Gay Patriot reports on the election in Houston of a conservative lesbian to be mayor:
When the LA Times called Annise Parker, Houston’s Mayor-Elect “conservative,” I thought that maybe this lesbian is a Republican, but, alas, she is not. In the Space City’s mayoral runoff yesterday, she “defeated former City Attorney Gene Locke on an austere platform, convincing voters that her financial bona fides and restrained promises would be best suited in trying financial times.”…
…She wasn’t running as the lesbian candidate for Mayor, but as a prudent manager of the city’s finances who happened to be lesbian. Her victory seems to be emblematic of the changing attitudes toward gays, that if gay and lesbian candidates run for office on issues of concern to voters in their jurisdiction, where their sexuality is incidental to their political philosophy and campaign platform, voters will look past their sexuality and consider the merits of their person and their policy proposals.
With Mayor-Elect Parker’s background in financial management and commitment to sound budgetary policies, it looks like, come January 1, the City of Houston will be in good hands.
Gay Patriot does note that she was opposed by some in the religious right, but I find nothing from the largest groups (Catholic League, Focus on the Family, Christian Coalition, eg) about the election – so, I’ll put down the opposition to her from Christian groups as a minor issue, and it certainly didn’t sway the electorate. The bone of contention for the Christian groups in opposition was a worry that Parker might revive an old battle about domestic partnership benefits. She might, for all I know, but she didn’t campaign on it – and if she’s got any sense at all, she’ll leave that sleeping dog to lie, at least through her first term.
To be sure, all Christians who are instructed in their faith hold that homosexual sex is inherently morally disordered, so no Christian can endorse the sexual life of Houston’s Mayor-elect. But does this mean that Christians must oppose her in all things? I don’t think so.
Just as I hold that all believers must come together as belief, in and of itself, is under attack, so do I believe that all who love liberty must come together as liberty, in and of itself, is under attack. It wouldn’t do us the least bit of good to wreck a Christian denomination in preparation for all Christianity being driven underground (understanding that the Church cannot be destroyed – the gates of hell not prevailing, of course) – and it won’t help us at all to destroy fellow soldiers in the fight for liberty just before we’re all sent to a re-education camp. We are faced with a clear threat to all belief and all liberty – ranged against us is the left, and they’ll destroy people like Parker just as eagerly as they would destroy, well, me.
We must fight the most important battles, first. Right now, we must defend our right to believe and our right to be free – once we’ve won those battles, then we can set about each other with gusto on just what belief and liberty fully entail. And we must not refuse help from any person who is willing to do so, even if we don’t agree with all that they do or believe. Remember, if you are an Evangelical and want my Catholic support, you’re already going to have to look past areas of disagreement (as I do, too) – so, if we’re Christian fighters for freedom, we’re going to have to look past some things believed by other fighters for freedom who may not be Christian or, if they claim the title, certainly don’t hold to orthodox theology.
Now, if Parker started pressing a specifically gay agenda – say, for gay marriage or teaching homosexuality to young children in school – then we all on our side would immediately rise up…and had she campaigned on that, she likely would have given a concession speech last night. She didn’t campaign on that and it doesn’t appear it is her goal – given that her stated purpose is to bring fiscal responsibility to Houston government, all we can do is bless her in that effort and offer whatever support we can. We can part ways, in the future, if that proves necessary – neither we, nor her, asking anyone to sacrifice core belief for political expediency.
We must be united – and united we will win the fight for freedom.
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