It's not just wrong. It's dangerous. Every time homophobia is left unchallenged, it sends the message to people struggling with their identity that there's something fundamentally wrong with them. It's heartbreaking, it's frightening, and it's flat out dangerous.

And while I can't come up with any satisfying justification for Obama inviting Rick Warren to the Inauguration, the fact is that Rick Warren will still be preaching intolerance, hate and ignorance whether he goes to the Inauguration or not.

But here's the thing. Whenever Warren is pushed to discuss his views on homosexuality- whether in a friendly forum like Beliefnet or a more critical setting like Larry King Live, he demonstrates that his views are harmful and seriously out of step with reality.

Which is why we at the Courage Campaign think it's high time for him to put up or shut up. Does he have the courage and the chops to debate Rev. Eric Lee about gay marriage? Sign the petition challenging him to make his case and let's find out.

If you don't know Rev. Lee yet, all I can say is...Bring it Rev. Warren. Let's just see what you've got.

Earlier today, Rick Jacobs emailed our members about our challenge, highlighting some of Warren's recent outrageous statements in the process:   Read More »

"Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors -- the 'us's' -- without hope the 'us's' give up. I know that you can't live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you have got to give them hope." - Harvey Milk, "Hope Speech," 1978

Hope doesn't win elections or change the world by itself. It's all people with hope that do it. The people who believe that not only SHOULD things be better, but somehow, some way, things will be better.

Attending a Milk+Love event on Saturday feeds both halves of the activist. A brief break from fighting for what's right to celebrate what's right and remember how we've gotten here. An extra infusion of motivation and hope before attending a Light Up the Night candlelight vigil.

Robert Cruickshank wrote to Courage members earlier this week explaining his personal connection to Milk and what this weekend can mean:   Read More »

There's been a great deal of introspection in the month since election day over what exactly happened with Prop 8. Obviously we've talked about it here at Courage in some depth, but when I attended a local organizing meeting here in San Diego last week, I was impressed not just by all the energy and commitment in the activist base, but by how naturally everyone "got it." They understood that this time, supporters of equality had to go out to all corners of the community, make their case in person, and most importantly reclaim the rhetorical battleground. In short, stop reacting and seize the initiative.

There are a lot of great ideas percolating at the local, state and national level, and so many of them are happening organically- motivated folks who organize their friends and neighbors and inspire others to do the same. Today, that energy is devoted to Day Without A Gay, organized by Join the Impact. The premise is pretty simple: if you're able, call in "gay" today, and volunteer in your community for marriage equality or other causes.

Yesterday afternoon, Eden James sent a targeted email to supporters asking that they gather signatures for the Courage Campaign Repeal Prop 8 Pledge while working in the community. His pitch was certainly better than mine:   Read More »

It's a simple question, but in practice the answer certainly isn't. We've seen tens of thousands of people take to the streets already, and it's been incredible. We've had more than 300,000 people sign our pledge to repeal Prop 8 and we're still growing.

But a sustained campaign to repeal Prop 8 at the ballot, or protect judges from politically motivated recall efforts or just plain old vicious campaigning, or whatever else it may take to restore marriage equality- it requires people in the field. Working to organize and really maximize the political might of this activist army.

Rick Jacobs emailed supporters yesterday asking for help putting organizers in the field to start working towards the restoration of equality and the repeal of Prop 8. He wrote:   Read More »

Opponents of equality are calling it a threat. But when more than 300,000 signed the Courage Campaign pledge to restore marriage equality, it wasn't a threat. It was a promise. A promise that we would not stand for anything less than equality for all. Whether it's in the courts or at the ballot box, whether it's repealing Prop 8 or defending judges who support equality, it's a promise that we'll be there, because equality is not optional.

Rick Jacobs recently laid it out in more detail, elegance and urgency:   Read More »

An army for equality is forming. It's happening because ordinary people are standing up to fight for the most fundamental premise of this country: that all people are equal. That everyone is entitled to their beliefs, but nobody can be forced to share those beliefs. That as Quakers say in their traditional welcome:

We will not defer to thee in opinion or ask thee to defer to us. What thou thinketh ye shall say, if ye wish, without giving offense. What we think, we also say, believing that truth hath many aspects, and that love is large enough to encompass them all.

That love is large enough to encompass them all.

More than 275,000 people have signed the Courage Campaign pledge to repeal Proposition 8. A group larger than Buffalo or St. Paul. This past weekend, pure grassroots energy and organizing generated 100,000 people in all 50 states and 8 countries standing up for equality; coming together and pledging their commitment to the notion that love is large enough to encompass all aspects of truth.

