Obama and Homosexual Marriage

Last week, I told you about the odds we face in the four battleground states—outspent, scorned in the media, with gay marriage advocates confidently predicting victory.

But thanks to millions of Americans who've sacrificed their time and treasure to stand up for God's visions of marriage, pro-marriage messages are finally getting out: through churches and synagogues, through personal conversations, through social media, through letters to the editor—and through the ads crafted by NOM's own brilliant Frank Schubert. Now I'm here to tell you...

Our Ads Are Working!

Remember last week that I told you about the sudden turnaround in polling in Washington. Polls had gay marriage winning by as much as fourteen points, but after just one week of television ads the polls suddenly tightened, showing us within the margin of error and gay marriage advocates under 50 percent!

This week, more good news: in Maryland, the miracle continues!

Don't take my word for it, here's how the never-friendly MSMLos Angeles Times reported the breaking news:

Maryland, which just a month ago appeared poised to become the first state in the country to back gay marriage by popular vote, is now reported to be deadlocked on the issue, in part because of a drop in support from religious blacks.

Only a few weeks ago, polls were suggesting that Marylanders were leaning toward supporting gay marriage, but as November approached, the numbers tightened.

The change appears to be partly driven by black pastors in Maryland urging their congregations to vote against the measure.

A late September Baltimore Sun poll showed gay marriage ahead by ten percentage points, and had African-Americans supporting the idea 2 to 1.

Since then, voters in Maryland have been exposed to a media blitz, with both sides airing TV ads in an effort to swing undecided voters their way. The latest polling for the Sun, conducted Oct. 20-23 by the Annapolis, Md., firm OpinionWorks, now shows 50% of black voters against same-sex marriage, with 42% supporting the idea.

Funny—even though the LA Times can't help but report the swing, it really doesn't tell you how good the news is by focusing on just the black vote. So, let me put it simply:

Just a few weeks ago, the Baltimore Sun had gay marriage leading by ten points (49 percent to 39 percent); and now opposition to gay marriage has closed that gap to lead by one percentage point. Amazing!

The LA Times goes on to point to our secret weapon for marriage:

There is one man who gives supporters good reason to worry. Frank Schubert, the political strategist who helped engineer the defeat of same-sex marriage measures in California in 2008, Maine in 2009 and North Carolina in 2012, is leading the charge in Maryland as well.

"32-0 is a pretty good record," Schubert said, referring to the 32 states that have defeated ballot measures to legalize same-sex marriage. He also criticized what he calls "a concerted effort to convince black voters that as Democrats they should support Question 6" on the Maryland ballot out of loyalty to the party."

You and I know that something as fundamental and as sacred as marriage should not be reduced to partisan politics.

But do you want to know what's even worse? When partisan politicians try to get between a pastor and his people!

SSM Bullies Striking the Shepherd to Scatter the Flock

Amazingly, this is exactly what's happening in Maryland right now. Pro-gay marriage donors are mostly white and mostly socially liberal—some of them Republicans (like Ken Mehlman and Paul Singer); some of them incredibly rich (like New York City's Mayor Bloomberg); some of them incredibly Hollywood (like Brad Pitt, who just dissed his pro-marriage mom by donating $100,000 to push gay marriage). And these are the types that are now spending tons of money to run a radio ad urging black Christians toignore their pastors—and using President Obama's voice to persuade them.

Spending white people's money to urge black Christians to ignore their pastors, and to put their faith in princes instead!

The Black Church has always been the conscience, not just of African-Americans, but of all Americans. Listen, then, to the incredibly offensive tactic used in this ad and tell me: doesn't it make your blood boil?

2012: The Marriage Election

Meanwhile, gay marriage activists are trying to attack Mitt Romney by circulating this video of him from 2004, saying he stood up against an effort to take "mom and dad" off Massachusetts birth certificates, affirming every child deserves a mom and dad if possible.

The miracles unfolding for marriage may well end up boosting Governor Romney in this election, just as we saw President Obama's pro-gay marriage position cost him support in North Carolina.

Take Minnesota.

No Republican candidate for President has won Minnesota since Richard Nixon's 49-state landslide against George McGovern in 1972.

And yet, a startling new Star Tribune poll released Sunday shows Mitt Romney in a statistical dead heat with President Obama—with the president under 50 percent!

National Review's Robert Costa notes that the marriage amendment battle in Minnesota is likely one reason for the momentum.

Democrats are nervous. For months, their electoral calculus has categorized Minnesota as reliably blue. This week, the Washington Post and ABC News reclassified it from "safely" Democrat to "lean Obama." To stanch the bleeding, Democrats are spending more, and sending in former president Bill Clinton, who will stump near the Twin Cities.

Obama adviser Jim Messina is pushing back; he told reporters on Monday that the idea Romney could win Minnesota is "wishful thinking." But Republicans' rising expectations are grounded in more than poll numbers. As Hot Air's Ed Morrissey reports, there are "two key referendums on the ballot," and they are dominating the debate and stoking participation.

One measure would amend the state constitution to require photo identification for voting, and the other would constitutionally define marriage as between a man and a woman. Outside groups on both sides have poured in money. These referendums, more than Republican Kurt Bills's underfunded challenge to Senator Amy Klobuchar, have Republicans enthused [emphases added].

Our own Frank Schubert just published a Halloween op-ed in The Hill urging Team Romney to capitalize on this momentum: "In the final stretch, social issues can help Romney," he writes. "With polls showing the presidential race to be dead even, Mitt Romney would do well to remind voters in key swing states of his position on social issues like marriage, life and religious liberty. They could tip the scale in this election."

