Action Item of Note:
From ABC News: “More than 40, 000 people and counting have accepted Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s Facebook invitation to “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” on Wednesday, August 1. The Facebook Page for the event, which was created less than 24 hours ago, has attracted an enormous fan base that will prompt people nationwide to indulge in their local Chick Fil-A in support of conservative beliefs on the issue of marriage.”
“I ask you to join me in speaking out on Wednesday, August 1 “Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day. No one is being asked to make signs, speeches, or openly demonstrate. The goal is simple.” The former GOP presidential contender writes on his Facebook invitation, “Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1.” Story continues here.
Quad City area Chick-Fil-A locations (not open Sundays):
2945 E 53rd St Davenport (near Elmore) Northpark Shopping Center, Davenport 4500 16th St., Moline
Emanuel’s Values
Regarding our teaser headline to this post, well that is the “logical” extension of Da Mayor of Chicago Rom Emanual’s thuggery toward Chik-Fil-A.
Gary Bauer President of Campaign for Working Families published the following today regarding the matter. Reprinted with permission. The bold emphasis not in original.
Normally liberal Democrats don’t like to talk about values, but Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a lot to say about values these days. Two weeks ago, Emanuel was lamenting the gang culture that has gripped his city.
He was right to condemn the “wrong values” of the gangbangers who are murdering innocent children in the streets. But now he’s also condemning the values of many good and decent people in his city.
Mayor Emanuel weighed in on the Chick-fil-A controversy yesterday saying, “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.”
In a city the size of Chicago, I’m sure there are a whole lot of folks who share Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s view that marriage is between a man and a woman. Perhaps the mayor would like to discuss values with Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George or Dr. Erwin Lutzer of The Moody Church.
And when was the last time Rahm Emanuel stepped foot in a Chick-fil-A restaurant? Chick-fil-A’s employees are known for their respectful and welcoming attitudes.
Before running for mayor, Rahm Emanuel served as the White House Chief of Staff to Barack Obama. Before that he was a top advisor to Bill Clinton. It was Bill Clinton who signed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. And Barack Obama got elected telling the American people that he believed marriage was between a man and a woman. Emanuel gladly worked for two presidents who believed in traditional marriage.
Does this make Emanuel a hypocrite? No. It makes him a liar. I have no doubt that Emanuel knew Obama was lying in 2008 about his real views on marriage. After all, Obama had endorsed gay marriage in 1996, but then in 2008 claimed he favored normal marriage. Like Bill Clinton, Obama said whatever he had to in order to confuse just enough voters.
Lastly, think about the message the mayors of Boston and Chicago are sending not to Chick-fil-A but to every business owner in their communities and across the country. “If your religious views don’t toe the liberal line, we’ll crush your business! And, by the way, you didn’t build that.” That’s extortion. Is that “Chicago values”?
If Emanuel and other liberal politicians will so abuse and twist zoning regulations because someone happens to take Genesis seriously — that God created Adam and Eve — what else might they do?
If these left-wing politicians can’t get something as simple as marriage right, how can business owners expect them to implement commonsense tax policies? Looking at the fiscal condition of most Democrat-dominated states and cities, it seems pretty obvious that they can’t!
No To Chick-fil-A, But Yes To Nation Of Islam?
Here’s a good example of the left’s moral confusion. While Mayor Emanuel is banning Chick-fil-A, he is reportedly welcoming help from Louis Farrakahn’s Nation of Islam to combat gang violence. Explaining his position, Emanuel said, “People of faith have a role to play and community leaders have a role to play in helping to protect our neighborhoods and our citizens.”
So let me get this straight: A businessman who believes in normal marriage is not allowed to create jobs in Chicago because his Christian views do not represent “Chicago values.” But Farrakahn is allowed to police the city’s streets in spite of his extensive history of anti-Semitism and prejudice. In Emanuel’s mind, Dan Cathy is an intolerant, disrespectful bigot, but Louis Farrakahn of all people is a “man of faith” and a “community leader.” Give me a break!
National Review makes a related point about Emanuel’s duplicity:
“If a Chick-fil-A franchisee is a detestable bigot because his boss — a private-sector CEO — opposes gay marriage, what does that make Mr. Emanuel, whose boss opposed gay marriage as president of these United States?”
View the entire article here.
