Politics

Top Mitt Romney surrogate and potential vice presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty came to Chick-fil-A’s defense during a Romney campaign event in Cary, North Carolina on Saturday, bragging to a small group of supporters that he ate lunch at the fast-food franchise, which refuses to offer any employment protections to LGBT employees and has donated millions of dollars to ex-gay ministries. Activists and lawmakers from across the country are protesting the company after its president condemned homosexuality in a recent radio interview. Conservatives have responded to the backlash by holding “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” in support of the company. From the event: At an ice rink in Cary, NC Tim Pawlenty said he ate Chick-Fil-A for lunch “chicken strips and waffle fries.” — Shushannah Walshe (@shushwalshe) July 28, 2012 TPaw, at NC event for Romney, says he had lunch at Chick-Fil-A today. “It’s chilling!” he says of cities objecting to biz over marriage — Carrie Dann (@CarrieNBCNews) July ...

Sarah Palin is joining a who’s-who of conservative activists — Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Rev. Billy Graham, The Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America — in supporting Chick-fil-A, the fast food chain that has donated millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations, including “reparative therapy” groups like Exodus International. “Stopped by Chick-fil-A in The Woodlands to support a great business,” the former Alaska governor tweeted on Friday night and posted a picture of her and husband Todd giving a thumbs up to the restaurant: Chick-fil-A is one of a very small number of major national companies that refuses to offer any employment protections to LGBT employees. In fact, the company received a 0 rating from the Human Rights Campaign and has a record of firing employees it believes engage in “sinful” behavior. Activists from across the country are protesting the company after its president condemned homosexuality in a recent radio interview. The Palin’s, meanwhile, h...

Salvatore Cordileone Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new Archbishop of San Francisco: Salvatore Cordileone. Though his name is not yet widespread, Cordileone, currently the Bishop of Oakland, has already had massive success pushing an anti-equality agenda: he was the heart of the Catholic Church’s strategy to pass Proposition 8 in California, which eliminated marriage equality for millions of Americans. In 2008, Cordileone and a select cadre of Catholic leaders decided that their best chance to end marriage equality was to pass an amendment to the state constitution. Cordileone found the first major donor and built a lasting fundraising network for the group. He brought in an organization to lead the petition. He activated a network of California’s Catholic churches, and helped craft the Prop 8 messaging campaign, even using focus groups. The campaign was successful in passing Prop 8, making Cordileone a primary reason Californians are currently denied marriage equality. After the ...