Did you miss how Mitt Romney and the LDS manufactured the Chick-Fil-A "controversy"? The press sure did. Here's the timeline;
July 16 Romney meets with Tony Perkins, Southern Baptist, head of the Family Research Council.
July 16 Baptist Press posts a reprint of interview with Dan Cathy.
July 22 Mike Huckabee, Baptist minister, launches Chick-Fil-A appreciation day on Facebook page.
July 22 www.ISupportChickFilA.com created, (creator hidden)
July 23 Mike Huckabee has Chick-fil-A's Truett Cathy on Fox Show where he announces his day of appreciation
July 24 Huckabee tries to change his Facebook timeline but can't. "A number of you are asking questions about the Chick Fil-A event. The event disappeared from my page this morning and we have asked Facebook to look into this."
August 1 Anti-gay marriage protesters line up at Chick-Fil-A
August 2 Romney meets with James Dobson, Jerry Boykin and Gary Bauer
The press ignored Romney's meeting with Tony Perkins,
which is very troubling. Perkins heads the Family Research Council, a group affiliated with James Dobson's Focus on the Family. Perkins worked hand in hand with the Mormon Church to pass Proposition 8, the California anti-gay marriage law.
He once said, "we will not survive if we lose the institution of marriage." The Chick-Fil-A protests were right up his alley.
After Romney reaches out to Perkins, Perkins connects with Mike Huckabee who launches his protest a day too early, tries to cover his tracks, but fails. Ruh Roh. For the next week, Huckabee uses Fox News and his radio shows to drum up publicity, but the real grunt work is being done by the Mormon Church.
Huckabee didn't risk his reputation on a protest that might fizzle, so we can assume that Romney promised the Baptists he'd deliver LDS members in droves. Using the famous Mormon "telephone tree" hundreds of thousands of fierce anti-gay marriage Mormons were sure to show up at Chick-Fil-A, quietly blending in and giving the appearance of a grassroots groundswell.
Romney used Perkins, Huckabee, Fox News, and the right-wing evangelical community as cover for his attacks on same sex marriage. What he promised them for their help remains to be seen.
It's a mistake to think these huge protests are spontaneous. The Mormon Church has its fingerprints all over it. LDS leaders are persistent and do their work quietly. Don't ignore their power.
After it was over, Romney met with his religious allies, no doubt planning his next round of attacks.