RUSH: We have a bakery in Denver which has won the right to refuse to make anti-gay cakes. This issue is everywhere. I didn’t know this. The latest issue — does anybody watch The Good Wife? You don’t watch The Good Wife? The latest episode, how lucky are they, they film these episodes way, way in advance, Sunday night’s episode of The Good Wife was all about bakeries and photography studios refusing to bake cakes or take pictures at gay weddings. All about that.
They ended up doing it in a kind of creative way. They had an on-air think tank kind of thing. One of the lawyers, stars of the show, is a big lib, well known, and a conservative firm hires her to help them in mock trial, rehearsal trial. They were gonna take up the case of a wedding planner who refused to wedding plan for gay couples, and they wanted her to be opposing counsel ’cause they respected her and they wanted her to hit them with the best that she had on this.
This whole subject — I don’t know if this show got into this area or not, those of you who saw it, but everything I’ve read about the episode — I save it to watch with Kathryn when we have time. So I haven’t seen the episode, but I’ve read about it, and I have not read any review or discussion of the episode that makes a salient point. The point’s not referenced much in the Drive-By Media either, but it’s a crucial point, because it illustrates that all of this has nothing to do with gay rights. It really doesn’t.
I’m not trying to be provocative or controversial here, but it clearly doesn’t. When you boil this down to its essence, in every example here that we’ve talked about, you have an established and obviously known Christian-owned business, a photography studio or a bakery or what have you. And into that particular place of business walks a gay couple wanting either wedding photos or a wedding cake.
Now, the fact is, most people would not go to a place and do business with people who you knew were not simpatico with you if there were alternatives. To do so is to be deliberately provocative. And it’s not for gay rights. These are activists on the gay side that are going into these establishments. Just like in every walk of life, you have gay people who have nothing to do with politics, lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, you have in that group of people you have plenty of them that are not activists, that are not into politics per se.
They’re just living their lives, you may know them, you may not know them. They just choose to be invisible or they’re there, but in terms of political activists, they’re not. But the people going into these stores are. They’re political activists and they’re attempting to advance an agenda by whittling away at another agenda. But it isn’t about gay rights. This is about power. This is about attacking a majority and taking it down. And in all of these discussions I don’t hear that referenced much at all, if at all.
It’s always framed from the standpoint of gay rights and a bunch of people over here denying gay people their civil rights and their human rights. And that’s not what this is, because there’s plenty of other options these people could go, the activist gay couples, to get a cake or to get pictures taken. There are plenty of other places. But they zero in on places they know they’re going to be refused, or they hope. That’s even better.
They zero in on businesses they hope will reject this because the express purpose of this is not to expand gay rights. It’s not to deal with discrimination. It is to attack majorities and take down the powerful, pure and simple. And that is the missing element in all the discussions. It’s the missing element when the Republicans start trying to deal with this.
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RUSH: Have you heard about the new BigotShop.com? BigotShop.com was inspired by an infobabe from Channel 57 in South Bend, Indiana.
(parody commercial)
That’s “white comedian Paul Shanklin” there as Barney Frank, the Better Bisexual Bureau. The BigotShop.com. That is what is missing in every so-called reasonable… Well, I say it’s missing. I don’t encounter it much. Maybe others have made the point. But I think it’s crucial to note, I think it’s crucial for everybody to realize that the whole issue of human rights, civil rights, gay rights is a mask. It’s a cover for what’s really going on, and it’s designed to get people sympathetic and supportive, when it really has nothing to do with gay rights because they are purposefully trying to find a place where their rights will be denied.
That has nothing to do with what happened with civil rights and African-Americans.
Yet the comparison’s made, and it’s sort of outrageous, folks.
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RUSH: Now, story out of Denver. ABC News in Denver is just excited; they’re just cheering. The headline: “Denver’s Azucar Bakery Wins Right to Refuse to Make Anti-Gay Cakes.” Now, what do you think this is? “Last week, the Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled that Denver’s Azucar Bakery,” and it may be Azucar. I don’t know. It’s A-z-u-c-a-r. I’m not purposely trying to mispronounce it.
“Denver’s Azucar Bakery did not discriminate against William Jack, a Christian from Castle Rock, by refusing to make two cakes with anti-gay messages and imagery that he requested last year.” So, you see, discrimination is good when it’s on the side of the angels (in this case, gay activists), and corporations are good when they’re on the side of angels (in this case, gay activists).
It is stunning when you think back to all of the hate that leftists instinctively have for corporations. For example, how often have you heard from Democrat after Democrat that corporations are not people, corporations are not persons, corporations cannot use freedom of speech? Corporations are not people, therefore, they don’t have free speech rights. Corporations do not have the right to engage in politics.
