Burnt Orange Report

An AP Distortion in the Marriage Debate

I was pleased to read just now that the high court in Canada has approved marriage equality for gays and lesbians. Now, it just needs the support of the Canadian Parliament, where things look good at this point. The 38-member Liberal cabinet supports the legislation as does the 54 members of Bloc Quebecois and the 19 MPs of the New Democrats. So, in order for passage it just needs to collect 44 of the 95 votes of Liberal Party backbenchers, as the Conservative Party opposes the legislation. Sounds like it's got a good shot, huh? Well, good for Canada, I'll have to go buy a t-shirt.

No, this is my problem. This AP article makes a gross distortion in its final line:

The federal Conservatives and several Liberal MPs are expected to fight to preserve marriage for heterosexuals.

Huh? Marriage for heterosexuals isn't being debated here. No one is opposed to marriage for heterosexuals. I'm sure that the entire Canadian Parliament supports it. I support marrige for heterosexuals. I can thank my life to the heterosexual marriage of my parents, so I certainly approve of the idea. But this concluding sentence suggests that those of us who support GLBT marriage equality are in some way opposed to marriage for heterosexuals. It also suggests that the federal conservatives and several Liberal MP's could care less about marriages between gays and lesbians, and that in some way marriage between a man and a woman is in danger of being outlawed. Neither of these are the case. Perhaps I'm nitpicking, but it annoys me when the SCLM blatantly distorts an issue like this.

Read Lynne Cheney's Lesbian Romance Novel

Via BOR comments and Political Wire is an online copy of the book.

Check it out here.

The Second Term Bush GLBT Agenda

You think I'm kidding, right?

Nope. Gay conservative Boi From Troy puts together a four-point GLBT agenda for Bush's second term:

• Federal Recognition of Domestic Partnerships and Civil Unions
• Reform Social Security (i.e. Privatization)
• Eliminate the Estate and Gift Tax Permanently
• Tax Simplification: Eliminating child deductions, etc.

My first reaction was you gotta be kidding. Of these, I only consider the first to be a GLBT issue. As I wrote in Boi From Troy's comments, there are inequities in Social Security and the tax code against the GLBT community, but the way of addressing those issues is not to simply do away with any tax that discriminates against gays and lesbians in relationships unrecognized by the federal government -- but to get the federal government to recognize those relationships. As for child deductions -- as I wrote in Boi From Troy's comments, he seems to be forgetting the millions of kids growing up in GLBT families.

Marriage equality is the ultimate goal, but I do agree with Boi From Troy that marriage is currently a defensive battle and that Civil Unions and domestic partnerships at all levels of government are a step in the right direction (although it's key that marriage remain an option for the future -- states ought to reject constitutional amendments that put in place Civil Unions and ban same-sex marriage -- as Massachusetts has proposed).

I think that Boi From Troy commenter Downtown Lad put together a much more realistic second term Bush GLBT agenda:

• Bush uses the word "gay" or "lesbian" in a speech.
• Bush agrees to not appoint someone to the Supreme Court who would overturn Lawrence V. Texas
• Bush publicly states that he doesn't think gays should be jailed for sodomy.

Yeah. If the gay community can hope to expect anything in the sense of progress over the next four years from the federal governement, these are three issues where we might have a chance... but I won't lose any sleep over it.

Gay Hysteria in East Texas

Because obviously, if on one day a year boys and girls reverse social roles where girls get to invite boys on dates, open doors and pay for sodas, the obvious next step is homosexuality and drug abuse, right?

Read the article.

Update: I got the story via email. Pandagon has more on it as well.

San Antonio Express-News: Don't Amend

The San Antonio Express-News editorialized (cross-posted here) against the proposed amendment to the Texas constitution banning same-sex marriage:

Government should get out of the marriage business, leaving the faith community to decide which unions can go before God and be called holy matrimony.

Government should, instead, provide equal civil rights to all Americans through civil unions.

Surely, conservatives, who want limited government, and liberals, concerned with civil rights, can agree in this common-sense measure.

