Thursday, February 12, 2004
Not in Front of the Kids
I sense a grand convergence of political misdirection about to occur with the debate over a federal Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage--the amendment will be debated during the very summer of the election pitting a Democratic candidate from the very state that is trying to foist gay marriage on the whole country against God's handpicked choice for president. Pay no attention to the economy and the courts and security and the environment and the deserter presiding over all of it, Mr. and Mrs. America--gay people want to destroy your way of life! Daily Kos analyzed the amendment pretty well yesterday, noting that the proposed language of the amendment bans not only marriages but civil unions--and if I am not mistaken, it would also give states the right to ban the kind of domestic-partner agreements that have been legal for years. Yep, why be simply puritan when you can be punitive, too? Show them homos who's boss, by God. Let 'em move to France.
There are lots of interesting poll numbers on gay marriage and civil unions at PollingReport.com. Among them is that the older you are, the less likely you are to favor gay marriage or civil unions. This indicates that a tipping point may come in the future at which gay marriage becomes acceptable, but we're not there yet. The same Washington Post poll, taken in January, notes that even among those groups most likely to oppose gay marriage--those over age 65 and Republicans--more people favor leaving it up to the states instead of amending the Constitution. (The party of states' rights somehow managed to miss that.) Not that leaving it to the states would do a lot to bank the raging homophobia. Here in Wisconsin, 45 Republicans and one Democrat in the Assembly have signed on as co-sponsors of our own Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (Insert heavy sigh here.)
Recommended reading: As the presidential candidates descend on Wisconsin, Alexander Cockburn of Counterpunch is out with a column on the demise of Wesley Clark and the anointing of John Kerry. If you think I exaggerated yesterday in saying that Kerry is no force for true change, Cockburn wouldn't. Counterpunch won't be endorsing Kerry anytime soon. A quick glance down their left-hand page shows several anti-Kerry articles, but you can find them for yourself. There's not much point in linking to them, or even paying them much notice from now until Election Day. He's our guy, and buyer's remorse is not an option.
I sense a grand convergence of political misdirection about to occur with the debate over a federal Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage--the amendment will be debated during the very summer of the election pitting a Democratic candidate from the very state that is trying to foist gay marriage on the whole country against God's handpicked choice for president. Pay no attention to the economy and the courts and security and the environment and the deserter presiding over all of it, Mr. and Mrs. America--gay people want to destroy your way of life! Daily Kos analyzed the amendment pretty well yesterday, noting that the proposed language of the amendment bans not only marriages but civil unions--and if I am not mistaken, it would also give states the right to ban the kind of domestic-partner agreements that have been legal for years. Yep, why be simply puritan when you can be punitive, too? Show them homos who's boss, by God. Let 'em move to France.
There are lots of interesting poll numbers on gay marriage and civil unions at PollingReport.com. Among them is that the older you are, the less likely you are to favor gay marriage or civil unions. This indicates that a tipping point may come in the future at which gay marriage becomes acceptable, but we're not there yet. The same Washington Post poll, taken in January, notes that even among those groups most likely to oppose gay marriage--those over age 65 and Republicans--more people favor leaving it up to the states instead of amending the Constitution. (The party of states' rights somehow managed to miss that.) Not that leaving it to the states would do a lot to bank the raging homophobia. Here in Wisconsin, 45 Republicans and one Democrat in the Assembly have signed on as co-sponsors of our own Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (Insert heavy sigh here.)
Recommended reading: As the presidential candidates descend on Wisconsin, Alexander Cockburn of Counterpunch is out with a column on the demise of Wesley Clark and the anointing of John Kerry. If you think I exaggerated yesterday in saying that Kerry is no force for true change, Cockburn wouldn't. Counterpunch won't be endorsing Kerry anytime soon. A quick glance down their left-hand page shows several anti-Kerry articles, but you can find them for yourself. There's not much point in linking to them, or even paying them much notice from now until Election Day. He's our guy, and buyer's remorse is not an option.