Corporations do not have the right to donate. Corporations should not have the ability — corporations do not have and should not have the ability — to donate and participate in campaigns. We know the left feels this because they had a giant conniption fit when the Citizens United case came from the Supreme Court permitting and claiming that all of that is constitutional. So all activity by corporations, all activity has been despised, criticized, hated. Everything.
I guess the top 10 entries on the Democrat Party or the American left’s enemies list are all corporations or industries: Big Retail, Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Pharmaceutical. Go down the list. Every industry is practically hated. For the fact that they are able to donate to politics, they are hated. That is despised. The fact that they’re able to engage in campaigns and have access to the First Amendment, free speech, and donations, all of that?
Corporations are hated. You know it as well as I do not that this is something the left is known for. Now all of a sudden, when the corporations come down on the side of the left, why, they’re wonderful! It’s time to celebrate them. They all of a sudden become people. Good people. They all of a sudden become persons, good persons. They all of a sudden become good citizens. They all of a sudden have every right to participate in the political scene.
They all of a sudden have every right to donate to causes. They all of a sudden have every right to get involved in campaigns, as long as they are doing the bidding of the left. Now, that is rank, utter hypocrisy. Sadly, I have found hypocrisy is not an effective tool in persuading people. Pointing out hypocrisy is not gonna do much to change people’s minds. It’s interesting, and it’s useful in other ways, but we’ve been pointing out the left’s hypocrisy for 25 years, and it doesn’t matter to the people that support the left.
They’ll always come up with ways to excuse it, as will many people on the right when supposed hypocrisy is exposed there. But I think this is monumental, because one of the identifying characteristics… One of them. If you’re gonna be an accredited leftist, you must hate corporate America. You must despise it. Occupy Wall Street is one of the greatest things ever, ’cause it was anti-corporation.
It was anti-Wall Street. It was anti-big money. I mean, look at all the evil that comes from money. Look at all the evil people that are there on the days when corporations are people. Look at all the evil things, look at all the big money, look at all the discrimination, look at all of the pain, look at all the lack of wages, look at all of the lack of health care, look at the hate! It’s a never-ending list of criticisms and hate that the left has for corporations.
Until the corporation happens to do or say something the left agrees with; then it’s the greatest thing on earth. Now, that is blatant, wanton hypocrisy. In this case, I do wonder. The left has created a rabid, insane base of people that support them and vote for them. Literally, I think have created a bunch of enraged, insane lunatics, and they buy this stuff. They live it. They hate corporations. They believe all they’re told about them.
They despise them. “They’re mean-spirited, they’re extremists, they don’t pay people enough, they try to deny them health care, they try to kill their customers.” You know all of this on and on and on. Then all of a sudden, Democrats in the news media tell them, “Well, you know, Tim Cook? Did you see he did the right thing in Indiana? Apple is great.” The insane-lunatic base may be a little confused because they’ve been persuaded all of these years to hate and revile and distrust corporations.
So back to Denver. “The dispute began March 13, 2014 when Jack went to the bakery at 1886 S. Broadway and requested two cakes shaped like bibles. He asked that one cake have the image of two groomsmen holding hands in front of a cross with a red ‘X’ over them. He asked that the cake be decorated with the biblical verses, ‘God hates sin. Psalm 45:7’ and ‘Homosexuality is a detestable sin.
“‘Leviticus 18:22′, according to the Civil Rights Divisions’ decision. On the second bible-shaped cake, Jack also requested the image of the two groomsmen with the red ‘X’. He wanted it decorated with the words ‘God loves sinners’ and ‘While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.’ He told the civil rights agency he ordered the cakes with the imagery and biblical verses to convey that same-sex marriage is, in his words, ‘un-biblical and inappropriate.'”
Now, there’s no evidence that these cakes were intended to be served as a gay wedding, so we don’t know that anybody would have been hurt by them. But, anyway, the bakery refused his request, and this bakery was told it was fine and dandy to refuse this request. This bakery didn’t want to bake these two cakes that William Jack came in and wanted for whatever reasons, and everybody sides with ’em.
(summarized) “This is reprehensible what he was asking! It’s reprehensible what he wanted! We don’t support that. We don’t agree with that. No way!” And the Colorado Civil Rights Division last week ruled that this bakery did not discriminate against William Jack, who is the Christian from Castle Rock who ordered these two cakes. So discrimination happened here, and discrimination’s good when it’s on the side of the angels. It’s a two-way street.
I don’t know William Jack, never heard of him. I guess he’s just trying to make a point here in the midst of all of this by trying to point out that it’s only certain people who are being discriminated against.