That is better than continuing a highly emotional, divisive debate over who is allowed to be considered married.

Want to help make a difference in this campaign? Check out LGRL's Save Our Constitution campaign.

A Gay RNC Head?

The Washington Blade all but outed Ken Mehlman in May.

Now, Mehlman has been tapped by Bush to lead the RNC.

Mehlman has refused to answer questions about his sexual orientation. Considering that Mehlman was Bush's campaign manager, and a lead campaign spokesman who was frequently called upon to defend Bush's GLBT policies, including the Federal Marriage Amendment, I would think that Mehlman's sexual orientation is certainly relevent.

America Blog and BlogActive have more.

Update: Atrios hits the nail on the head. I could care less who Ken Mehlman is or isn't screwing. This is about whether a gay man will lead the supposed "values" party.

Peru Passing America

It's always nice to see that Peru has actually found it unconstitutional to ban gays from the military on the basis of having 'relations'. So does this mean that America slips back a couple notches in the "First Wordness" category?

Krabby Patties for Everyone!

Do gays have the right to buy cheeseburgers?

Also, I am also hyper-sensitive to the "ban all fast food" people's dripping condescension (what can I say, I am a piggy-boy). Perhaps this is a microcosm of the larger issue of "moral values."

How many Bush voters think that it's only a matter of time before we live in a world where we're all forced to eat tofu and grape-nuts for every meal?

Another Failed Gay-baiting Campaign

This time with Jack Stick:

Stick, who got married as early voting was beginning, sent out a last-minute mailer with his wedding photos. Stick touted his opposition to same-sex marriage while citing Strama's endorsement by the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus.

Gay-baiting tactics may work in rural areas, but I think urban and suburban areas are rejecting it. I'm a board member of the ALGPC (as well as LGRL - Lesbian / Gay Rights Lobby of Texas). Our PAC donated a couple of thousand dollars to each of Strama, White, Hubener and Vo -- so while things could have been better, we've clearly made gains in electing more pro-GLBT state representatives.

Republicans Gay-Baiting in Dallas Sheriff's Race

If Republican Danny Chandler is elected Dallas County Sheriff, will he be comitted to being serving the GLBT community in Dallas? His latest attacks bring that into question. The Dallas Morning News reports:

With just days left in the Dallas County sheriff's race, Republican candidate Danny Chandler on Thursday attacked Democratic opponent Lupe Valdez's endorsement by a national organization promoting gay and lesbian candidates. Mr. Chandler and the Texas Eagle Forum, a Republican woman's group, said their complaint was not about Ms. Valdez's sexual orientation, but that endorsement from the group calls for Ms. Valdez to promote a political agenda espousing goals such as federal gay and lesbian civil-rights legislation.

Ms. Valdez received an endorsement from The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which identifies, trains and supports openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates and officials.

Mr. Chandler also has issued a new promotional mailer noting Ms. Valdez's endorsement.

[...]

Ms. Valdez, who is openly gay, said Thursday that her sexual orientation has no relevance to how she would carry out the duties of sheriff.

Her campaign coordinator, Barry Hanley, said, "her only agenda is to run the jail professionally and respond to the needs of Dallas County residents. She has no other agenda. This is not a legislative position."

In a statement Thursday, Mr. Chandler said: "Ms. Valdez's personal lifestyle is her own business and should not enter into the race. The difference here is that she is promoting the endorsement of the Victory Fund," which supports gay and lesbian issues.

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund is a unique organization. It basically has no agenda other seeing the election of openly gay and lesbian candidates:

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is recognized as the leading national political organization that identifies, trains and supports open lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates and officials. We are the only national organization committed to increasing the number of openly gay and lesbian public officials at federal, state and local levels of government.

Lupe Valdez hasn't signed on to any "agenda" other than that of serving the people of Dallas County as sheriff. Her sexual orientation is well-known, especially among the GLBT community, but she has not made it an issue in her campaign.

The real issue here though, is that Danny Chandler is trying to distract people from reports that he has violated federal election law:

On Monday, News 8 first reported on allegations that Chandler is violating federal election law. But even as the Chandler campaign dismisses the allegations as dirty politics, more evidence against their candidate continues to trickle out.

