The new blacklist?

By Tom Scheffelin

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual actors have demanded the artistic director of California Musical Theatre be fired for donating money to a campaign they did not like, according to an article by Marcus Crowder of the Sacramento Bee.

This amounts to a direct assault of a citizen's right to vote and their right to legally contribute money to a campaign. The artistic director, a 25 year employee of California Musical Theatre, resigned two days later. Other supporters of the campaign have also been targeted for harassment.

Where is the outrage?

Here is a brief description of the proposition:

Proposition 8: The California Marriage Protection Amendment

Proposition 8 places into the California Constitution the same language that voters already passed by 61% of the vote in 2000. This is necessary to overturn an outrageous California Supreme Court decision that overturned Proposition 22.

About Proposition 8

Proposition 8 is simple and straightforward. It contains the same 14 words that were previously approved in 2000 by over 61% of California voters: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The new McCarthyites want to deny a 25 year employee his job, his reputation, and his livelihood, for exercising this nation's basic right: legally voting with his pocketbook by supporting a candidate, party, or a grass roots proposition -- which in California means concerned citizens doing the job our legislature won't do.

Not everyone is comfortable:

"There's a great degree of hue and cry over getting Mr. Eckern fired," Whitty wrote. "I've searched my soul about this. I'm instinctively not comfortable with the idea of his dismissal, though my activist side still whispers, 'Punish!'

Punish someone for daring to oppose your group's ideas. Isn't this what dictatorial regimes do to those that dare to speak out?

"I fear for what Mr. Eckern's dismissal would say about theater: that there's only room for the pro-gay crowd. In a way, if we only allow people we agree with, if we only allow people who share a broad sympathy for the human condition, then we become one of those dreaded fantasy 'elites.' "

Now we all know why the Hollywood elite are so out of touch with America and her values.

The bullies have published the names of other contributors, too. Welcome to 1984 -- 24 years late.

We will be periodically reporting other attempts to illegally harass honest citizens legally exercising their rights.