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RUSH: Has anybody also noticed that in all of these so-called denial-of-rights cases of gays that it seems to be limited to small businesses in the wedding industry, baking cakes and arranging flowers and maybe taking pictures? My point here, there’s no question that these are targeted industries. And I don’t doubt — see, I’m very confident in saying that, in addition to all of the public reasons given why gay marriage should be legal, there’s a bunch of stuff behind the scenes that they don’t say and that you’re not supposed to figure out, and then if anybody does figure out and point out, that person’s gonna be criticized, laughed at, and made to look like an idiot.
Gay marriage is an activist tool. It’s not just about who you love. I’m sure there’s some gay people that want to get married. I’m sure that they love each other and want to get married. But there’s an element — it’s the Democrats after all, it’s the left, it’s liberalism — there’s an element of the gay marriage industry that has nothing to do with love and has nothing to do with marriage. It has everything to do with pushing boundaries and wresting power away from gigantic majorities. And those gigantic majorities all happen to be found, one way or another, deeply involved in religion.
So this is not a quest for rights. It’s an assault and an attempt to gain power or transfer power. When you look at the industries — for example, you don’t see an Indian, Native American, who owns a printing store, you don’t see that person being legally compelled to print posters for the Washington Redskins. At least we don’t yet. I may be giving them the idea here.
How about some environmentalist wackos who, you know, oppose the coal industry and try to force the coal industry into adopting environmentalist wacko ideas? It’s all targeted at small, little mom-and-pop businesses who are all involved in the wedding industry in one way or the other.
Here is Chris in Nashville. Chris, we start with the phones today. Great to have you here. Hello.
CALLER: Hey. Thanks for your service to our country, Rush. Really appreciate it.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: I wanted to start off just with a question here. Why is it that all of my leftist friends, they hold a double standard when it comes to evil corporations, if you will. They’ll sit there and they’ll rant and they’ll rave and they’ll talk about how big, evil corporations, they’re horrible, and they’ll doing this while they’re glancing at their iPhone or looking at me over their Apple laptop.
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: Can you help me understand that, Rush?
RUSH: Well, I don’t know that I really have to. I think you’re a smart enough guy. You probably know, you’re just calling to set me up here.
CALLER: No. No, no.
RUSH: I don’t mean “set up.” You’re serving me a softball. You’re throwing me a hanging fastball over the plate here. Because clearly the attack on corporations, while it has its roots in Marxism, and as is the case in everything, there are some duped — I mean, leftists to the core who really believe in the evil of corporations and so forth, but the leaders of these movements are simply enacting and advancing a political agenda and trying to use these techniques to martial an army of supporters that are basically mind-numbed robots and are gonna follow.
Look at Apple and situation in Indiana. Now, Apple does business all over the world in countries that behead homosexuals when they find them, such as Iran, such as in Saudi Arabia. You want to talk about discrimination against women? Apple does business in country after country where these things happen. But when Apple speaks up it’s only about Indiana. Indiana is the only rotten place where these things happen. And normally supportive of the idea that corporations are evil, liberals all of a sudden start embracing these corporations now.
But your question even predates that. If they so despise corporations, why are they out there buying their products? They would tell you they’ve got no choice, that everybody has to have a cell phone, and your friends would tell you they want the best and so they’ve got to bite the bullet. They’ve gotta bite their tongue and go out and do it even though they don’t like it. It illustrates that the courage of their convictions is somewhat less than what they would have you believe. Again, you’re pointing out hypocrisy. I could do that all day.
There’s a great piece today at Real Clear Politics by Joel Kotkin: “Calling Out the High-Tech Hypocrites.” You would love this piece, Chris. “The recent brouhaha over IndianaÂ’s religious freedom law revealed two basic things: the utter stupidity of the Republican Party and the rising power of the emerging tech oligarchy. As the Republicans were once again demonstrating their incomprehension of new social dynamics, the tech elite showed a fine hand by leading the opposition to the Indiana law.
“This positioning gained the tech industry an embarrassingly laudatory piece in the New York Times, portraying its support for gay rights as symbolic of a ‘new social activism’ that proves their commitment to progressive ideals.” And that, Chris, is what makes them okay. Their commitment to progressive ideals, their commitment to liberalism. It means, as corporations, they’re all of a sudden now the good guys.
“‘So many tech companies have embraced a mission that they say is larger than profits,’ Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin, the online real estate firm, told the Times. ‘Once you wrap yourself up in a moral flag, you have to carry it to the top of other hills.'”
This guy is saying that the way they’re getting away with it, Chris, these corporations are convincing their customers that they are far more concerned about social activism and social justice than they are profits. Now, this is an absolute crock, but they can easily persuade their leftist customers of that because everybody wants to think that they’re angels. Everybody wants to think that they’re doing good works.
