The liberal elite loved the Orange County mega-pastor when he joined them at Al Gore's global warming premiere, and led the way on HIV/AIDS in Africa, but now he's "thrown under the bus" for his support of Prop 8.
-- From "Obama's choice of Rick Warren to lead prayer dismays Hollywood liberals" by Tina Daunt, LA Times 12/20/08
Obama's selection of Orange County mega-pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his swearing in has hit liberal Hollywood in one of its sorest spots: the passage of Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, which Warren strongly supported. In fact, he has compared same-sex nuptials to approving polygamy and pedophilia.
Reaction in the entertainment industry -- where interestingly, Warren has his own powerful ties -- has been swift, angry and bitter.
The passage of Proposition 8 galvanized activist Hollywood in a way that the campaign had not.
Democratic political consultant Chad Griffin, who this week was named by the Advocate, America's leading gay publication, as one of its People of the Year, thinks that it's up to Warren to let Obama off the hook and withdraw.
Griffin said he planned to ask for a meeting with the pastor to make the case that Obama should pick someone else to do the invocation.
[Kathryn Kolbert, same-sex marriage advocate, and] the head of People for the American Way -- a group founded by Norman Lear -- said she was "profoundly disappointed" that Warren was asked to play a key role in the inauguration. ". . . the sad truth is that this decision further elevates someone who has in recent weeks actively promoted legalized discrimination and denigrated the lives and relationships of millions of Americans."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To read about Rick Warren's August 2008 interview with Obama and McCain, CLICK HERE.
