Four questions.  

Four answers.

Q&A #1 (4:18 minutes):

A) Laughable?  What’s “laughable” is Gary’s “6,000 years” assertion re some global six-millennia-strong definition of marriage.

B) Consequences?  Gary:  maybe some of us are thinking about the consequences for first- and second-graders with LGBT parents, rather than simply ignoring them.

C) Frame it however you’d like, Gary, but if I allow my kids to attend the wedding of a teacher – who they adore – what business is that of yours?  Your framing of what you call “a mistake” strikes me as yet another example of folks like you making it your business to infringe on the rights of parents like me.

Roll tape #1:

Q&A #2 (3:12 minutes):

A) “Institutional” vs. “member” funds.  Not much to say about this exchange.  That said, it did leave me wondering how to square Gary’s line re individual Mormon member financing of Prop 8 with his later comments (see Q&A #4) re the vertical structure of the LDS church?  

Roll tape #2:

Q&A #3 (3:50 minutes):

A)  Yes, Gary, me and you both would like to see some post-Prop 8 “Name ID” polling on that.

B)  The mid-October 2008 tracking poll that Gary cites is very interesting. Seven percent ??? 7% ???  …

Thanks, Gary, for confirming that those of us on the No side didn’t get the job done when it came time for drawing attention to who – specifically – was funding Prop 8.

C) Gary’s planning to do some follow-up polling two years from now?  Blue’s Clues, folks.  2010.  Get ready.  Gary & Co. already are.

Roll tape #3:

Q&A #4 (3:35 minutes):

A) What is it – exactly – that makes Mormons different from other faiths?  Gary knows.  Listen and learn.  It’s got a lot to do with vertical vs. horizontal and geographic vs. non-geographic organizational structures.

B) Force? Mormons don’t use “force”?  Whatever.  

We’re a nation of laws, Gary.  In this country, our secular laws = all the force needed to turn your agenda into my reality.  And I’ll respect that “force” throughout my campaign to change the laws that you’ve helped to implement, because, whether you like it or not (and even if you recognize it or not) we’re all Americans.

So, finally, roll tape #4:

Granted, none of this makes much sense (in terms of a way forward) unless you’re willing to listen to the audio and walk in Gary’s Mormon Weltanschauung for just a few minutes.

For those who are willing to listen and learn, I know you’ll be emboldened … because once you’ve caught wind of Gary’s own polling, you’ll come to understand that our Mormon opponents are not nearly as daunting as you might have supposed.

All their admitted competence aside, what they’ve figured out is ultimately not all that complicated.  Our opponents are who they are.  They’re vertically integrated … and Gary’s February polling is what it is.  And as long as we remain true to the task at hand, we will move on and render Dr. Lawrence’s early 2008 findings inoperative.

Their best days are behind them.  Their only hope has always been those folks in the muddled middle who, until lately, were conveniently unaware that both Mike Huckabee and Rick Cizik were about to get their respective asses kicked by folks on both sides of this issue (by Jon Stewart and the NAE, respectively).  

Going forward, Gary will continue to read his tea leaves, but we’re gonna drink his Mormon milkshake.  

Because even if many of us can’t see it yet, there is a 50-state strategy emerging in the Prop 8 aftermath: because all of a sudden there’s an understanding that any successful strategy relies on all of us taking the fight to whoever dares get in our way locally.  Wherever we are, whatever the locale, we all understand:  coordination is no substitute for courage.

The Prop 8 campaign looks set to be remembered as the exception that finally got us fired up enough to prove the rule that we’re all Americans.

Enjoy your victory, Gary.

And good luck with your future polling efforts.

I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

Chino Blanco

Gary Lawrence, director of Proposition 8’s Mormon grassroots effort.

The Brethren [the top echelon of Mormon leadership] have felt that the best way to organize and pass the Proposition is to have an Ecclesiastical arm and a Grassroots arm to the organization … The senior folks who run the grassroots are LDS at the coalition and are headed by Glen Greener and Gary Lawrence.

Here’s Gary, back in August, firing up his Mormon brigades …

Why Mormons Are In This Fight:

If same-sex marriage advocates [win], the whole structure collapses – the family, the nation, and in time civilization itself. The time has come for those of us who believe that God, not man, created marriage … to take a stand and defend it.

(Gary’s astounding post-victory TV interview after the break)

But before we roll tape, here’s Gary again from the summer, this time calling on Mormons from across the land to join the battle …

How Mormons Are Going To Win:

While we … are mobilizing thousands to walk precincts, you can help us from the comfort of your homes … if you live in the Eastern or Central time zones, you can use free late-evening minutes on weekdays to call when Californians have just finished dinner.

Mission accomplished.

And how is Gary celebrating his victory?

By promoting his latest book, of course:

How Americans View Mormonism (Seven Steps To Improve Our Image)

Here’s the author taking his turn on KSL5 TV:  

My favorite piece of advice from Dr. Lawrence to his fellow Mormons:

“Just be yourself.”

Perhaps the good doctor might consider that “being yourself” is a poor prescription for winning friends when “who you are” is someone willing to lead a campaign to strip your own child of his civil rights.

Meet Matthew Lawrence:

“Matthew is gay and is the son of Gary Lawrence, 67, who is the “State LDS Grassroots Director” for the state of California.”

This kind of heartless crap really upsets me, and I think maybe I need to speak directly to Gary at this point.

What this says about you as a father, Gary, is why it’s not surprising that you appear completely oblivious to the absolute incongruity of you, of all people, now touting your advice on the subject of improving Mormonism’s image.

How about taking a moment to reflect on your own comments in that KSL interview?

“Thirty-seven percent of all Americans do not know a Mormon, and 55 percent of all Americans do not know an active Mormon. In fact, those who know one Mormon have a worse opinion of us than those who don’t know any Mormons.“

Gary, if you were the only Mormon I knew, and if I thought for a second that all Mormons were just like you, you can bet I’d have a pretty low opinion of Mormonism.    

Considering how your own research indicates that the more people get to know you, the less they like you, how can your writing another book about Mormons (not to mention your going on the teevee to promote it) be viewed as anything other than a counterintuitive and boneheaded move?  Your own findings would seem to suggest that perhaps the first step to improving the Mormon image would be for Mormon PR flacks like yourself to simply go away.

Here’s my advice, Gary:  When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Why not climb out of that hole, use some of the $212,463 that the Prop 8 campaign has so far paid you and Lawrence Research, and take the entire family on a nice vacation somewhere?  

Your loved ones might appreciate that, and it would free up the airwaves for all those decent Mormons out there who we need to be hearing from … and who are the only hope Mormonism’s got for repairing the damage you’ve done.

This is all your doing, Gary.  

Jan Shipps: A “Perfect Storm” of Bad PR for Mormon Church

Aravosis v. Utah

Own it.

Chino Blanco