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Miss California: Queen of the GOP
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-25 00:15
After getting booed by the beauty pageant crowd and berated by one of the contest judges on Sunday, Carrie Prejean is suddenly a conservative sensation, a poster girl for the right who has bloggers, talk show hosts and Republican pols singing her praises.
"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," she responded during the televised event. "No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised." Her response wasn't exactly what Hilton - or the crowd - was expecting. Prejean ultimately finished as the first runner-up in the competition to Miss North Carolina, who drew a less combustible question about taxpayer bailouts. In an interview the next day with "Today" show host Matt Lauer, Prejean said she knew she wasn't going to win the moment she answered. Hilton later said in a video on his blog that Prejean's answer did not sink her chances of winning, though his disdain for her was unmistakable. "She lost not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage. Miss California lost because she is a dumb [expletive]." The reaction among conservatives, who embraced Prejean as a martyr for the cause, was equally strong. An Alabama state legislator introduced a House resolution praising her for speaking out against gay marriage. In a press release, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins stated his "admiration and support" for her and lauded "her fortitude in the face of continued baseless personal attacks." "There's a lot of people cheering you tonight that you stood on your principles, that you put the principles above winning," Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity told Prejean when she appeared on his television program. "Not enough people do that. And I admire you a lot for it." In the right-wing blogosphere, where the consensus was that her opposition to gay marriage cost her the Miss USA title, conservatives depicted Prejean as a role model worth emulating. "Miss California Carrie Prejean's act of courage - in the face of tremendous pressure to spout the liberal line - serves as a fine example for young and more seasoned conservative politicians," Mark Impomeni wrote on the popular RedState blog. "First be true to your beliefs, and let the chips fall where they may. When they do, they should know that conservatives of like mind across the country will stand up for them." "I would like to nominate Miss California as the new face of the marriage movement. Much better than mine!" National Organization for Marriage President Maggie Gallagher wrote on National Review's The Corner. |
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