Chandler is now being investigated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel for allegedly violating the federal Hatch Act. The complaint was filed by attorneys representing outgoing Sheriff Jim Bowles, whom Chandler defeated last March.

The Hatch Act prohibits government employees who handle federal grants from running for elected office. As Director of Homeland Security for Dallas County, Chandler comes in frequent contact with the administration of federal grants.

Last June, a federal grant coordinator notified Chandler he was "registered as the Jurisdiction Point of Contact for Dallas County." What followed were, instructions for Chandler "to utilize your 2003 UASI-2 sub grant."

Jim Badgett, who used to work for Chandler, said Chandler once asked him to help make recommendations on how to spend a federal grant.

"He just told me to survey the department that made a request to him, and to come up with a cost and submit that back to him," Badgett said.

That, according to Dallas Democratic Party Chairman Susan Hays, is why Chandler is under investigation.

"That is precisely what the Hatch Act is intended to prevent," Hays said. "It's intended to prevent people from running for partisan office while using the power to dispense federal pork."

Maybe it's just me, but federal election law violations seem more relevant to the race for sheriff than Lupe Valdez's endorsement by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. Dallas County might not be the most progressive place in the world, but Dallas County does have three openly gay elected officials: Dallas City Councilmen John Loza and Ed Oakley, along with Constable Mike Dupree. Their sexual orientation has come up occasionally in their campaigns, but in general it does not seem to have been a major issue for most voters.

Update: Also via Josh Marshall is news that the Jim Bunning campaign is implying that Democratic senate candidate Dan Mongiardo is gay. (He's not).

Bush Flip-Flops on Civil Unions within a 24-hour Period

This morning, on Good Morning America, Bush said he wouldn't mind if a state decided to offer Civil Unions to gay and lesbian couples.

Yesterday, he praised a congresswoman (Marilyn Musgrave) at a rally in Colorado:

I know you're proud of the Congresswoman from this district, Marilyn Musgrave. We're proud you're here, Marilyn. [...] We will protect marriage and family, which are the foundations of our society.

Musgrave is the sponsor of the Hate Amendment, which Bush supports, that would not only prevent a state from allowing marriage equality for gays and lesbians, but would also prevent Civil Unions:

Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

More at Brutal Hugs via Talk Left.

No comment yet from Boi From Troy, but here's a picture of some self-hating gay in Los Angeles.

Philadelphia Be Damned!!

I don't know if Philadelphia has chosen Gays over God, but they certainly chose Bill Clinton and John Kerry yesterday.

Gee, I wonder what it must be like to be an "Ex-Heterosexual"

The Houston Press had a phenomenal piece on the Ex-Gay ministry Exodus International this week.

I bring this up because I see that the Exodus people are especially offended by the fact that Kerry casually mentioned the well-known and very-public fact that Mary Cheney was a lesbian.

I have some sympathy for the argument that some of the Exodus' converts weren't born gay, but instead had some sort of psychological trauma covering up their straight-ness.

Frankly, though, I think if that is really your target audience, you ought to call it "sexual abuse therapy" or "pyschological therapy", not "homosexual therapy." Because after all, what you're trying to cure is the disease (stemming from abuse or other trauma), not the symptom (pseudo-homosexuality).

Right? After all, we wouldn't want people thinking this is all just a thinly-veiled psychobabble/Biblebabble cover for rampant homophobia, and a vehicle to encourage self-hatred among gays and lesbians?

Right?

Get Out Of My House

A tolerant, Christian society should not have to tolerate people who fantasize about when imposing capital punishment for homosexuality would be a subject for "an in-house debate."

Lynne Cheney: A Pattern of Shame and Denial

My previous post about Lynne Cheney was getting a bit long, and I wanted to respond to this comment that Chris made:

In the case of Lynne Cheney, BOR writers headline that she's ashamed of her daughter. Show me where she said that. On the contrary, she has made it obvious for years, even in the aforementioned article, that she does NOT want her daughters' personal lives brought up in the campaign.

