Frankly, we’re surprised to learn that the National Organization for Marriage even has $117,000 left to throw away on anything. But the facts are these: NOM just gave a huge chunk of cash to support the election of Thom Tillis, a bigot from North Carolina.
Tillis was largely responsible for NC’s now-overturned marriage ban. He’s currently a member of the state House of Representatives, and he’s running for Senate. (The election’s on Tuesday! Tell your friends in NC to vote, and remind them that Kay Hagan supports the freedom to marry!)
Why are we so sure that this money is a waste? Well, even if Tillis wins his election, NOM still doesn’t get anything out of it. Oh sure, their friend gets to hang onto power; and they’ll have defeated a nice lady who believes that gays should be treated equally. But they still won’t be able to stop marriage.
Look, NOM, North Carolina’s marriage ban is gone. For good. It’s over. It’s unconstitutional, the Attorney General hasn’t been willing to defend it since this summer, and no one is going to be able to halt the weddings now that they’ve started. You’re not going to be able to pull a Prop 8 here, since federal courts have already determined that banning marriage for gays is unconstitutional.
How about we take this to the next level?
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We’re used to NOM wasting money on long-shot court cases that they can’t possibly win, like in Oregon. But there’s something particularly pathetic about them wasting money in states where they’ve conclusively lost.
Of course, it’s their money, so they’re free to waste it however they want. We just wouldn’t want to have to explain any of this to their donors.
Cam
My question is why are they still allowed to function and donate when they have violated multiple court orders about their financing and donors?
Virge
There’s bound to be a really Great bullshit filled story behind this.
bjohnmasters
I suspect Brian’s seen the writing on the wall as concerns the right to marry fight. But, he’s still got a big family and ego to feed, so now he wants to become a big political player. He’s going to throw around money to some pols he hopes will win (and even if they don’t, other rethugs could come crawling to Brian for money next election), and he’ll continue to fund raise on the whole “religious liberty” argument, claiming NOM and its contributors need to elect officials who will pass laws making it legal for Christians to refuse service…blah blah blah. You know, the whole “protecting religious freedom” thing.
hyhybt
Of the few people I know in North Carolina, most would be on NOM’s side. I’d never try to deprive them of their *right* to vote, but if they forget or don’t feel like it I’m certainly not going to push them.
Mack
Unfortunately it’s not over. With Republicans in the State Houses they will pass laws where people do not have to marry Gays. Until the Supreme Court rules that LGBT are a protected class we’re still just as vulnerable as we always were. If there is a way to stop the marriages, they’re going to try it.
aliengod
I’m very much in support of NOM on their spending. I hope they waste every penny they have until there’s nothing left. Then maybe we won’t have to hear from them any longer.
rand503
Another possibility is simple money laundering. There are laws about campaign contributions, and one way around it would be to make a big fat donation to NOM for, say $200,000 and then get a nice tax deduction, NOM in turns donates $177,000 to a political campaign, but everyone knows where the money really came from. NOM keeps 25,000 or so for its troubles. Everyone is happy.
mcflyer54
Believe me, if Tillis wins NOM will be dancing in the streets declaring this as “THEIR” victory (hollow as it might actually be). A Tillis victory will be used in donation letter claiming NOMs ability to elect candidates who support “traditional” marriage. But we all know that this is all about how much money NOM can scam from their supporters. The fact that the ruling on marriage equality in NC has already come down won’t stop NOM from lying about their powerful political clout and how they still have a chance to reserve the course of “gay” marriage regardless of these legal and binding rulings.
mcflyer54
@aliengod: I’ve yet to figure out how an organization that finished 2013 with a debt of over $2,000,000 has $170,000 to throw at a political campaign. Seems like someone should be taking a very serious look at NOM’s financial records.
1EqualityUSA
A Democrat needs to appoint our next Supreme Court Justice or we are screwed sideways. If the Tedious Right has a majority, appointments will be a nightmare. Gerrymandering, cheating, voter I.D. laws, moving voting places far away from campuses, Citizens United, gutting the Voting Rights Act, Hobby Lobby, eight hour waiting lines for blacks to vote, endless lawsuits that repurpose our money, and Union bashing are bleeding us dry. The Catholic-5 and Republicans manipulate this country as they wish and we let it happen. NOM is a mosquito, but if they are all cheating collectively, it is just one more sucking vector. Where’s the uproar? Lambs to the slaughter? The Supreme Court is powerful.
GayEGO
Well NOM is still losing and LGBTQI is gaining. I believe the group’s initials NOM stands for Narcistic-OxyMorons.