District 20
Paul Crespo - District 25

STATE HOUSE CANDIDATES:
Daphne Campbell - District 108
Jeanette Nunez - District 112
Jose Felix Diaz - District 115

Carla-Ascencio Savola - District 115
Carlos Manrique - District 116
Carlos Trujillo - District 116
Ralph Rosado - District 117
Charles "Charlie" Lopez - District 118

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD:
Manny Diaz, Jr. - District 4
Perla Tabares Hantman - District 4

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD:
Eddy Barea - District 7
Carlos L. Curbelo -District 7

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSION:
Lynda G Bell - District 8
A.E. "Albert" Harum-Alvarez - District 8

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSION:
Javier D. Souto - District 10

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSION:
Jose "Pepi" Diaz - District 12

MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT:
Peter Adrien - Group 45
Samantha Ruiz Cohen - Group 45

MIAMI-DADE CIRCUIT COURT:
Monica Gordo - Group 62
Robert Kuntz - Group 62

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT:
Manuel "Manny" Alvarez - Group 7
Edward Newman - Group 7

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT:
Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson- Group 11
Flora Seff - Group 11


ON CFC WEBSITE PHOTOS

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

..you DO know that her daughter is gay and has been out of the closet for years.

Geniusofdespair said...

Yes I know she has a gay child. But that has nothing to do with the press release being hateful and nasty. It might have been a contributing factor to Iliana's vote but the CFC venom was not deserved.

Anonymous said...

http://www.cfcoalition.com/full_article.php?article_no=141

All these people are on the list. Not gonna vote for Ralph Rosado for City commissioner unless he posts his reasoning for being there in 2010. Boycott needs to begin this election cycle!

Geniusofdespair said...

You bet. Bad enough they go there, the funders are even worse. The judges ESPECIALLY should be ashamed to be funding with ads.

Remember this post is not about a politician's agreement with the positions of the CFC. They can agree if they want. It is about the way the CFC conducts itself towards the politicians who DISAGREE with them. No one should accept these horrible press releases as a normal way to communicate. Going there shows you don't care about CFC's behavior.

Be careful politicians, you might be a future target.

Anonymous said...

The CFC has finally shown to the citizens its stand against the people of this community. Politicians that are depending and fraternizing with this organization we need to know. Dennis and Ileana I am proud of you for speaking out on this issue. However, many of us change our minds we have friends and family members we love and care about and it really manners that we support them and LOVE them unconditionally.

Anonymous said...

I don't particularly care for Ileana's policies on most issues but I'm proud that she took a stand on this.
I feel bad that the CFC is talking about her like this.
Any politician who is on this list may get money form them, but they won't get a vote from me.

Anonymous said...

Although she does not vote on every issue as I would prefer, I have always felt she was a more moderate republican and did what she thought was best for her constituents rather than following the extreme side of the party line. I say good for her and shame on them.

Anonymous said...

The man needs anger management classes. At the very least he needs someone else to write the CFC press releases. They are an embarrassment.

Maria said...

I do think it is incredible that our public servants give such an angry group credibility by going there for approval. I have to think that the congresswoman will be boycotting. I hope everyone has the bravery to join her.

Anonymous said...

Javier Souto requested that 5 minute citizen presentation in front of the commission for Verdugo.

Anonymous said...

I agree . Rosado just lost my vote, and I will check on both Regaldo and Suarez to see there'd past associations with his group.

Anonymous said...

Do a background check on a couple of Verdugo's sidekicks in the CFC. Real good people.

Anonymous said...

It is too bad that it has to get personal before Republicans see the light on an issue. Iliana being one example and Nancy Regan on stem cell research. Too bad they can't the issues before someone in the family affected. Late is better than never.

Geniusofdespair said...

Excerpts:

For some, equality is an offensive idea
October 30, 2011|Gary Stein, Sun Sentinel Columnist

It is hardly unusual for a columnist to get accused of offending people. But I may be talking about a world record here.

There have been folks in the past who claimed I offended them. Folks like gun owners and pit bull owners and condo commandos. As they say, they can't handle the truth.
--Cut--
But now I am being accused of being a serial offender, the likes of which the world probably hasn't seen. I could wind up in the Guinness Book of World Records.

All because the Christian Family Coalition took umbrage with a column I wrote, after the group chastised Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, for co-sponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act.

Ros-Lehtinen needs no help from me, but I thought it was a fine move by her to basically say the federal government shouldn't deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.

And I didn't like that the Chrisitian Family Coalition took off against Ros-Lehtinen with language that might have made potty-mouth Allen West cringe.

They said Ros-Lehtinen "has lied to and misled her own constitutents," kowtowed to "the extremist agenda," accused her of being an "arrogant, anti-family, homosexualist extremist," and a "public servant tragically gone astray." I guess they don't like her.

And they don't like me, because I criticized their group.

In a missive on their website with the headline "Sun Sentinel Columnist Offends Floridians Who Voted to Respect Marriage," the group says I wrote an "inordinately vicious, hate-filled article."

They add, "Mr. Stein's article spews enough hate and vile to shock even the most battle scarred among us." Yes, saying gays deserve equality is spewing hate and vile, according to some.


They also said — this is where the Guinness people have to be alerted — I offended the 4,890,883 Floridians who voted "to protect and respect the institution of marriage as it has existed from day one."

Amazing. If I offended every single person in Buffalo, I would have only offended 261,310 people. But now I have supposedly offended almost five million Floridians who supported the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law in 1996.

To which I say, get over yourself.

The world has changed plenty since 1996. Five states, as well as the District of Columbia, have now legalized same-sex marriage. We now allow gays in the military. Florida has come somewhat out of the Dark Ages by finally allowing gays and lesbians to adopt.

Fairness and equal rights is a movement that is heading to your neighborhood, whether you like it or not. And despite the overwrought language from the Christian Family Coalition, no, I will not apologize for defending equality. No apology is necessary.

And the group asked me to show civility, as if they showed it with their rhetoric against Ros-Lehtinen.

Anyway, as offended as the Christian Family Coalition claims to be, they put in a plug for donations and contributions at the end of their screed ripping me. They might feel terribly offended, but if they can make a buck off it, hey, why not?

Gary Stein can be reached at gstein@sunsentinel.com, or954-356-4616.

Anonymous said...

Don't be hatin on my IRL. She's fabulous. Screw CFC. They have stepped in it.

The Jolly Antichrist said...

Verdugo is the biggest closet case in town.