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Guest post by: Bumr50!

Often when I open the Opinion section of my Sunday Pittsburgh Tribune-Review I enjoy reading the frequent commentary by L. Brent Bozell, Founder and President of the Media Research Center.

Today’s piece by Bozell disturbed me, however, not so much for it’s content but it’s timing.

Before I present my opinion on the matter, I must provide some context. I am a HUGE fan of NewsBusters (MRC’s site) and reserve a spot for it’s feed on my homepage. It’s role as a watchdog for conservatism is unparallelled, and I am often inspired by their contributions. In today’s column (here reprinted from Human Events), he takes aim at Grover Norquist, a milquetoast conservative who makes stupid and Quixotic decisions often.

“Comes now the news that fiscal conservative leader Grover Norquist, a man who prides himself on forming grand working coalitions, has joined the board of a group called GOProud, calling the group “an important part of the conservative movement” with a commitment to “core conservative values.”

It’s a gay group. And Norquist thinks social conservatives are going to accept this absolute abandonment?”

I am an individualist at heart, and while I fully understand Mr. Bozell’s objection as a social con. to homosexuality (as it is his right), I cannot help but scream “So what?!” The speed and power with which the Progressives are attacking the United States of America requires an equally powerful response with all of the help we can get. Republicans and Libertarians can afford the luxury of fighting amongst themselves after the ovember elections and maybe beyond. The threat that faces us is much too great to afford us the time it takes to squabble about these divisive issues.

Our momentum is both fleeting and fragile, and in my opinion cannot withstand the infighting that such a luminary as Bozell can bring to bear upon us with ill-timed arguments. Quite frankly, it troubles me that Bozell’s opposition to homosexuality is this high on his priority list. I personally would not have known nor cared what Grover Norquist has been up to if it weren’t for this column, and I’m even more troubled to find it in print than on the internet.

Bozell attempts to explain his reasoning here:

“One disturbing tendency of the old regime is coming back: Fiscal conservatives are already selling out social conservatives in an attempt to build winning coalitions without them. How many times must the GOP learn this is suicide? To win, conservatives must have not a “truce” between fiscal and social conservatives, as Gov. Mitch Daniels has unfortunately called for, but a strong, healthy alliance, with the common goal of victory.

This is perfectly acceptable to most social conservatives. Social conservatives will happily break bread in the cause to support tax cuts or any conservative attempt at fiscal reform.”

And later:

“And yet some libertarians not only refuse to work with social conservatives, they’re actively seeking out and supporting causes in direct opposition to the core beliefs of social conservatives.”

He later goes on to liken Norquist’s action to that of “declaring war” on social conservatism.

To my mind, the one who is preparing for war in this case appears to be Bozell. Our movement is not in a position to have this battle currently, and having read Bozell often enough he knows how divisive this can be and was prepared to fire a salvo anyway.

As I realize that this issue evokes some strong opinions on both sides, I would like to again stress that my issue here is not “fiscally conservative libertarians vs. socially conservative GOP,” but the timing of this rant as it relates to the urgency of our situation, along with the weight Bozell carries among Conservative media.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a libertarian that embraces fiscal conservatism but carries many socially conservative values. I personally don’t think that marriage should be a public institution period, except when the welfare of children is involved. I am a Christian that worships in a church that frowns on gay marriage.

In my opinion, battles like this are the last thing we need right now.

-Bumr50

Read the whole article quoted here: So Much for “Core Conservative Values”