views override his respect for the separation of church and state, individual rights and free enterprise, and notes his support for superannuation rights for same-sex couples, and that same sex couples are entitled to their choice to live together. Clarke rejects labels given to him by opponents stating "the issues that I've come forward on and I've been publicised about having views on, my stand has been, has the support of the majority of people or if not the majority of people, a very, very significant minority of people. And what I'm saying is whether it's the majority or a significant minority, that certainly doesn't make it an extremist stand.". Criticism Some Liberal colleagues, such as former member of the Legislative Council, Patricia Forsythe, in blaming David Clarke for her failure to win preselection, have expressed trepidation towards what they have called Clarke's "extreme" views. She said in 2005 that she was "very fearful of the power of David Clarke...because he has around him a significant group of people who are absolutely fixated on their agenda, and a very narrow agenda." Similarly, former Member for Hawkesbury, Steven Pringle also attributes his disendorsement to Clarke. In early 2007, Clarke successfully sued Melbourne University Press for defamation at the District Court of New South Wales after the publication of a book, The Education of a Young Liberal, by former member of the Liberal Party's small 'l' liberal faction (known as "The Group"). The defendant publisher conceded that imputations of political extremism were defamatory, and the court held that the book further defamed Clarke by slurs on his character. Sharri Markson writes that "[I]t's when talking about topics other than politics that he [i.e. Clarke] show the softer side … seems unafraid to be emotional about his family … I'm left wondering whether its possible that one of the most feared men in the NSW Liberal Party is just a big softie." Clarke claims that his Catholic views on social policy issues are broadly consistent with the rest of the community. NSW Labor MP Kristina Keneally expressed a view in New South Wales Parliament with parliamentary privilege protecting her from lawsuits that Clarke "effect[ed] a right-wing takeover of Liberal Party branches. David Clarke is the godfather of the Extremist Right of the Liberal Party." Connection to Young Liberals Journalist Mark Aarons and others have claimed that Clarke has a significant influence on the