From around the country, anti-gay haters are flocking to the campaign of Barry Loudermilk, a state senator who wants to replace another anti-gay Republican in a Congressional district that includes portions of metro Atlanta.
So much anti-gay, so little time.
Loudermilk is among a handful of candidates hoping to replace U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, who's leaving his 11th Congressional District seat to run for U.S. Senate. (That's an entirely different anti-gay race.) The anti-gays are tripping all over themselves to anoint Loudermilk the anti-gayist of them all in a district that includes pieces of Sandy Springs, Buckhead and Cobb County, as well as all of Bartow and Cherokee counties.
The Family Research Council endorsed Loudermilk on Thursday.
Tony Perkins, chairman of FRC Action PAC, offered the following statement:
These are challenging times. Our economy has been decimated. The culture has been challenged beyond all reasonable limits. The strong, conservative men and women elected in 2010 and 2012 need reinforcements. That is why we are endorsing Barry Loudermilk in his run to represent Georgia’s District 11.
PAC President Connie Mackey stated:
We are confident that Barry Loudermilk will be a strong advocate for limited government, for individual liberties and for traditional family values. I am pleased to offer our PAC’s endorsement.
And when we say haters, we mean certified. As in the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the FRC as an anti-gay hate group.
The Family Research Council (FRC) bills itself as “the leading voice for the family in our nation’s halls of power,” but its real specialty is defaming gays and lesbians. The FRC often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science. The intention is to denigrate LGBT people in its battles against same-sex marriage, hate crimes laws, anti-bullying programs and the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
SPLC also provides a handy rundown of the FRC's anti-gay rhetoric.
Sadly, the FRC isn't the only anti-gay character backing Loudermilk. Conservative historian David Barton, who claims AIDS is God's condemnation of homosexuality, threw his support behind Loudermilk in September. And then there's Erick Erickson.
Loudermilk faces a GOP primary next spring that includes former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, who helped craft the Defense of Marriage Act during his first Congressional stint. Then he opposed a portion of his own law as a Libertarian. Now, who knows.