No, really.

An evangelical Christian group that regularly demonstrates at LGBT events is blaming gays for hurricane Katrina.

Repent America says that God “destroyed” New Orleans because of Southern Decadence, the gay festival that was to have taken place in the city over the Labor Day weekend.

And note: the org saying this is not out of the wingnut mainstream.

This is a group that has been defended by scores of lead religious right organizations in just the past year, including the Southern Baptist Convention, Center for Reclaiming America (attached to D. James Kennedy), the American Family Association’s AgapePress, WorldNetDaily, the men over at the Concerned Women for America, Lou Sheldon’s Traditional Values Coaltion, the freepers, and more.

Of course, I’m sure Kevin Drum will make a nice post at any moment now to plea with the Left to not politicize things and draw a false equivalency between the language above and pointing out the Bush took funding away from FEMA and staffed it with political appointees with no disaster experience.

Indeed, the advent of the Bush administration in January 2001 signaled the beginning of the end for FEMA. The newly appointed leadership of the agency showed little interest in its work or in the missions pursued by the departed Witt. Then came the Sept. 11 attacks and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Soon FEMA was being absorbed into the “homeland security borg.”

This year it was announced that FEMA is to “officially” lose the disaster preparedness function that it has had since its creation. The move is a death blow to an agency that was already on life support. In fact, FEMA employees have been directed not to become involved in disaster preparedness functions, since a new directorate (yet to be established) will have that mission.

|