By Sally Jo Sorensen
Despite claims to the contrary coming from the right, Minnesota's tea party chapters aren't simply focused on conservative staple issues like free markets and limited government. They're also playing host to groups that oppose an anti-bullying bill because it would protect LBGT youth.
Earlier this month, MinnPost's conservative/Republican beat columnist Cindy Brucato reported in Minnesota Tea Party gaining supporters, but has little political clout:
Minnesota’s Tea Partiers, with their philosophy of free markets and limited government, are mainly Republicans, like Rogers. Although he said there are parts of the state GOP platform the Tea Party doesn’t like, “I think the three strongest policies we support together are the right to work, voter identification and protection of human life.” Duesenberg disagrees a little with Rogers, saying that the Tea Party avoids social issues like abortion and gay marriage.
Bluestem checked it out, reporting back in Do Minnesota's Tea Party chapters avoid "social issues like abortion and gay marriage"? that some chapters incorporated anti-reproductive freedom and marriage equality language into their mission statements.
A review of recent Facebook postings and events reveals that the North Metro Tea Party and the SW Metro Tea Party have hosted featured speakers trying to rally the troops against passage of the senate companion bill to HF826, an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) that passed the Minnesota House on May 6, 2013. Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) is the chief sponsor of the bill in the upper chamber.
North Metro Tea Party: Barb Anderson & the MN Child Protection League
The North Metro Tea Party's Facebook page noted on October 10:
Great group of speakers tonight, starting with Barb Anderson and Michelle Benson and a surprise visit from Jeff Johnson! Ted Lillie & Phil Krinkie are on deck!
Benson is a Republican state senator, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson is a Republican running for governor, Krinkie a Republican running for the open seat in the Sixth Congressional District, and Lillie is a Republican running a chain of newspapers and the Taxpayers League now that former TPL honcho Krinkie is seek office.
The name Barb Anderson might not ring a bell--though a tweet by Jack Rogers from October 10 might jar some memories:
Tonight - The North Metro TEA Party brings to the stage: Barb Anderson - the Bullying Bill Senator Michelle... http://t.co/ku03upJ8IC
— Jack Rogers (@JRWatch) October 10, 2013
Ah yes. That Barb Anderson.
Background: Barbara Anderson/Parents Action League
Anderson heads the Parents Action League, notorious for its anti-gay positions. In March 2012, Former City Pages staff writer Jessica Lussenhop reported in Parents Action League listed as a hate group:
The Southern Poverty Law Center recently released its annual "Hate Map" which identifies over 1,000 groups all over the U.S. that it considers to be hate groups.Debuting this year is the Champlain-based group Parents Action League, which testified at many Anoka-Hennepin school board meetings against repeal of the neutrality policy. They also strongly advocated that students in the district be referred to ex-gay therapy resources.
"They say terrible things like gays are more promiscuous than straights," says Heidi Beirich,
The Southern Poverty Law Center recently got a ground-breaking settlement against the Anoka-Hennepin school district after alleging that the district's policies created a hostile environment for gay students that lead to discrimination and bullying. Members of the Parents Action League had a strong hand in creating some of those policies, most prominently Barb Anderson. She was a part of the 1995 committee that drafted the original curriculum policy that dictated that homosexuality not be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle." That policy morphed into the Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy, which said that teachers must remain neutral on the topic of homosexuality, and became the focal point of the lawsuit.
director of the Intelligence Project. "They also work closely with other anti-gay hate groups."However, Beirich says that the hate group label comes primarily from material found on PAL's website. For example, from in a list of demands to the district, the website reads, "students who become involved with outside homosexual organizations face greater threats to their health/longevity/quality of life due to the libertine philosophy of such groups," and that the district should "provide webinars/seminars for all staff on overcoming sexual disorders."
People for the American Way's website created a keyword just for Anderson, and entries there note that she is a researcher for the Minnesota Family Council. PFAW's Right Wing Watch has also kept an eye on her.
