In case you have not seen it yet, there is a group calling themselves the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) located on the world wide web at http://www.hrc.org. Their self-proclaimed ďmissionĒ is to work legislatively for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Isnít that lovely?! Thatís just what we need is a group whose sole purpose is to do THAT!

What is even more intriguing (or scary!) is the political involvement of the HRC. They are keeping a close eye on the upcoming political races in various states to identify the politicians running who share their passion for gay rights in America. The HRCís political action committee is dedicated to being a legitimate and respected force on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. However, they will ONLY support candidates who have been strong supporters of pro-gay legislation in the past through their actions and policy statements. They endorse both Democrats and Republicans who support their radical leftist agenda.

Oh, but this gets better, much better!

In the South Carolina race for U.S. Senate, guess who the HRC has decided to endorse?

Both Lindsey Graham and Alex Sanders are being portrayed by their campaign strategists and in the media as moderate to conservative candidates, right?

Alex Sanders is pushing his fiscally conservative message in commercial after commercial on television. Heck, if I didnít know any better, Iíd think he was a Republican (do you get the idea Alex Sanders doesnít want the voters to know heís a Democrat?).

Lindsay Graham, the heir apparent to retiring U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, has been under a tremendous amount of scrutiny from within the Republican Party in recent years for a perceived swift shift to the left politically. But has he moved far enough to the left to be endorsed by the HRC?

On the surface, neither of them could realistically be endorsed by such an openly liberal group, right? Or could they?

In a press release by the HRC, they chose to endorse South Carolina Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Alex Sanders. They touted his decisions as a judge in favor of a lesbian mother being granted custody to a child over a heterosexual father and his tenure as a college president where he had a non-discrimination policy that included sexual orientation as the reasons for their strong endorsement. The group also cites Sandersí support of the hate crime bills, his understanding of AIDS and the fact that he is pro-abortion (Sidebar: why do pro-gay groups ALWAYS support the pro-abortion stance? Anyone want to venture a guess?!). HRC has pledged to donate the maximum amount allowed by law to the campaign of Democrat Alex Sanders.

And what does the HRC think of South Carolina Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Lindsay Graham? He received a big fat 0 rating from the HRC. They were especially adamant against his decision to offer an amendment to weaken federal hate crimes legislation in 2000 as a U.S. Congressman. On social issues, it seems that Lindsay Graham has more in common with your average South Carolinian than he will ever have with the HRC!

The same cannot be said about Alex Sanders.

Here are some of the other well-known U.S. Senate candidates across the country who have previously been endorsed by the HRC:

Sen. Joseph R. Biden, D-DE
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA
Sen. John F. Kerry, D-MA
Sen. Carl Levin, D-MI
Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-MN

The HRC hopes to make over 200 endorsements in this yearís mid-term elections. They will spend in excess of $1 million and send volunteers to work on campaigns. The HRC will even make voter guides that will showcase the records of the people running (I wonder if theyíll be different from the ones the Christian Coalition will be handing out in November? Maybe just a little bit!).

I think the winner with this endorsement has to be Republican Lindsay Graham. Although he still has some fences to mend within his party, the stigma this puts on his opponent is one that will be hard to shake. It certainly ruins the image the Sanders strategists had in mind. Now they will try to spin this into a positive. Good luck!

The headline on the front page of every newspaper in South Carolina tomorrow should scream:

ALEX SANDERS IN BED WITH GAY PAC:
Controversial Group Donates Maximum Amount To His Campaign For U.S. Senate

Do you think The Stateís Lee Bandy would run THAT story?!