Rick Jacobs emailed supporters earlier today giving a more in depth rundown of the amazing organic activism springing up all over the country around this issue. And he helped lay out a course forward:   Read More »

Outrage is the easy part. Heck, it's the part that's tough to escape even if you want to. Outrage without action will only take you so far though, and Republicans in the state legislature are making on living on turning outrage into obstructionism and obstructionism into the elimination of fundamental services. The calculation is that a Republican can't win any other way- without adhering desperately to a government philosophy that does nothing but erode the ability of the state to do anything. To run it into the ground; break it all apart.

Fighting back requires turning outrage into action. It's calling out irresponsible behavior, but it's also making the case to your friends and neighbors. There's no real substitute for personal interaction, but you can reach a much larger audience by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper demanding that Republicans get serious and responsible on the budget. Democratic leaders in Sacramento are fighting to protect vital services in the face of a serious deficit, but they need everyone's help to make the case throughout the state and make the message heard.

Robert Cruickshank wrote Courage members today explaining what's at stake and what can be done:   Read More »

Over the weekend here in San Diego, as many as 10,000 Prop 8 opponents marched in protest of the elimination of marriage equality. Particularly in a city not at all known for outward political demonstrations, it was truly something to behold. But certainly San Diegans weren't alone. Large street protests were held in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, Sacramento and elsewhere throughout the state and across the country.

The energy and outrage is at times overwhelming, though certainly encouraging. The challenge before us is to figure out how to harness and channel this energy in the most effective way possible to reinstate marriage equality. More than 50,000 people have signed Courage Campaign's pledge to repeal Prop 8, but we're just getting started. Have you signed yet? Do you know people who still need to sign? The time to turn shock and outrage into a vibrant, long-term social movement is right now.

Rick Jacobs delved into the details of what's going on and what we can accomplish via email earlier today:   Read More »

I mentioned earlier that this election has been an incredible experience personally because of the endless enthusiasm and support from Courage members and grassroots activists throughout the state and around the country. I know I'm not alone in that. The last few days in particular have been exhausting for everyone here at the Courage Campaign as well as for many of our members. Throughout the state in our own ways, everyone has been running ragged trying to deliver a strong finish tomorrow.

I spent a good portion of Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium checking out The Call rally that brought evangelicals from across the state and around the country to San Diego for a full day of "corporate prayer and fasting." I saw estimates ahead of time anticipating as many as 100,000 people. As you can see in the first video, that didn't quite happen. Organizers reported 33,000 entries throughout the day, but many people went in and out and/or didn't stay especially long (I accounted for 4 out of those 33,000 myself). But once I left Qualcomm and went to check out the No on 8 candlelight rally in Hillcrest- it was totally different. Streets were blocked off, you could hear it before you could see it, I had to park nearly half a mile away. And when I finally got there, it was a completely different atmosphere.

People were happy. Not just smiling, but genuinely and enthusiastically happy about being around each other and celebrating inclusiveness. Everyone took the issue seriously, but they also realized that this is about appreciating each other. That we're all in this together, so we should really start enjoying it. I dunno...it was good for my soul at least.

This is the end of the stretch run. We know how hard you've been working this whole election and it's been an honor and a privilege to work with you. On Saturday, from No on 8 headquarters, Julia Rosen emailed the lay of the land and the situation as we ask for to step up one last time this cycle to finish the job:   Read More »

This is it. The finish line is in sight but the outcome is nowhere near certain. We need your No on 8 vote, but it's more than that. No on Prop 8 needs volunteers to push this all the way through tomorrow.

When I first started dabbling in politics, I wrote about my somewhat confused and aimless search for my Tank Man/ Tiananmen Square moment. This lacks some of the dramatic immediacy of that moment, but it's what I've got. This is the moment to stand up for what is fundamentally right and fair and decent in our society. You've all been amazing in your support, and it's been that support that led us to deliver 17,345 signatures to the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City, bringing your voices to their door. I won't wax too poetic and and let Eden's message below make the important points, but this has been inspiring for me to be a small part of because of all the passion from the grassroots from across the state including so many thousands of Courage members.

To quote Boots Riley: "If we waiting for the times to fight, these is thems." Leave it all on the road:   Read More »

I mean this is really getting out of hand. And before it goes any further, we need to establish a few things that the Yes on 8 campaign seems not to understand.

The current state of marriage does not make the words "bride" and "groom" hate speech. Gays are not the same as unicorns. No matter what Tom McClintock thinks, gays are not dogs either. The notion- in this country of all places- that equality would be "armageddon" should be outrageous to anyone. And most certainly, eliminating human rights would not be the same as defeating Hitler. Just stop. But hey- Yes on 8: if you've got an actual point, let's hear it. No really. One that's true.

So far there isn't one. I'm actually a little surprised. Given the tens of millions being rushed to California by Mormons and the great monied patrons of the religious right and the lather being worked up, you'd think that somewhere there would be a reasoned argument. Even if it wasn't front and center. There's lying and there's fear mongering and there's divisiveness. I've gotten those messages. And it's all capped by the evocation of the most horrific genocide the world has ever known.

