I agree that the Tea Party in themselves are not good for gay rights, I see them as a means to the end of breaking the stranglehold on power the Religious Right has within the Republican party. While my enemy’s enemy is not necessarily my friend he may be a useful ally.

Also while it may be possible to deal with illegal immigration, controlling the Federal budget is a never ending battle enough to keep politicians busy.

That may be true now, but if elected they will oppose the LGBT community whenever the opportunity arises. Its a bad idea for any LGBT person to support the tea party on the assumption that they’re never going to hurt us.

I think the more realistic scenario is:
Q: “What are you doing about it?”
A: “Nothing…for now.”

but I look at it this way, I wish NOM, FRC, PFOX, AFA, CWFA, were all as active in opposing our rights as the Tea Party.

While they may be answering “yes” to anti-gay survey questions, when they get to the “What are you doing about it?” question the answer appears to be “nothing”.

So, in the long term, if/when Tea Party activist economic objectives are met, what then?

The economy and immigration are current events. I believe that many of these people, once elected, and successfully rush through legislation to achieve these short-term goals, will fall back on the same old long-term bigotry and hate we’ve come to know and dread.

I am not willing to vote for short-term financial objectives, and ignore long-term social consequences.

I think the more realistic scenario is:
Q: “What are you doing about it?”
A: “Nothing…for now.”

While they may be answering “yes” to anti-gay survey questions, when they get to the “What are you doing about it?” question the answer appears to be “nothing”.

Not true across the board, but it seems they’re content to dislike us on paper.

You must not be reading me very carefully. I don’t “defend” the Tea Party movement, I simply want it to be portrayed accurately.

These are not our buddies. Some of them are ignorant, superstitious, ill-informed, and not very bright. Few favor gay rights and even fewer favor marriage equality.

However, it is not smart to insist that they are really organized to oppose our community, all fired up to fight gay rights, or even “very interested” in anti-gay issues, when we see over and over and over and over that this is not what is motivating them at all.

It’s like insisting that because everyone in the family likes hot-dogs that therefore Thanksgiving is really a hot-dog eating contest. It just doesn’t follow.

Surely you agree that it is possible to be anti-gay without meeting for the purpose of engaging in anti-gay activism, don’t you?

And I’m aware you put that handy disclaimer on your post. Doesn’t change my point that you do constantly defend the tea party. Any time one of them get’s interviewed and is smart enough to keep to their script about taxes and government spending you declare it to be proof that the tea party doesn’t care about gays at all when the polls show over 80% opposing gay marriage.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/14/us/politics/20100414-tea-party-poll-graphic.html?ref=politics#tab=6

I am in complete agreement that the Tea Party movement is not comprised of gay allies. But I see this as a reaffirmation that they aren’t interested at this time in fighting Teh Ghey and see it as a distraction from their real goals.

Plug ugly. Both of them. Must suck to be people who, if it weren’t for a few issues guaranteed to piss people off, they don’t have much of a life.

They need stunts and hyperbole to get anyone to pay attention to them.
Seriously.
How pathetic is that?