[Of course, I know many of our fellow marriage champions in state battles will vote for Pres. Obama while voting against gay marriage. I want to say welcome and thank you! Marriage transcends partisan politics (or should!) and brings together an amazing coalition of people of all races, creeds, and even political parties to defend ultimate values.]

But here's the point Frank is making that I want to underline: Republicans should recognize that standing up for traditional values is an electoral asset, not a problem, an opportunity we can't afford to let slip!

As Frank puts it: "The Karl Rove wing of the GOP and the Republican elite have succeeded in keeping social issues off the table in this general election, deeming them to be ‘divisive.' They've understandably focused their campaign on the Obama record, especially as it relates to the economy. But Obama also has a record on social issues, and that record puts him at odds with a large majority of voters in key swing states. Unfortunately, voters in those states haven't heard much about the Obama record on marriage, life and religious liberty."

Other Major Voices Speaking Up On Marriage

Syndicated radio host Dennis Prager is a marriage champion, part of the amazing coalition across creeds for marriage. When Maggie Gallagher went on his show, he asked that she would make sure NOM passed along to you the chance to read his new column on marriage.

Let me tell you a little about Dennis. He's one smart dude, fluent in Russian and Hebrew; he has taught at Brooklyn College, was a Fellow at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, and worked as a media fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

In his recent piece on marriage, he writes eloquently about what history teaches us on marriage:

The history of left-wing policies has largely consisted of doing what feels good and compassionate without asking what the long-term consequences will be; what Professor Thomas Sowell calls "Stage One Thinking." […]

By redefining marriage to include same sex couples we are playing with sexual and societal fire. Just as the entitlement state passes on the cost of our good intentions to our children and grandchildren… so, too, same-sex marriage will pass along the consequences of our good intentions to our children and grandchildren—gender confusion and the loss of motherhood and fatherhood as values, just to cite two obvious consequences.

It is not enough to mean well in life. One must also do well. And the two are frequently not the same thing.

Let me close by sharing another miraculous blessing: The great Rev. Billy Graham is still with us, and his voice—one of America's great moral voices—is ringing still, and most recently ringing with God's truth about marriage!

Dr. Graham, America's pastor, this week endorsed Mitt Romney for President, and urged Americans to vote for Biblical values in November:

On November 6, the day before my 94th birthday, our nation will hold one of the most critical elections in my lifetime. We are at a crossroads and there are profound moral issues at stake. I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and woman, protect the sanctity of life, and defend our religious freedoms. The Bible speaks clearly on these crucial issues. Please join me in praying for America, that we will turn our hearts back toward God.

He is offering bulletin inserts to take this message to churches here.

But Rev. Graham didn't stop with that. This week, he endorsed the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, too:

I pray that the good people of Minnesota will show their support for God's definition of marriage, between a man and a woman. I wholeheartedly endorse the Marriage Protection Amendment, and urge you to vote Yes to pass Amendment 1.

Billy Graham has never been a political preacher. By stepping forward now, he is underlining the serious and sacred nature of the battle we are fighting.

I just want to say thank you, Rev. Graham—and thank God for your blessed 90-year witness to kindness and to courage!

So many good people of all races, all creeds, all colors and all political parties will be inspired by your witness to once against stand up for God's truth for marriage.

We Need Your Help In These Final Days!

NOM is putting everything we have into these victories.

Of course, as always, I want to acknowledge and all the good organizations out there fighting for marriage. Marriage is too great to be fought by only one person or one organization.

But take a look at these news stories, and you'll see just how deeply NOM is involved in these fights, how much we are putting in to winning these victories for marriage, to being your voice for God's values.

In Iowa, where a fourth pro-gay marriage judge is now facing the voters three years after he ruled to impose gay marriage on the state, this World-Herald story lists the many groups working to oust David Wiggins: Citizen Link, Rick Santorum's new Patriot Voices, CatholicVote.org are all helping The Family Leader fight in this cause. But the same article also notes that, of the $248,000 spent in the campaign to date, "[NOM] has spent about $140,000, most of it on television ads advocating Wiggins' ouster."

In Maine, according to the Oct. 30 Morning Sentinel:

Opponents of same-sex marriage raised nearly $950,000 in October, a major push toward the end of the campaign as voters get ready to head to the polls Nov. 6.

The bulk of the money came from the National Organization for Marriage, which donated $800,000, and the Knights of Columbus, which chipped in $100,000, according to a campaign finance report filed with the state just before midnight Friday.

In Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports on Oct. 31 that of the $3.7 million the pro-Minnesota for Marriage raised to fight for the marriage amendment, "The National Organization for Marriage has poured $1.65 million into Minnesota for Marriage, and nearly all of that came this month, new campaign finance records show. The group gave another $225,000 on Wednesday."

In Washington state, the National Catholic Registerreported on Oct 31: "Preserve Marriage Washington, the state campaign organization leading the effort to block the passage of a state law legalizing same-sex ‘marriage,' raised about $2.4 million, including $1.1 million from the National Organization for Marriage.

We are throwing everything we have—heart, soul, body and time and bank-account—into this fight to keep what God has created: marriage as the union of husband and wife; marriage as the foundation of a society ordered to the good of children; marriage as a living emblem of the love the Creator has for us all.

Here's Kelly Yanta in Minnesota speaking for millions about what you and I believe in standing for marriage:

These last few days are quite a whirlwind. Tonight, I'm in Minnesota, where I'll be debating Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson on the Minnesota marriage amendment at 7pm. The debate, sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio, is free and open to the public, so if you live in the Minneapolis area, come down to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul at 7pm for a lively debate (details here).