Rare, a property of Atlanta-based Cox Media Group, initially branded itself as the new rare meat “red is the center” kind of conservative news outlet. But as things unfolded and several editors exited in nine months, oddnesses about their dedication to actually being a news outlet intended for a conservative audience emerged. Those who have worked there say Rare has wanted to “redefine” what it means to be conservative, as we described in a story published earlier in the month. As an ex-Rare editor put it, “The editors were ordered to lay off Obama, stop being critical of Islam and were banned from social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. We were also told to take more shots at Republicans. That doesn’t sound like a conservative publication to me.”

Leon Levitt, VP of Strategy for Cox Media Group, recently beat down our story on the Rare website, saying that being a “real conservative” does not mean that you must “agree with strict dogma” as opposed to thinking for yourself. According to an internal memo and Rare insiders, reporters were instructed to steer clear of any negative stances on gay equality or gay marriage issues — i.e. no opinion pieces on the subject, just news items. Specifically, no stories that would sympathize with anyone who doesn’t believe in gay marriage. Levitt vehemently denied any truth to this order, but The Mirror has seen clear evidence to the contrary. The orders came down from Will Alford, an openly gay overseer of the site.

Well, today, Rare‘s newest editorial hire, Jack Hunter, who has reportedly judged wet T-shirt contests, worn a mask emblazoned with the Confederate flag and supported the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, both backed up and contradicted internal orders (depending whom you believe) by announcing Rare‘s extremely strong stance on gay marriage: They are all in and all for it.

As an aside, Hunter is listed both as Rare‘s Editor and a “contributing editor.”

“There is a civil war happening in the Republican Party over the issue of same-sex marriage,” he wrote. (A pretty strange metaphor for someone who has said repeatedly that he supports the slave-holding South’s independence.) “There are two sides—the winning side and the losing side. The winning side are those who believe the time for same sex marriage has come… The losing side are those who believe the country will somehow reverse course on this issue despite every single cultural indicator showing otherwise.”

In a tweet today, Rare informed its readers, “We need more like Jimmy LaSalvia.” LaSalvia is the co-founder of the gay conservative group, GOProud, who just last week said he was leaving the GOP. He said it was time to “pull the plug” on the Republican Party, “which isn’t worth saving.” Just a thought, but wanting to kill the conservative party is not something a genuinely conservative publication would endorse, because the only people that benefit politically are liberal Democrats.

In his diatribe against The Daily Caller’s story, Levitt continued, “Friends don’t always agree with each other’s views all the time. We’re OK with that, and it’s not going to ruin our friendship. Plus we will be happy to publish other conservative opinions.”

Oh, so Rare will publish traditional conservative views on gay marriage, which may not support gay marriage? According to internal instructions, it is and is not permitted.

Which is it, Rare?

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