Brody's Notes... Minnesota Republican Gubernatorial Challenger Supports Extremist Anti-Gay Rock Band

Anti-Gay Christian Musician Bradlee Dean   Photo By Bradlee Dean On Facebook

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) AUG 10 | As Minnesotans go to the polls today in the state-wide primaries held in the state's governor's race, controversy over Republican challenger, Tom Emmer's, contributions to a Christian Heavy Metal rock band/ministry continues to rage on.

Emmer, a conservative anti-gay candidate for governor, has given money to the Christian ministry/hard-rock, 'You Can Run But You Cannot Hide,'  that agrees with the Muslim fundamentalists that call for execution of homosexuals. 

Emmer's campaign had been thrust into the national debate over LGBT Equality rights when it was disclosed that Minnesota based retailer Target Corporation had poured money into a conservative business PAC that gave money to his campaign. 

Jeanne Cummings, political reporter & analyst for Politico wrote:

Target Corp. has come under withering criticism from progressives for its support of Emmer, a social conservative who backs a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. To extricate itself from the public relations nightmare, sources said, Target is negotiating with the Human Rights Campaign to close the book on its clumsy foray into partisan politics.

According to sources close to the talks, Target is being urged to match the $150,000 it gave to finance pro-Emmer ads through the pro-business group MN Forward with another set of donations to pro-gay-rights candidates and groups in Minnesota. Gay rights supporters also are pressing for a national charitable donation.

And Best Buy, which chipped in $100,000 to air the pro-Emmer ads but avoided criticism because of the timing of its campaign disclosure reports, could soon find itself in the center of the storm as well.

“The great irony to all of this is, both of these companies have been stellar performers on our Corporate Responsibility Index,” said Fred Sainz, HRC’s vice president for communications. The index is based on corporate commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion.

Comments made by the 'You Can Run But You Cannot Hide' ministry as well as other problematic statements made on an on-air radio programme by its founder, Bradlee Dean, have caused LGBT activists and other progressives to call on Emmer to dissociate himself from the group. Dean was quoted as saying:

"Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America. This just shows you they themselves are upholding the laws that are even in the Bible of the Judeo-Christian God, but they seem to be more moral than even the American Christians do, because these people are livid about enforcing their laws. They know homosexuality is an abomination." He then added; If America won’t enforce the laws, God will raise up a foreign enemy to do just that. The bottom line is this … they [homosexuals] play the victim when they are, in fact, the predator. Finally Dean asserted; "On average, they molest 117 people before they’re found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?"

MSNBC'S Rachel Maddow covered the issue on her show: