In past sessions, Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave were conservative champions of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in the last Congress, both sponsoring legislation to do just that.
Not this year.
The two Republicans said last week they have no plans to re-introduce their legislation in the new Congress – another sign that Democrats are now in the majority.
I swear to God I’ve never seen people’s convictions unravel so fast. Three months ago there was a grave threat to marriage and all us married straight folk were going to be forced into gay re-education camps or something. I mean it was going to be disaster and the generous folks at Focus on the Food on Your Family or whatever the fuck it’s called needed the president and Congress to save us from that. Activist judges were going to kill us all in our beds. Help us, President Bush!
Today, feh. Not that big a deal.
There’s a few things about this that are interesting.
One, that anybody who’s not already a religious bigot who was taken in by the whole “STATE OF EMERGENCY GAYS ARE COMING OMG!!!11!” rhetoric got utterly hosed and should think twice before believing these people the next time they come up with some measure designed to make a crisis out of some stuff that’s going on.
Two, that this is proof that once again the Religious Right is nothing more than the Republicans’ perpetual Political Booty Call. Wise up, Dobson and friends. They’re just not that into you.
Three, would everybody who was whining on about how there’s no difference between Democrats and Republicans so why bother doom gloom kill me now please bite me? This is why it’s important to fight. This is why it’s important not to give up. This is why it’s important to keep electing Democrats from school board on up, and this is why it’s important to get back up off the couch when we lose a couple. Because with Democrats in power, you don’t have this kind of crap making its way to the floor. Or if you do, it doesn’t go anywhere. It certainly doesn’t go to the president’s desk. I know sometimes supporting a conservative Dem versus a liberal Republican can seem like a six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other choice, but this is why it’s important. When a majority’s on the line, do you want the people who hang out with Musgrave and Allard or do you want the people who will raise the minimum wage?
Four: When Musgrave runs again, I want that bunny up there following her around bellowing about this, either from the inconsistency angle, the bigot angle, or the angle of “look how quick she folded when she knew it was gonna look bad on TV.” Mostly because the mental picture of Marilyn Musgrave being chased by a loud angry bunny has been cracking me up all morning.
A.
ps. Apologies to Steve Gilliard for stealing his schtick but I couldn’t resist the bunny photo.