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RUSH: Now, let me get back to this piece here at Real Clear Politics, ’cause this is, to me, very interesting. Joel Kotkin “Calling Out the High-Tech Hypocrites” after pointing out here that Apple can sell products in countries that behead homosexuals and imprison women for looking at men the wrong way. Apple doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. Apple doesn’t announce it. Apple doesn’t say word one. But then you have a domestic circumstance involving gay rights and Apple goes, gets in gear, and the CEO inserts the company, not himself, but the company into the battle, and all of a sudden corporations are wonderful.
All of a sudden corporations are people. All of a sudden it’s okay for corporations to be involved in the political process. All of a sudden it’s okay for corporations to donate money. All these things that corporations are denied, all of these characteristics they possess and activities that they are not permitted to engage in ’cause they’re not really people are now welcomed and supported. It is blatant hypocrisy. The tech companies are pretty smart because they convince their mind-numbed robot followers and supporters that they actually care more about the social cause they’re involved in than they do profit.
Now, if anybody thinks that about Apple, you have a lot to learn. I don’t think it’s a bad thing a corporation seeks profit, frankly. I think that’s the objective. Apple does it better than anybody else, and they are to be applauded for it. But if they can get away with making some of their supporters think that they don’t care about profit as much as they care about social issues — by the way, speaking of that, dare I ask again, all of a sudden social issues are a big, important thing? All of a sudden social issues matter? All of a sudden social issues are something on which you can win? All of a sudden social issues do not mean your automatic defeat? All of a sudden the social issues are in vogue?
Well, what about the RINO Republicans who hate the social issues? They’re embarrassed by them. They want to do everything they can to get rid of them. So we surrender in the culture war, the left marches to victory in the culture war and dominates with what? Social issues and corporations, all the while convincing RINO Republicans to deemphasize both. Just a bunch of wusses. It was pointed out to me recently that the Founding Fathers were not wusses. Some of the early and great conservatives — Burke, Buckley, Friedman — they were not wusses. They were brave, they were bold, and they were not concerned with criticism. It didn’t stop them. It didn’t frighten them. Like Buckley did not decide to moderate National Review when the left bitched and moaned about something that was in it, like Indiana’s legislature did when the left complained about their stupid RFRA law.
“Oh, okay, okay, we’ll fix it, we’ll fix it.” Big meetings, big fixes, announce the fix. There was nothing wrong with it in the first place. Wusses. But the left supporting all these corporations is not aware of how much hypocrisy there is, and that’s Mr. Kotkin’s point here. Beneath the veneer of good intentions, there it is. Boy, that covers for so much. Good intentions covers for failure. Good intentions will mask real bigotry. Good intentions, perceived good intentions will mask real racism every day. You could be the biggest racist in the world if you convince people you’re trying to help them. The left proves it each and every day.
“Beneath the veneer of good intentions, the world being created by the tech oligarchs both within and outside of Silicon Valley fails in virtually every area dear to traditional liberals. On a host of issues — from the right to privacy to ethnic and feminine empowerment and social justice — the effects of the tech industry are increasingly regressive. The valley elite may have won its gender discrimination lawsuit against Ellen Pao –” Did you hear about that, the venture capitalist?
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RUSH: Here is Bruce in Raleigh, North Carolina. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hi.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. Thanks for taking my call. Longtime listener, first-time caller. Mr. Snerdley told me to get right to the point so I’m going to do that. I want to go back to your first hour when you were talking about gay marriage and the left. For years and years and years the left has been asking us, “What do you have against gay marriage? Why should you care if gays are gonna get to marry other gays? It’s not going to hurt you. It’s not going to affect you. It’s not going to hurt your heterosexual marriage in any way, shape, or form.” Yet, as I watch the news, I’m seeing many businesses having to be shut down because they refuse to cater to a gay wedding, refuse to take photographs at a gay wedding, refuse to provide flowers for a gay wedding. If these business owners are married and their businesses are shutting down, this is affecting their marriages.
RUSH: Yeah, and sadly, by design. See, I can’t emphasize this enough. And maybe I need to keep trying to be creative and come up with another way of making the point here. But one of the ways that the left succeeds in the encroachment against the majority in the culture war is to ridicule every objection as rooted in paranoia or bigotry or racism or whatever, homophobia.
They attempt to shame everybody into shutting up. They come along: “It isn’t gonna hurt you. What problem do you have with who somebody loves? There’s not enough love in the world. What does it matter to you who somebody loves?” And you’re right, they said it isn’t gonna affect you. They say about a lot of things, like Clinton and Lewinsky, “It’s just sex. It doesn’t affect you. It has nothing to do with way Clinton was doing his job.” But we know that it did.
But it’s not about the expansion of rights. There are plenty of people that will bake a cake for a gay wedding. There’s no way a gay couple cannot find a wedding cake in this country. But they want to make it look like they can’t by choosing the target. Sadly, out of time in the middle of the thought again, but I’ll continue.