Burnt Orange Report

A Day of Hate on the Senate Floor

By Byron LaMasters

I was tuning in earlier to listen to the Republican Hatefest today on the Senate floor as several senators resorted to the same old tired hysterical rhetoric in support of the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Here's some example of the hate spewed on the floor today:

From Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY):

I don’t know why these judges believe they are so wise and how they cannot see how dangerous their actions are.

But they now threaten our way of life and it is up to us to act to ensure that the American people have the opportunity to decide what is right for this society.

[...]

It is the law of nature, and no matter how much some might not like it, or want to change it, or push for technology to replace it, this law is irrefutable.

It is upon this law that so much of our society and our cultural institutions are based - families, communities, work, and schools.

And when families suffer - when they are undermined - we all suffer.

We know that weak families lead to more poverty, welfare dependence, child abuse, substance abuse, illness, educational failure, and even criminal behavior.

And failing to protect marriage will send the message to the next generation that we do not care about them and that we have thrown away a cultural institution that has served human beings throughout recorded history.

Ok. Thanks, Jim. It's nice to know that gay people threaten the American way of life, and that Trent Lott and Rick Santorum taught you that homosexuality is equatable to "poverty, welfare dependence, child abuse, substance abuse, illness, educational failure, and even criminal behavior".

Next up. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT):

The bedrock of American success is the family, and it is traditional marriage that undergirds the American family. The disintegration of the family in this country correlates with many serious social problems, including crime and poverty. We are seeing soaring divorce rates and out-of-wedlock birth rates that have resulted in far too many fatherless families. Weakening the legal status of marriage at this point will only exacerbate these problems. We simply must act to strengthen the family.

[...]

The Constitution has functioned to secure and extend the rights of citizens in this nation, and it serves as a model of democratic self government to the world. Aside from the Bill of Rights, it has rarely been amended. But when it is, we have done so to expand the rights of democratic self-government, and to re-secure the Constitution’s original meaning. That is precisely what we are intending here.

Hatch picked up on the talking point. An amendment to the constitution is critical in order to end these so called "serious social problems, including crime and poverty", and while he's at it, he blames the gays for "divorce rates and out-of-wedlock birth rates ". That's really odd, Orrin. Which one of Rush Limbaugh's three marriages is the Federal Marriage Amendment protecting? I mean am I missing something, but how did gays and lesbians suddenly become responsible for divorces and out-of-wedlock births? Maybe there's some new science I don't know about, but otherwise its totally irrelevent to the debate. But the the backers of this amendment don't care about minor details like that, because this amendment is not about having a serious debate about marriage in America. This debate is about election year demagoguery so that the Republican Party can secure their social conservative base.

I also had the privledge of watching Trent Lott, Rick Santorum and Jeff Sessions run with the hate baton on C-SPAN earlier, but I haven't found the transcripts of their remarks at this time, so I suppose I'll have to check back later.