Pray Away The Gay!!

It’s amazing that such a close-minded homophobic religious fanatic is actually on a major party ticket as a Vice Presidential candidate. Oh, who am I kidding…. Look at the Current Occupant of the White House.

From the Associated Press:

Palin's Church Promotes Conversion Of Gays

Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

"You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.

Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice.

She is staunchly anti-abortion (opposing exceptions for rape and incest), and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples. Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the Love Won Out Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

Hey, what’s wrong with being gay? I thought, based on what they said at the Republican Convention, that “WE ARE ALL GOD’S CHILDREN.”

Palin, campaigning with McCain in the Midwest on Friday, has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called "pray away the gay" movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin's church, was not available to discuss the matter Friday, said a church worker who declined to give her name.

Too bad the McCain campaign wont let Palin near any real questions from the media. They even had the nerve to say Palin wont submit to interviews until the media showed a willingness to treat her "with some level of respect and deference." Um, excuse me, last I checked she’s an unknown who’s running to be a 72-year-old heartbeat away from President, so why shouldn’t we be able to grill her on what she does or doesn’t know about national economic and foreign policy? As the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne puts it, "Deference? That's a word used in monarchies or aristocracies. Democracies don't give 'deference' to politicians."
So now they’ve scheduled a softball lovefest with McCain-favorite Charlie Gibson of ABC.
From Glenn Greenwald’s blog on Salon.com:

If I were a McCain adviser and wanted to have Palin sit with someone who is perceived as a "journalist" while knowing that no damage could possibly occur, I'd pick Charlie Gibson, too. There are many, many other equally good alternatives, but when it comes to wretched passivity and sycophantic establishment worship, the former "Good Morning America" host -- whose career was built on oozing amiability and inoffensiveness -- is as good as it gets.

This is the same Charlie Gibson who, while questioning Barack Obama during one of the primary debates, insisted on dwelling on flag pins and Rev. Wright. I guess I'll just pray that he gives Palin similar treatment...