Two Websites (NOM California & GAYS DEFEND MARRIAGE) ... One Shared Administrative Contact: David Benkof

Next time I get back to Brooklyn, I was planning on taking half a day to drop by the NOM office over in Princeton, NJ so I could make an in-person request to see their IRS filings. If they were to refuse, I was thinking I could go all David Parker on them.

Anyway, thing is, I wasn't sure of their office address, so I ran a WHOIS lookup to get it, and that's when I noticed the email they'd listed for their admin and tech contact: webbsgarbage@yahoo.com

Click this link and see for yourself:

www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/nomcalifornia.org

Now, click this link and see if you notice anything familiar on the page:

www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/gaysdefendmarriage.com

Not only do both domains share the same admin/tech email, but apparently webbsgarbage@yahoo.com belongs to David Benkof.

What does it all mean?

No idea, except that maybe Maggie and David's bunker has always been even smaller than I'd imagined.

Certainly, there's not much going on in the way of discussion over at Benkof's resurrected Gays Defend Marriage, where a familiar ragtag outfit of anti-gay weirdos drops by from time-to-time on patrol between their various outposts at NOM Blog, The Opine Editorials, and Beetle Blogger.

As Hendrik Hertzberg predicted, "Like a polluted swamp, anti-gay bigotry is likely to get thicker and more toxic as it dries up." Thing is, as long as a little water remains, you can still take the airboat out and have some fun buzzing the surface, but at this point, it looks like maybe the time has finally come to park it and pull on the puddle jumpers.

But before I start exaggerating reports of NOM's demise, can you believe this latest news? Maggie and Brian are launching NOM PAC New York.

NOM's P.R. notes, "Since its inception in July 2007, the NOM has raised more than $6 million in its efforts to defend marriage ..."

Yeah, and how much of that $6 million has been properly reported? Except for the $1.8 million spent on the Prop 8 campaign by NOM, we have no idea where NOM's funds are coming from or how they're being spent.

*Update* Just noticed that Maggie Gallagher lists webbsgarbage@yahoo.com as her email for these domains:

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/marriagedebate.com

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/iMAPP.org

Silliness.

What's the story, David?

*David responds by email:

In May of 2008, Maggie Gallagher did me a favor and helped me get my Web site set up. (I don't know anything about the techy part of it.) I don't, however, have any affiliation with NOM California or otherwise, and given my outspoken opposition to Prop. 8 I doubt they would want me to have one. I do however support much of their efforts.

Well, that settles that.

Time to get back to our regularly-scheduled program.