Fake ‘liberal Democrat’ exposed: Funded by millions from conservatives against gay marriage
”I’m a liberal Democrat. And I do not favor same-sex marriage. Do those positions sound contradictory? To me, they fit together…. Every child being raised by gay or lesbian couples will be denied his birthright to both parents who made him. Every single one. Moreover, losing that right will not be a consequence of something that at least most of us view as tragic, such as a marriage that didn’t last, or an unexpected pregnancy where the father-to-be has no intention of sticking around. On the contrary, in the case of same-sex marriage and the children of those unions, it will be explained to everyone, including the children, that something wonderful has happened!”
David Blankenhorn, president of a think-tank called the Institute for American Values. The opinion piece run in the LA Times newspaper has been widely circulated by conservatives as a liberal’s argument against same-sex marriages. (LA Times) IAV calls itself a non-partisan institution, but Salon.com has uncovered evidence to the contrary.
”In accordance with its status as an untaxed entity, [David Blankenhor’s Institute for American Values] must file a Form 990 financial report annually with the IRS. These filings are available to the public, and you can learn a lot from them. Here is what public records tell us about IAV:
”During the 15 years preceding 2006, IAV received nearly $4.5 million in funding from a coterie of ultra-conservative Republican foundations, including the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Scaife Family Foundation, and the Randolph Foundation. These foundations supply funds for a network of right-wing Republican think tanks that promote a variety of causes such as the elimination of gay marriage, abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research; prayer in public schools; creationism and deregulatory free-market economics.
Portion of a Salon.com article by Jon B. Eisenberg that argues that David Blankenhorn‘s financial associations prove that he is not running an impartial think-tank, nor is he a ”liberal Democrat” as he claimed in his opinion piece in the LA Times that went on at length why same-sex marriage and the raising of children by gay couples should not be allowed for the sake of society. (Salon.com)
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