IN THE NEWS: The National Organization for Marriage — very busy on back-to-back days — attacks against some Democrats, aid and comfort for others, criticism of some Conservatives and Republicans, and testimony about an IRS link with a liberal pro-gay group

NOM’s Chairman testifying in Congress tied IRS leaks of the NOM’s donor lists to a specific liberal group, [the pro-gay] Human Rights Campaign  —  One day after the NOM’s President and NOM NY PAC formally endorsed a Democrat candidate for Mayor of NYC, Erick Salgado, and pounded Mike Long’s Conservative Party for endorsing Joe Lhota, a Republican

While John Eastman, the Chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, was testifying Tuesday at a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee that his organization has proof that the IRS leaked confidential donor details last year, calling for prosecution into what he described as a "felony" —  news was spreading around New York City of that organization’s president Brian Brown’s  endorsement of Erick Salgado for mayor; and that Brown had made a very critical statement about the Conservative Party’s endorsement in the mayoral race

According to Fox News, “Eastman testified Tuesday alongside several Tea Party activists who all claim they were targeted by the IRS. The Tea Party groups offered a first-hand account of how the IRS singled them out when they applied for tax-exempt status, asking them onerous questions and dragging out their application process. ***.But Eastman shed light on another potential controversy involving the IRS -- the unauthorized disclosure of tax document information....”

The President of NOM gave detailed testimony as to how information on their donors was leaked last year and published on the website of the Human Rights Campaign.. According to Eastman, the HRC is the "principal political opponent" of the National Organization of Marriage on the issue of same-sex marriage. When asked by Congressman Paul Ryan, if he had "proof" that it was the IRS that leaked that specific material, Eastman said that he did. Eastman then testified that while some information was redacted in the posted version, his group's "forensic" specialists were able to determine that "the original document that was posted [by the HRC] had originated from within the IRS.[the HRC version] had "internal IRS stamps," which "only exist within the IRS."

According to the President of the National Organization for Marriage, “The [IRS-HRC] effort seems to have been designed to subject our donors to abuse, to intimidation and more significantly for our purposes to chill them from donating again so we can keep up the political fight that we're in the middle of.”

Still making news from the day before, many on the right in New York City politics, especially in the Conservative Party and parts of the GOP, also were surprised yesterday by the spread of the NOM’s  announcement of its endorsement of Democrat Erick Salgado for mayor. "NOM is proud to endorse a candidate who has the courage to stand up for conservative principles and join us in our support of traditional marriage," NOM President Brian Brown said  (See “National Organization for Marriage NY PAC Endorses Erick Salgado for NYC Mayor” release contact Elizabeth Ray or Jen Campbell, 6/3/13   [http://www.nomblog.com/]).

Almost as significant were the NOM’s comments about the leadership [Mike Long and Jerry Kassar] of the Conservative Party. The headline of its release late Monday, “Question Conservative Party Endorsement of Candidate ‘Excited’ to Perform Gay Marriages” showed more than a little displeasure about Mike Long’s endorsement Monday of Joseph Lhota, one of the three liberal-style Republicans running for the mayoral nomination in the GOP primary.

My discussions with a local NOM activist indicated that there might be some continued efforts by him and others to put more pressure on the Conservative Party leadership to do the right thing between now and the GOP and Democrat Party, and possibly Conservative Party,  primaries in September.