Posted on 08/02/2012 1:42:10 PM PDT by Sark
You never know what will be the next big news story. Who would’ve guessed that the fast food chain “Chick-fil-A” would dominate the political airwaves just a few months before November? It certainly caught me by surprise, at least. Today, I want to look into the Chick-fil-A controversy, the conservative backlash, and to conclude with an honest plea to my fellow conservatives to move on, already.
What’s the controversy? Early last month, an interview conducted by the Biblical Recorder with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy surfaced in which Cathy reiterated the company’s support for traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Anyone knowledgeable about the famous chain’s Christian views shouldn’t have been too surprised by the interview, but it still created a small backlash amongst liberals and LGBT activists who called for a boycott of the company’s restaurants. The story didn’t receive a great deal of attention from conservatives, and normally this would be when the attention and controversy began to fade.
Then, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino waded into the controversy and publicly proclaimed that Chick-fil-A wasn’t “welcome” in his city. This got conservatives interested, and soon Twitter and conservative blogs were afire with declarations of support for Chick-fil-A and denunciations of Mayor Menino as a “fascist.” This online firestorm culminated in former Governor Mike Huckabee’s “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” which the restaurant chain just announced produced record-breaking sales (and more than a little bit of gloating amongst conservatives).
(Excerpt) Read more at principlesandpolicy.wordpress.com ...
This one reminds me of one a few weeks ago that said the same thing in the same way.
It may be a retread.
Amazing that so many of the liberals don't realize that their writing style outs them every time.
/johnny
Chick-fil-a didn't start this argument. They were threatened by the government for a fairly bland comment favoring something 99% of Americans favor which is marriage.
Suddenly they are in the government's cross-hairs, and just as suddenly their neighbors have turned out to support them all over America.
Some day you may take a stand that puts you in the government's cross-hairs and when you do, I promise it will lift your spirits when your neighbors turn up in your defense.
We didn't say or do anything uncivil against anyone; we just showed up and bought a chicken sandwich. Its the other side that is squealing like scalded cats.
If you don't like bullies, go and enjoy a chicken sandwich. Don't worry about anyone being distracted from "important stuff". Being bullied by your government is pretty important and you were going to eat lunch anyway. While you're waiting in line, you'll meet some nice people who are already planning what they are going to do next November.
Good lord, there isn’t a single ad on the blog. There aren’t any affiliate links. I’m not advertising anything. There’s literally zero revenue in this blog, and I’m happy about that, I just want it to be an opinion blog. So, “blog hits” are literally just a meaningless number. If you’re honest-to-God offended about a meaningless hits counter on the blog, than here’s the whole post, and I apologize for wanting people to read it in the original formatting. If anyone can tell me how to edit the original post, I’ll edit it.
You never know what will be the next big news story. Who would’ve guessed that the fast food chain “Chick-fil-A” would dominate the political airwaves just a few months before November? It certainly caught me by surprise, at least. Today, I want to look into the Chick-fil-A controversy, the conservative backlash, and to conclude with an honest plea to my fellow conservatives to move on, already.
What’s the controversy? Early last month, an interview conducted by the Biblical Recorder with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy surfaced in which Cathy reiterated the company’s support for traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Anyone knowledgeable about the famous chain’s Christian views shouldn’t have been too surprised by the interview, but it still created a small backlash amongst liberals and LGBT activists who called for a boycott of the company’s restaurants. The story didn’t receive a great deal of attention from conservatives, and normally this would be when the attention and controversy began to fade.
Then, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino waded into the controversy and publicly proclaimed that Chick-fil-A wasn’t “welcome” in his city. This got conservatives interested, and soon Twitter and conservative blogs were afire with declarations of support for Chick-fil-A and denunciations of Mayor Menino as a “fascist.” This online firestorm culminated in former Governor Mike Huckabee’s “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” which the restaurant chain just announced produced record-breaking sales (and more than a little bit of gloating amongst conservatives).
I get it. I really, honestly do. Mayor Menino’s comments were silly and ridiculous in the most overbearing, big-government way. When taken to its logical conclusion, an elected official unilaterally banning a business from operating in a certain area because he disagrees with the views of the business’s management on religion and public policy is bizarre and antithetical to a free society.
In addition to that, I understand why people love Chick-fil-A and want to defend it. On one level, it’s a great restaurant chain that offers quality food and wonderful customer service. I’ve only eaten there once myself (at the behest of a Southern coworker who did his best to educate me in the Southern ways of food and dress), but it was a very enjoyable dining experience. If my home state of Michigan actually had Chick-fil-A restaurants, I’m sure that I would eat there often.
More to the point, many socially conservative Christians feel that their religion and beliefs are under attack in an increasingly secular America. Regardless of the truth of that claim, it’s completely understandable for those social conservatives to rally around a prominent Christian who they perceive to be persecuted. There’s nothing shocking or surprising about that.
Still, it’s time for us to let this story go. Many of us have argued that President Barack Obama has run a “distractions campaign” in order to shift media attention away from the stagnant economy and persistently high unemployment numbers. Realistically, if you ask me, he’s done a good job with that tactic.
While the polling suggests that he and Mitt Romney remain virtually tied on the national level, the president has kept a solid lead in several key swing states. While the race remains centered on these distractions, the polling numbers will remain in stasis, and Romney will ultimately lose because of it if nothing changes.
In the case of the Chick-fil-A controversy, I believe that conservatives are contributing to the problem. While we delight in mocking Mayor Menino and celebrating the success of “Chick-fil-A appreciation day,” nobody’s talking about the economy. Nobody is talking about job growth, dismantling the regulatory state, reducing the debt, or repealing ObamaCare. Nobody’s talking about principle or policy. We’re just engaging in the latest distraction because it’s entertaining and an easy win.
There are only ninety-six days left until the election. Every day spent on this story detracts from the hundreds of important races all across the country, from your local officials all the way to the White House. We can’t afford to keep talking about this while we’re so close to November. Christians and social conservatives made their point yesterday. All of us conservatives have had a few good laughs at Mayor Menino’s expense. We’ve had our fun, and it’s time to move on.
Full disclosure: While I do believe that the traditional family is important and a cornerstone of society, I don’t believe that government should be issuing marriage licenses in the first place. Therefore, I advocate marriage privatization.
Pretty much.
Whatever application you use for your blog, it should have an underlying html code. You need to switch to view the html code, then copy the code and paste it in your reply. It should then be formatted properly.
I don’t recall seeing personal attacks on your character. Don’t let the “attacks” get you down. You always have to wear a flame-retardant suit if you post something, especially personal, on FR. Freepers are very passionate about their conservative beliefs. In the end, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
If you would like, this cook can get it posted in your format in about 2 minutes.
Old cooks can do lots of things that college students can't.
/johnny
Then put your shoes on, shut the machine down, get off your backside and “move on”.
People are talking about this restaurant and reactions to comments made about marriage because several important principles are involved however poorly articulated at times.
By the little bone tossed at the end of this supercilious blog it's clear the author has no understanding of what the real controversy over “gay” marriage is all about’
I always thought it was "If you can't take the heat, inventory the walk-in reefer."
/johnny
Why this incident is significant is that it constitutes a large-scale, non-violent, massive repudiation of a direct threat to the First Amendment and a stunning slap in the face to Political Correctness. It is, as well, a warning to certain unbelievably arrogant holders of high office that their time there is very much dependent on the consent of the governed whom they despise. I do not think it much of an exaggeration to state that if not this, then blood.
We've had enough. This has been at the "you can't say that" stage for far too long, and patience is at an end. This is a matter of absolutely fundamental political principle. It is not a distraction.
Welcome to FR.
What will make us win in November is not that we have had a bunch of sterile discussions about economics and races. What wins is not intellectualism.
PASSION and ENTHUSIASM is what wins elections. A sense of community, of mutual agreements, confidence in shared values and ideals -- THAT is what motivates the base to win.
Do not dismiss the CFA incident as a distraction. Think of it as a team-building exercise. For one brief day, maybe a million conservatives across the nation felt less isolated. We felt like we were truly part of a MOVEMENT, even if we just met in a CFA for an hour. This is IMPORTANT.
You just keep on shooting yourself in the foot.
1. Don’t reply and argue with hg. Its like wrestling a pig.
2. Don’t reply to anyone. The more you post, the more you out yourself.
3. Your full disclosure concerning marrriage is a total crock.
See upthread where I called “IBTZ”. I’m still calling it. But do us all a favor. Reply again with your liberal nonsense. It’ll spead up the process.
(cueing up the dancing kitteh...)
C’mon guys; we don’t want to chase a future conservative away from the “right” belief system. Give him some room to grow and learn. Don’t be so hard on him. I’m sure the constructive criticism has opened his eyes to a fuller picture of conservatism.
The Chick-fil-a story yesterday was not about supporting traditional marriage. It was about showing the liberals that the conservative majority was still here and watching, and waiting for any excuse to show that we're still here.
It was about showing those who may have been succumbing to the Left's astroturfing and stories of the waning Tea Party that they should not believe what they read or hear, but what they see happening right in front of them.
Why would you want to shut that down?
-PJ
********************************
Too bad. Your grade is now a "D-".
One of the biggest issue of the day is government's involvements in individual lives, with 0bamaCare's requirements on contraceptive/abortion directive as the main example. This turn off many people, including the Catholic hierarchy that otherwise would accept the law. I read that in Chicago some liberals ate in CFA because they realized the danger of bullying business based on the owner's political or religious views. So, IMO, we need to keep the issue but framed it as the danger of authoritarian government, not as gay marriage issue.
If it's really young. Heck, I could claim to be 21 and look like Hercules (don't count on it).
It does have some of the markers of being a troll. Including linguistic analysis compared to previous retreads.
If it's legitimate, it can cool it's jets and establish a reputation. If it's IP address points back to a retread... expect to smell ozone.
/johnny
This is the same type of nonsense the Obama Supporters use on the Obama Eligibility people to keep True Conservatives from taking the lead on an important issue....”we shouldn’t make (Issue) such an issue because....because liberals won’t like us”
You take a stand, or people will step on you
He can grow and learn without scoring beer money from blog hits he stole from Free Republic.
Well, bless your heart.
You may not have noticed, but the left still owns and controls the major media organs in this county. They utilize them 24/7/365 as propaganda outlets for their degraded and destructive points of view, while simultaneously using every trick in the book to demonize and weaken conservative points of view.
Yesterday was just ONE day where the vast majority of American citizens found a way to express their conservative point of view in a way that could not be ignored (even though the major media outlets refused to cover it).
I'm afraid we're not just going to "move on" from a victory like that, and neither should you, if you're really a part of this movement.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.