I'm not picking on Chris here, I just wanted to clear up some of the misconceptions coming from the other side today. For those not familiar with the context, Lynne Cheney said this regarding John Kerry's comment last night that Mary Cheney along with any other gay or lesbian could tell you that being gay or lesbian is who they were born as:

Lynne Cheney issued her post-debate rebuke to a cheering crowd outside Pittsburgh. "The only thing I can conclude is he is not a good man. I'm speaking as a mom," she said. "What a cheap and tawdry political trick."

So, why does Lynne Cheney lash out like that? Easy. Salon wrote in 2000 about Lynne Cheney's response to a question about her daughter's sexual orientation. Lynne Cheney has a history of shame and denial about her daughter's sexual orientation:

On Sunday, the issue of Cheney's sexuality took an odd twist, when her mother Lynne denied ABC's Cokie Roberts' assertion that Mary Cheney has "declared that she is openly gay." An irritated Lynne Cheney shot back: "Mary has never declared such a thing. I would like to say that I'm appalled at the media interest in one of my daughters. I have two wonderful daughters. I love them very much. They are bright; they are hard-working; they are decent. And I simply am not going to talk about their personal lives. And I'm surprised, Cokie, that even you would want to bring it up on this program."

Either Lynne Cheney was absent in her daughter's life for most of the 1990s decade, or she is ashamed and in denial about Mary Cheney's sexual orientation. The fact of the matter is that it's inevitable that the personal lives of candidates and their children come up in a campaign, especially one for the White House. The personal life of the Cheney's other daughter has been displayed by the Cheney's in this campaign, whether it be when Liz Cheney appeared with her family (when Mary Cheney's family did not) after Vice President Cheney's speech at the GOP convention, or when Elizabeth Cheney says things like this in interviews:

E. CHENEY: No, I think this is an issue my dad's been very clear about. And, frankly, it's an issue that not a lot of Americans are spending a lot of time being focused on this election cycle. My family is out working very hard.

You know, I'm a security mom. I've got four little kids. And what I care about in this election cycle is electing a guy who is going to be a commander in chief, who will do whatever it takes to keep those kids safe.

So, it's fair to bring up Elizabeth Cheney's family, but it's not fair to bring up Mary Cheney's? Instead, Lynne Cheney resorted to denial in 2000. Saying "Mary has never declared such a thing" about Mary Cheney's sexual orientation is about as desperate a comment as saying "The only thing I can conclude is he is not a good man" of John Kerry for bringing it up. Mary Cheney is not ashamed of her sexual orientation. Neither is John Kerry, but Lynne Cheney is ashamed. When Lynne Cheney sharply declared in 2000 that her daughter had never declared that she was a lesbian, that was a flat out falsehood. Salon continues:

Mary Cheney, 31, is not just any lesbian. Until May, she was the lesbian/gay corporate relations manager for the once-notoriously anti-gay Coors Brewing Co. In that role she became a key player in the pivotal "movement vs. market" debate raging inside the gay activist community, representing the point of view that corporate America is a better friend than government in advancing the cause of gay rights.

[...]

Judging from her efforts on behalf of Coors, Cheney will go the extra mile for a cause she believes in. To get gay advocates to drop their support for a Coors boycott, for instance, she traveled the country with the winner of the International Mr. Leather 1999 competition -- a hugely popular event on the gay-bar circuit -- meeting with gay leaders to advance the Coors cause.

Mary Cheney was active in the gay community before 2000 both privately and publically. In both he personal life, and her professional life, Mary Cheney was openly lesbian. However, her mother denied it. Why?

Lynne Cheney's Ashamed of her Daughter

Too bad. I was very impressed with the way that Dick Cheney thanked John Edwards for the kind words about his daughter, but his wife obviously doesn't feel the same way. Apparently, Kerry is a "bad man" for mentioning that Mary Cheney is who she is, and John Kerry supports her, while Mary Cheney's mother obviously feels uncomfortable:

Lynne V. Cheney, wife of Vice President Cheney, accused John F. Kerry on Wednesday night of "a cheap and tawdry political trick" and said he "is not a good man" after he brought up their daughter's homosexuality at the final presidential debate.