And then there's The Call. Leading untold thousands to my city on Saturday to pray for Proposition 8. You do that. I'd like to think that this will be a positive event, but nothing so far leads me to expect a break from the nonstop divisiveness and the out-and-out lying and the histrionics (not to run this into the ground, but in the world of rhetoric, a Hitler comparison is the last stop on the hyperbole express). I'm sick of it, and if that's what I can expect on Saturday, take it elsewhere. I'm sick of the lies, I'm sick of the blackmail of my local small businesses, I'm sick of this being considered a remotely appropriate level of political discourse, and most of all I'm sick of being told that people are not created equal. That's the entire point of this country existing. It's the very first self-evident truth. Don't get angry at me if you don't like it. Take it up with the Declaration of Independence.

So while Prop 8 supporters pile into Qualcomm to pray, the Courage Campaign is joining with other allies of equality and freedom calling for volunteers to stop Prop 4 and Prop 8. When Rick Jacobs emailed Courage members earlier today, he noted that "the religious right is calling Proposition 8 its 'decisive last stand,'" which tells you the stakes on this. If you doubt at all how seriously they're taking it, check out the Call video on the volunteer page. It's pretty shocking.

Look: this is how the religious right keeps winning elections. For all the (very important) stories of voter suppression and ballot box rigging and corruption, the fundamental strategy hinges on drowning everyone in so much vitriol and general negativity that they give up entirely and stay home. It can't work this time. We can't let it. There's simply too much on the line. At a time that it's almost hackneyed already to rally around hope and change, it's all the more vital that California stand up collectively and say enough is ENOUGH. Lying to us won't work. Trying to wear us down with the rhetoric of alienation will not keep us home. Trying to make us miserable will not keep us quiet.

6 days left. I'm spending my Saturday with Lou Engle and James Dobson because there's some question as to whether equality is a human right in this country. How can we allow this to be a debate any longer? Enough is enough. Do something. And if you have time, do one more thing. If we don't stop this crap now, then when?

Andrew Sullivan notes today that one of the biggest financial supporters of the Yes on 8 campaign is Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, who has pumped $450,000 into the campaign. Broekhuizen is the mother of Blackwater founder and owner Erik Prince and Bush Pioneer Betsy DeVos. She's also quite the patron of the religious right.   Read More »

As if it wasn't more than enough when it was just big money and lying. Now the Yes on 8 campaign- including their Mormon allies- are trying to extort money from business owners who are helping to fund the No on 8 campaign. And for those who don't comply with the deamnds, a threat of public blacklisting. It's desperate, it's pathetic, and it's fundamentally wrong.

And these aren't idle threats. Here is San Diego, Yes on 8 has some powerful big money allies who could make things difficult if they were motivated. And we've already seen what the Mormon Church can do when it puts it's mind to something: well over $10 million trying to pass Prop 8. And just one week until The Call leads a big Yes on 8 rally at Qualcomm Stadium.

This is turning into a national story, and we have to act fast with just 10 days left before the election. Earlier today, Rick Jacobs provided the outrage and the call to action:   Read More »

It's a pretty simple commandment. Having spent a few decades attending church, it's certainly not one of the foggy points of theology as I understand it. And as I learned it, unrepentant lying is even worse. But if recent developments are any indication, the top of the Mormon Church sees things a bit differently.

What I know is that combining lying with hatred and intolerance...it offends what I understand Christianity to be. That certainly doesn't mean that I expect everyone to conform to how I understand religion- quite the opposite. It just drives home that it isn't the place of religion to dictate our laws. And certainly not by violating the fundamental tenets of their given belief structure. It's a minefield that simply can't end well, regardless of initial intentions.

So when Rick Jacobs emailed Courage supporters earlier today explaining the distressing (to say the least) behavior by the Mormon Church on Prop 8 recently, I read with a little bit of ambivalence. But I realized it's not an attack on faith. It's an attack on a few people perverting faith with lies and intolerance. Which is why it's so important to sign the petition to the Mormon Prophet-President demanding that they stop paying for outright lies to be spread about Prop 8 in California.

But of course, Rick said it much better than I could:   Read More »

California is and has for quite some time been a bit of a foregone conclusion at the Presidential level. It's led a number of people to focus on Western swing states for their volunteering. But while Prop 8 has started to bring people's attention back to California, the fight over parental-notification via Proposition 4 is still often getting lost in the shuffle.

