Floridians are being treated to some robo-calls attacking Mitt Romney that HuffPo’s Sam Stein and some homosexual activist leaders call “gay bashing.” Here’s the ad in question:
Mitt Romney thinks he can fool us. He supported abortion on demand, even allowed a law mandating taxpayer-funding for abortion. He says he changed his mind, but he still hasn’t changed the law. He told gay organizers in Massachusetts he would be a stronger advocate for special rights than even Ted Kennedy. Now, it’s something different.
Some of the reactions:
“It’s ironic that Sen. John McCain is using the same tactics that George Bush used against him in 2000; surreptitiously trying to exploit anti-gay prejudice for votes,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “So much for John McCain being above that.”
“I think this is definitely an attempt at gay baiting,” added Jon Hoadley, executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats.
According to many in the community, the robo call hit is not simply a timely attempt to scare voters away from Romney, but a reflection of McCain’s true colors on social issues.
This gives “straight talk” a whole new meaning.
Does this amount to “gay baiting”? That seems a bit much, since the target of the attack is Romney, an open heterosexual. The main thrust of the message is that Romney is a dishonest flip-flopper who’ll tell you what you want to hear. But, certainly, the choice of abortion and gay rights among the dozens of issues on which Romney has changed positions to highlight would appear to be aimed at social conservatives.
Photo source: Practical Reasoning
