Is is possible that black minister are being paid for the positions they take?

I almost ran my car off the road when I heard the ad,” Farad Ali told me during a recent conversation. “Everyone I spoke with said the same thing.”

It was the topic of heated discussion on Urban Radio in the Raleigh/Durham area.  Patrick Wooden, pastor of the Upper Room Church of God in Christ, challenged listeners to say no to Barrack Obama.  His pitch to kick Obama to the proverbial curb was enough to force the station to bring Wooden in studio to soothe the pain.

It’s not the first time Wooden has made comments that left folks saying “No he didn’t!” Back in June he said most gay men, when they get older, will be in diapers and using a “butt plug” to stop uncontrollable bowels caused by damage from anal sex. In another interview he said many gay men were going to the emergency room to have objects removed from their anuses.  He listed cell phones and baseball bats.

Wooden shared his insight into the sexual lives of gay men with references to “glory holes” and “fisting all way up to the armpit” He stated that God “made the human sperm, the God of the Bible designed it, and it was not designed to be emptied into an area that is filled with feces.”

In that same interview, Wooden contradicts himself by defending oral and anal sex for heterosexual.  He went on to say women are prone to have anal sex less due to having a vagina. 

Wooden has positioned himself as North Carolina’s poster boy against gay rights.  He fought against gay benefits for city workers in Raleigh, North Carolina.  He stood with other black ministers in support of Amendment One.  His radio ad took his mission to another level.  It exposed a truth that listeners were forced to face.  Wooden, and others like him, have become the champion for the Republican agenda.

In the ad heard on numerous Urban Radio stations, Wooden asked voters to say no to Barack Obama after the President supported gay marriage.  Many of those listening may have voted for the amendment that changed North Carolina’s constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  Wooden won that fight, but pressing to end the reign of Obama was more than black folks can take.

The ad was paid for by the National Organization for Marriage. NOM gains its support from a small number of large anonymous donors.  In 2009, three donations of $2.4 million, $1.2 million and $1.1 million made up 68% of Now’s contributions of 7.1 million.  In 2010, five donations made up 75% of what was raised.

The Washington Independent reported that NOM received a $1.4 million donation from the Knights of Columbus that was not reported to the IRS. The Knights of Columbus is a charitable organization of the Catholic Church.

Fred S. Karger, candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination for President, has expressed the opinion that NOM is connected to the Church of Latter Day Saints.  Karger, who is openly gay, has worked on nine presidential campaigns and served as senior consultant to the campaigns of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford.  He is gay rights activist.

Karger has pressed to know who is funding NOM.  Given many of the donations are anonymous; it’s tricky to follow the money.  Getting at the source of funding is important in understanding the motivation and meaning behind Wooden’s obsession against gay rights.  Not only is it important to address who is funding NOM, but even more important is uncovering if Wooden and other black minister are being funded for making a pitch against gay rights. If they are, who is behind that funding.

Is it possible that NOM is funded by the Koch Brothers? (see: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer). If so, Wooden and others are being manipulated to support a mass movement to unseat Obama.  Wooden’s ad stated the case for removing Obama.  Gay marriage was used to make that case.  Knowing who funded the ad is an important question that needs to be answered by those who show up at Wooden’s church and pay tithes and offerings to support his anti-gay agenda.

No one can prove that black ministers are being paid.  We do know who paid for the ad featuring Wooden’s rant against gays.  Maybe the members at the Upper Room C.O.G.I.C don'tt care about the connection between Wooden and NOM.  If not, it’s a sad day for the black church.

Cuba Gooding said it best. “Show me the money!”