The Parents Action League even has its own Wikpedia entry. There's this about PAL's origins:
The Minnesota Family Council is the statewide sponsor of the Parents Action League (PAL).[13] PAL member Barb Anderson, a former district Spanish teacher and a longtime researcher for the Minnesota Family Council,[14][15] fought "gay influence" in local schools for two decades.[1] When the Anoka-Hennepin district's sex-ed curriculum was due for re-evaluation in 1994, Anderson and four like-minded parents joined the review committee. They argued against teaching gay tolerance in school, suggesting that it would "promote homosexuality", and that discussing it openly might actually "turn straight kids gay".[1]
At the end of the committee's seven-month-long sex-ed review, Anderson and her colleagues wrote to the Anoka-Hennepin school board, concluding, "The majority of parents do not wish to have there [sic] children taught that the gay lifestyle is a normal acceptable alternative."[1] The school board voted to adopt the measure by a four-to-two majority, using language from the committee's memo to create a district-wide policy. The policy prohibited homosexuality to be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle", within the health curriculum. The policy was unofficially known as the "No Homo Promo". Teachers said it had a chilling effect and they became concerned about mentioning gays in any context. Gradually discussion of homosexuality disappeared from classes.[1][16]
Anderson's presentation to the North Metro Tea Party October 2013 meeting isn't an isolated episode. North Star Tea Party Patriot funder and PJ Media columnist Walter Hudson spoke against anti-bullying legislation at the NMTP's September meeting.
Hudson spoke to the SW Metro Tea Party on the same topic. From the group's video page:
September 23rd, 2013: Stop The Bullying Bill! with Walter Hudson, blogger and contributor for PJ Media
Notorious homophobe Brad Brandon speaker at NMTP in July
Additionally, Pastor Brad Brandon spoke at the July North Metro Tea Party meeting, although there's no record of what he spoke about. Brandon made national headlines in 2012 when Huffington Post reported in Brad Brandon, Minnesota Pastor, Links Gay Marriage Support To Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany:
A Minnesota pastor has apologized after sparking the ire of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates by implying that support for same-sex marriage is akin to Nazi Germany.
CBS Minnesota reports that Rev. Brad Brandon asked residents at at least three recent rallies: “How many of you are familiar with what happened in World War II under Adolf Hitler?”
As video footage of one rally attests, Brandon then went on to compare Hitler's anti-Semitic actions to what he believes is happening to Christians who oppose marriage equality now. “What I’m simply saying is that Adolf Hitler took away two fundamental rights from a group of people in order to suppress them," he says in the clip, evidently part of a 40-minute Power Point presentation intended to sway voters to support the marriage amendment. "Those two fundamental rights are the same rights that are being taken away from the Christian community."
According to MyFox 9, Brandon continued the analogy even further, noting: "[Hitler] removed their voices in the public square and removed their control of their own businesses. So, he stopped Jewish people from speaking out in public and he silenced them."
Brandon is the church outreach director for Minnesota for Marriage, the campaign supporting the amendment. If approved by voters in November, Minnesota's existing ban on gay marriage will be placed in the state constitution. . . .
The MNCLP's anti-anti-bullying bill video
On Thursday, the North Metro Tea Party shared a Youtube from the Mn Child Protection League's page, along with the headnote:
This is a video produced by the MN Child Protection League about the proposed Anti-Bullying Bill. Powerful.
The video explores the agenda for promoting "sexual diversity" that's supposedly hidden in the bill:
What is the MN Child Protection League?
There's no listing for the MN Child Protection League in the Minnesota Secretary of State's database of business and nonprofits, nor is the group a charity registered with the Charities Division at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. The group's website "About Us" doesn't disclose any personnel or board members--or whether there's a board at all.
A call to the number listed on the website was answered by a recorded message: "This number has been disabled." The domain name holder, via godaddy, is registered by proxy.
Although the entity doesn't disclose much about itself, it does seem linked to some familiar names. Walter Hudson will be speaking about the bill at the Stealing Our School Conference on Thursday, October 24. MNCPL is co-sponsoring the event with another transparnecy-closeted group, America 101, which is obsessed with the standard wingnut-Bircher brew of Agenda 21 and whatever.
On October 14, 2013, Bachmann ex-lesbian gal pal Janet Boynes posted an Urgent Message from the MN Child Protection League on Facebook. The note reads:
Dear Parent ,
This letter is to alert you to a very dangerous piece of legislation on target to pass into law as soon as the Minnesota legislature convenes in February 2014. The legislation, spearheaded by Governor Dayton and the Democrat, will affect all of Minnesota’s children. We are sending you this call to action because you have the voice and power to stop a very tragic piece of legislation from becoming law.
First, let me explain who we are. We are the Minnesota Child Protection League (MnCPL), a recently formed grassroots group whose current project is stopping Governor Dayton’s dangerous, invasive, and falsely promoted “anti-bullying” legislation (HF826), the “Safe and Supportive MN School’s Act”. . .
There's the standard fear of little Suzie getting popped with a bullying charge for saying something naughty when teacher starts reading "Heather Has Two Mommies" to the class (entire message here) and the standard objections are aired.
Toward the close of the document, there's this:
MnCPL is blowing the whistle to let the public know: Get This On Your Radar! MnCPL has already taken the first steps to getting a grassroots movement off the ground. Among other things, we’ve created a website full of resources and we can't wait until next week to send you our new video! We've begun meeting with legislators; drafted alternative, effective legislation; identified our lobbying targets; formulated a coalition of people and groups who will work together to stop HF826; created a petition; begun speaking; and conducted radio interviews. MnCPL is building the strong foundation for the work that needs to be done.
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO…!
TAKE ACTION! We will soon need many people calling their legislators, writing letters to the editor, posting on blogs, and using social media to get this word out. Please join us in this critical battle to protect our schools, parents, and our vulnerable children from bullying by the state. Please visit our website to become informed, sign up for our email updates, share our information and alerts, widely distribute our movie, schedule a presentation in your area, “like” us on Facebook, “share” our FB information, sign our online petition, share our petition, and join us on twitter (@CPLmn). In other words, become an activist for the children!
CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY! MnCPL has tax deductible 501c3 non-profit status. To get this word out across the state, will you consider, right now, making a tax-deductible contribution to this effort?No one at MnCPL is paid. We are all volunteers, and we urgently need your financial support!
Thankyou for making our work possible. We are working to protect every child, not just some. Please remember to make your tax-deductible contribution out to MnCPL. Please do it today!
United in action,Renee T. Doyle,Member, Board of Directors MINNESOTA CHILD PROTECTION LEAGUE
As we write this, 67 twitter accounts are following @cplmn. As for the non-profit status, it's likely that this project is sponsored by an established organization; we'll do more searching is the IRS charities database.
Renee Doyle is a former Michele Bachmann congressional staff member whose ties to Bachmann go back to the Maple River Education Coalition and Edwatch. Along with Bachmann and the Quists, she was instrumental in repealing the profile of learning.
According to a post on the HERO Home Educators Resource Organization Facebook page, the MNCPL will be hosting a conference on Corrupting the Minds of Children with Sexualized Curriculum and Bullying on Monday, October 28, 2013:
Corrupting the Minds of Children with Sexualized Curriculum and Bullying
When Mon, October 28, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Where Crossroads Covenant Church, Activity Building (map)
Description Barbara Anderson and Renee Doyle will be speaking to us about the sex education that is being taught in our public schools. Please no minors at the workshops. This workshop is FREE but donations will be accepted to the non-profit organization The MN Child Protection League.More information will be coming. Here is a summary and the nights agenda. This workshop is a must for all adults who are concerned about the moral decline in our culture and its impact on our children. Come find out why home school and private school children are not exempted. Workshop 1 6:30 - 7:30 Barb Anderson (Parents Action League) "From Two Genders to LGBTQQIA" Workshop 2 7:30 - 8:30 Renee Doyle (MN Child Protection League) "The Bogus Bill to Stop Bullying- Legislating What Children Think" 6:30 - 7:10 Barb Anderson (Parents Action League) 7:10 - 7:25 Q &A 7:25 - 7:35 break 7:35 - 8:15 Renee Doyle (MN Child Protection League) 8:15 - 8:30 Q & A
Whatever the MN Child Protection League is, it's working closely with figures who are speaking about the anti-bullying bill at tea party gatherings. And given the anti-gay agenda of the Parents Action League, it's disingenuous for the movement's leaders to say that Minnesota's Tea Party's aren't engaged with social issues.
Need more? Check out this post shared yesterday by the Rochester Tea Party's Facebook page or a post about the "real" gay agenda on the Central Minnesota Tea Party's blog. Oh, scary.
Other than that, maybe they're not concern about social issues stuff one little bit.
Bonus: A Minnesota Nice Obama-Hitler-Stalin image in a post on the Rochester TPP Facebook page.
Images: Screenshot of the North Metro Tea Party post of the MNCPL video (above); Poster for the SOS event in sunny Chanhassen (below).
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