More proof that the Religious Right is becoming irrelevant:

[JackBeck]

Family Research Council's Perkins whinefest: GOP 'abandoning' Musgrave and Bachmann

by: Pam Spaulding
Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

Poor Tony Perkins. He was on the speed dial of the GOP's movers and shakers and the powers that be just dumped on two of his fast friends, Reps. Michele Bachmann and Marilyn Musgrave. Both have had their support rolled back by the Republican Party because, well, they are now considered an embarrassment to the party.

The Family Research Council's (FRC) political arm ripped Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) Thursday for withdrawing ad spending on behalf of two endangered Republican candidates.

FRC President Tony Perkins said in a letter to Cole, chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), that the committee "is abandoning social conservative candidates" by pulling ads from the reelection races of Reps. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) and Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.).

Bachmann has come under fire recently for stating -- then denying -- her concern that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and other members of Congress hold "anti-American" views.

Musgrave is considered to be a reliable champion of socially conservative causes and one of the most outspoken members on the issue of gay marriage. The Colorado congresswoman is in an uphill battle to retain her seat against Democrat Betsy Markey.

And as http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=07deebf354a64ac8be008d9811c3b205&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a07deebf354a64ac8be008d981">The Coloradan notes, the support was substantial.

The Family Research Council Action Political Action Committee is protesting the National Republican Congressional Committee's decision Wednesday to cancel $400,000 of advertising it had planned over the last week of Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's re-election campaign.

Should we hand a box of tissues over to Tony http://www.kitchentableblog.com/FRCActionPAC_NRCC_letter.pdf">for this tearjerker?

October 23, 2008

Representative Tom Cole

Chairman

National Republican Congressional Committee 320 First Street, SE Washington, DC 20003

Dear Representative Cole:
You have made a grave error in judgment by pulling your funds from the Michelle Bachmann race in Minnesota and the Marilyn Musgrave race in Colorado.

The left is attacking both of these outstanding women because they are true conservatives. They vote pro-life and pro-family. Both Congresswomen are against taxpayer funding of abortion. Both oppose embryonic stem cell research, and both are for a Marriage Protection Amendment. These are issues that motivate voters. These are issues they and other conservative candidates have won and can win with.

Reps. Bachmann and Musgrave are both in winnable districts. Pulling funds from their campaigns sends the wrong message to their supporters and gives their opponents a chance to produce headlines that the NRCC has undermined these campaigns. It appears that the NRCC is abandoning social conservative candidates and the issues for which they stand, particularly if they are championed by some of the most promising female legislators in the Congress. This is no time to cut and run from a fight.

I will urge supporters of the FRC Action PAC to stop giving to the NRCC until it starts supporting and fighting for conservative candidates.

http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7748

Good riddance. These fringe nut jobs have been nothing more than a blight on the great majority of Americans fighting for progress over the last few decades. Palin is their new messiah. Let them have her. As we continue to move forward, these bigots will be left behind.