Originally on June 26th, 2015, “Crazy Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Paul Blair, a radical anti-gay pastor from Oklahoma, and a big ally of State Rep. Sally Kern, who proudly spoke of her political credentials (i.e. her dedication to oppressing the LGBT community) at the “Rally for Sally” back in 2008. You see, he was all lathered up after she said that gays represent a bigger threat to America than terrorism (since gay rights made people like Blair and Kern victims). Blair is a former player for the Chicago Bears (and could easily be operating under the effects of long term head injuries), the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, the founder of Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, head of the Reclaiming America For Christ organization. He’s also appeared at an anti-hate crimes “Rally for Religious Freedom” where he and anti-gay activists vowed never to stop fighting homosexuality and challenged the Justice Department to prosecute them. Blair was the driving force behind a video called “The Criminalization of Christianity” in which he warns that hate crimes legislation is actually a “Pedophile Protection Act”, would “make it possible for a pastor to be prosecuted for doing nothing more than preaching a Biblical sermon on Sunday”. Which would be breaking a commandment about bearing false witness, because hate crime legislation does nothing to criminalize free speech (because that would be an unconstitutional violation of the 1st Amendment now, wouldn’t it?) But it would seem that lying is a frequent habit of Pastor Blair, who claims he receives death threats from the gay community over his stance (that are repeatedly unfounded). And that’s when Blair tried saying the unsubstantiated death threats were his motivation for making himself a 2012 candidate for the Oklahoma State Senate (endorsed by that anti-gay hate group, the Family Research Council), where he lost in the Republican Primary, earning a shockingly impressive 43% of the vote. Some of the more disturbing and/or homophobic quotes from Paul Blair’s most bats*** speeches include that “The Devil is behind gay rights and gay culture”, before whining how America has gone from “Ozzie and Harriet to Desperate Housewives” and “from True Grit to Brokeback Mountain”, claiming that the “communists” are trying to “inculcate homosexual values, or lack of values, into the American culture” in order “to destroy the family” and create “a global utopia“, adding that ”Satan is the source and ultimate conspirator” behind “the force of communism, the force of the radical homosexual agenda, the secularist movement in America.“, and of course, comparing his battle against gay marriage to be similar to “the fight against slavery and Nazi Germany”.
And, we have to report, that after Paul Blair unsuccessfully ran for office in the Oklahoma State Senate back four years ago, that we had heard the last of him. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, he ran for the Oklahoma State Senate again in 2016, and very nearly pulled off the upset, getting 45% of the vote in the GOP Primary to represent District 41 in that body.
That’s not our only update. Since we last profiled Paul Blair two years ago, he invested himself in a couple of new conspiracy theories he’d never fallen for before, including his belief that our government deliberately launches EMP attacks against conservative Christians, and that Jade Helm 15 was a very real threat to them, as well. Blair’s also started subscribing to alternative histories provided by David Barton, including the time he stated his belief that the ancient Israelites had a Constitutional Republic.
Make no mistake, Paul Blair is still a dedicated homophobe, as well, asking Oklahoma Republicans to lead the fight against same sex marriage and abortion by creating laws to nullify them, in spite of the fact that both have been upheld by Supreme Court decisions. We’re going to be honest, we’re glad that Paul Blair seems dead set on trying to win a particular seat in the Oklahoma State Senate, because this means we don’t have to dread him potentially winning in an upset, and making the Sooner State’s politics even more conservative, bigoted, and insane.
One Year Ago, June 27th, 2016: Alex Beinstein (CO)
Two Years Ago, June 27th, 2015: John Lloyd Ellis (AL)