So when everyone's favorite Sarah Palin came to Southern California recently, it was an opportunity to remind folks of the stakes when we hit the polls in a few days. We sent Todd Beeton down to check things out, and yesterday he shared his report:   Read More »

I voted today. Normally, I'm a voting purist and would never consider voting in any way other than in person, in the booth, on Election Day. But this year isn't normal. This year, it seems as though almost every issue that directly changes people's lives is somewhere on the California ballot. From Iraq to the economy to health care to the future of energy policy, it sometimes seems as though everything has reached a head in the presidential race. But going down the state ballot, this year gives Californians a wide-ranging opportunity to speak strongly on the future of transportation, agriculture, education, energy, choice, equality, and judicial reform.

I simply couldn't wait three more weeks to make my statement at the ballot box. And I'm hardly the only one: vote-by-mail has begun in earnest in California, which means there's no time to lose: votes are in the balance every day from here until November 4.

Earlier today, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa emailed Courage Campaign supporters explaining what's at stake in the Prop 8 campaign and putting his money where his mouth is. As we go down to the wire, every little bit is vitally necessary. Check out Mayor Villaraigosa's email on the flip and consider stepping up with a matching contribution to defeat Proposition 8:   Read More »

I know. I watched the debate too, so really- I could be talking about any number of things with that title. But in this case, I'm not even talking about anything from the debate.

I'm talking about Sarah Palin's Couric interview, where Couric asked, "If a 15-year-old is raped by her father, you believe it should be illegal for her to get an abortion. Why?"

Now, during tonight's debate, Palin noted with no shortage of dogmatic conviction in her voice the "dictators who hate America and hate what we stand for, with...our respect for women's rights..." But her response to Couric?

"I am pro-life. And I'm unapologetic about my position..."

I'm glad that America respects women's rights since Sarah Palin doesn't seem to; not even the rights of our children. She's not alone on that fringe, even in California. The assault on women is going to the ballot in November, and earlier today Rick Jacobs explained the connection and what's at stake:   Read More »

It hasn't been a good week for the McCain/Palin ticket. Sarah Palin was interviewed and thoroughly embarrassed by Katie Couric. Katie. Couric. Senator McCain suspended his campaign to rush back to Washington DC and save us all from economic collapse, but by most accounts ruined the bailout compromise that was being negotiated and then claimed credit for its passage in swing states as it failed to pass the House.

Sarah Palin has been hard at work (presumably) at debate preparation in the lead-up to Thursday evening's Vice Presidential debate, but apparently her prep hasn't included Supreme Court decisions or the names of newspapers. John McCain today had to cancel a big-dollar Hollywood fundraiser to rush back to Washington (again) in order to vote for the new bailout plan- the one that was negotiated successfully as soon as he left town- which broke his streak of not having shown up for a vote since April 8. A truly bizarro-Ripken streak of absenteeism.

And in the process, Obama has surged dramatically in swing state polling and more than doubled his national lead to a point that is threatening to push past the 50% mark. All of this has gone on without much action for our own California. John McCain may have been forced to call off his visit to Hollywood, but Sarah Palin is still coming to Carson on Saturday. She'll be here to advocate in one way or another for her extremely conservative social policies- policies that put her outside the mainstream of America and even further outside the mainstream of California.

She'll come here as the face of the intolerance represented by Proposition 8 and the reckless treatment of women's health represented by Proposition 4. And Courage Campaign is looking forward to extending a welcome to Governor Palin.

So Eden James emailed many of our supporters yesterday asking for suggestions for a simple airplane sign message that would express our feelings about her and the values she represents. He explained:   Read More »

Three months late, California has found itself a budget. It satisfies no-one, fails to address the long-term systemic flaws in the budgeting system, doesn't provide the services that people expect to receive when they pay their taxes or cast a vote, and essentially accomplishes little more than keeping (most of) the lights on for a few months until this comes around again.

The problems will be the same, the partisan divisions and rancor will be the same, and we'll be another year down the road towards a completely ungovernable state. We simply can't keep doing this every year; it fails everyone, and we deserve better.

So Rick Jacobs and Courage Campaign floated an idea, but it's ultimately up to you: Should we call a Constitutional Convention?

It's clear that the system isn't working, and bold action is needed to break out of this perpetual stalemate. Rick Jacobs laid out the full case in an email Thursday, but it's up to you to vote and tell us what you think:   Read More »

I had a long talk tonight with a friend about the role of Walmart in the modern economy. Most of the conversation centered around the personal responsibility that we all have to stand up and do the right thing before the success is obvious. We do it because it takes bold action by individuals to organize a community, to crash the gates, to "Take on the System."

The vanguard of change is often the toughest part, but it's also the most vital. That's why I'm personally excited for the upcoming Courage Campaign Call with Markos Moulitsas. He's provided the framework that's enabled a number of figures in that vanguard for change, and he knows of what he speaks. Earlier today, he emailed Courage Campaign supporters with a taste of what to expect on the 6pm Wednesday call:   Read More »