The Values Voter Summit, one of the top gatherings of the religious right, has gotten under way, with speakers dismissing sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and asserting that the U.S. is in a “golden time” under Donald Trump. The conference is being held today through Sunday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Its primary sponsor is FRC Action, the legislative arm of the anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council.
Speaking this morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to push Kavanaugh’s nomination through to confirmation, as the crowd cheered. “Don’t get rattled by all of this,” he said, according to McClatchy Newspapers. “We’re going to plow right through it and do our job.”
The matter rattling Kavanaugh’s supporters is Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation that he sexually assaulted and attempted to rape her at a party when they were in high school in the early 1980s. Blasey Ford may testify before the Senate next week; she is currently in negotiation on conditions.
Kavanaugh’s conservatism appeals to voters on the religious right, and McConnell catered to this audience at the summit by highlighting his desire to see judges on federal courts who “follow the law.” (The far right considers some decisions, such as those for marriage equality and abortion rights, to be making law rather than following it.)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke this afternoon, pledging to stand up for his vision of religious freedom around the world, and he praised FRC’s president, Tony Perkins, for his “important work.” Perkins’s work, of course, often includes demonizing LGBTQ people, and Pompeo himself has a long record of homophobia, although he avoided direct comments on gay issues today. Like Bachmann, Pompeo also praised Sam Brownback, an anti-LGBTQ politician who is now the U.S. ambassador for religious freedom.
The list of other speakers on the conference’s agenda reads like a who’s who of anti-LGBTQ activists, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, National Rifle Association president Oliver North, FRC analyst Peter Sprigg, Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Todd Starnes, and Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, was found guilty of violating Colorado’s antidiscrimination law, and appealed to the Supreme Court, winning a qualified victory. Read more via the Advocate