The headline made me laugh. Pat Robertson has been dominated by homosexuals? I have always said that what consenting adults do is up to them but what are we talking here: Fur-lined handcuffs? Ball gags? Whips?
“We have given the ground to a small minority. You figure, lesbians, one percent of the population; homosexuals, two percent of the population. That’s all. That’s statistically all. But they have dominated — dominated the media, they’ve dominated the cultural shift and they have infiltrated the major universities.”
He added: “It’s just unbelievable what’s being done. A tiny, tiny minority makes a huge difference. The majority — it’s time it wakes up.”
In point of fact, Robertson and his cohorts gave no ground. The LGBTQ community took ground rightfully theirs.
Secondly, there a roughly 327,000,000 people in the United States. So that’s 3.8 million lesbians and approximately 7 million gay men. That is 11 million lesbians and gays. Lets say a third are elderly and a third are under the age of 20. That leaves roughly 3.6 million in their prime, ready to dominate the media, dominate the culture, infiltrate major universities (apparently minor universities are still safe). So, just over 1 percent of the country controls the media and the culture? That is damn impressive.*
Robertson is 88 years old and his influence has diminished. We should not forget though that he was a driving factor in the Christian Right’s political awakening and thus a founding father of one pillar of the modern GOP.
The Christian Right began to organize and become politically active in the ‘70’s in the wake of the Bob Jones University case. This organizing came to fruition in 1980, with their endorsement of Ronald Reagan. By 1988, they had their own candidate in Robertson, who was a real factor in the ‘88 GOP primaries. I believe he won Iowa.
Robertson’s father was Willis Robertson, a Democratic Senator from Virginia. Robertson signed the Southern Manifesto and believed you could have separate but equal accommodations.
Anyway, Robertson headed towards Super Tuesday in 1988 as, if not a favorite, a force due to the number of southern states involved. However, Pete McCloskey (R-CA) raised the issue of Robertson’s Korean War record. Robertson and McCloskey were both Marine Lieutenants sent over to Korea as replacements after the Chosin Reservoir fighting. They were two of 70 officers sent over on the same ship. Well, we have heard this tale before. Robertson touted his combat record and McCloskey finally had enough. McCloskey, an actual combat vet, said that Robertson’s dad got Robertson out of combat and the GOP hopeful spent most of his time in Japan ordering liquor for the officers clubs.
Robertson sued McCloskey for libel, requesting millions of dollars. The suit revealed that McCloskey was telling the truth. That Robertson had bragged about his father getting him out of combat and that Robertson, whether in Korea or Japan was behind a desk. Robertson dropped the case and paid McCloskey’s legal bills.
McCloskey is a fascinating figure. He’s the Republican who challenged Nixon in ‘72. If you are interested in the now extinct liberal wing of the GOP, look up McCloskey.
I enjoy writing about these historical events because it is my position (and likely yours) that the modern GOP’s foundation is born out of racism and fundamentalism. We know it but I think its important to have the factual foundation to support that position. One of the founders of the modern GOP, Pat Robertson, was born to a proudly racist father. He was also a fraud of the worst kind. He attempted to use a non-existent combat record for political gain. Later, lectured us about Clinton’s morals and god knows what he said about Obama.
Current Republicans will argue, Pat Robertson? That is ancient history. It isn’t and he is a founding father of the current incarnation of the GOP.
*FYI I do know his percentages are wrong