Mary Cheney, one of the vice president's two daughters and an official of the Bush-Cheney campaign, has been open about her lesbian status. The candidates were asked if they believe homosexuality is a choice, and President Bush did not mention Mary Cheney. Then Kerry said, "If you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as."

Lynne Cheney issued her post-debate rebuke to a cheering crowd outside Pittsburgh. "The only thing I can conclude is he is not a good man. I'm speaking as a mom," she said. "What a cheap and tawdry political trick."

Glad that was cleared up.

Via Political Wire.

Update: Elizabeth Edwards shares my thoughts:

ELIZABETH EDWARDS ACCUSES LYNNE CHENEY OF "SHAME" OF HER DAUGHTER: "She's overreacted to this and treated it as if it's shameful to have this discussion. I think that's a very sad state of affairs… I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences… It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response."

MyDD reminds us that Mary Cheney was the only member of the Cheney family absent from the stage after Daddy's big speech at the GOP convention.

Andrew Sullivan also notes that the right wing is in a tizzy over all of it:

All Kerry did was invoke the veep's daughter to point out that obviously homosexuality isn't a choice, in any meaningful sense. The only way you can believe that citing Mary Cheney amounts to "victimization" is if you believe someone's sexual orientation is something shameful. Well, it isn't. What's revealing is that this truly does expose the homophobia of so many - even in the mildest "we'll-tolerate-you-but-shut-up-and-don't-complain" form. Mickey Kaus, for his part, cannot see any reason for Kerry to mention Mary except as some Machiavellian scheme to pander to bigots. Again: huh? Couldn't it just be that Kerry thinks of gay people as human beings like straight people - and mentioning their lives is not something we should shrink from? Isn't that the simplest interpretation? In many speeches on marriage rights, I cite Mary Cheney. Why? Because it exposes the rank hypocrisy of people like president Bush and Dick and Lynne Cheney who don't believe gays are anti-family demons but want to win the votes of people who do. I'm not outing any gay person. I'm outing the double standards of straight ones. They've had it every which way for decades, when gay people were invisible. Now they have to choose.

Right on. Boi From Troy still echoes the tired old this-is-a-cynical-Machiavellian-ploy line that the right wing is jumping on. But then he goes on:

It seems consistent with the Democratic ticket's refusal to publicly support substantive gay rights during the debates.

Huh? John Kerry has a 100% ranking from the HRC and has a very public GLBT civil rights platform on his website. But I guess that's not public or substantive enough for Boi From Troy. Personally, I found Kerry to be both last night:

But I also believe that because we are the United States of America, we're a country with a great, unbelievable Constitution, with rights that we afford people, that you can't discriminate in the workplace. You can't discriminate in the rights that you afford people.

You can't disallow someone the right to visit their partner in a hospital. You have to allow people to transfer property, which is why I'm for partnership rights and so forth.

Now, with respect to DOMA and the marriage laws, the states have always been able to manage those laws. And they're proving today, every state, that they can manage them adequately.

Having mentioned HRC, they have some statements out today:

On the debate last night:

“President Bush has been promoting discrimination and using a constitutional amendment as his weapon. You can’t respect and discriminate at the same time. President Bush put politics ahead of the science that being gay is not a choice. Senator Kerry made clear that gay Americans should have the basic rights, responsibilities and protections that all American families have. Senator Kerry made clear that it is wrong that in most states it is legal to fire the star employee simply because of who they are.”

On Lynne Cheney's remarks:

“President Bush missed one more chance to denounce discrimination last night so it is bewildering that Lynne Cheney instead attacked Senator Kerry.

“Senator Kerry made clear that gay Americans should have the same basic rights, responsibilities and protections as every other American.

“Vice President Cheney first discussed his own daughter in the context of this issue two months ago and it is not surprising that Senator Kerry mentioned her experience as emblematic of millions of gay Americans.

“Senator Kerry was speaking to millions of American families who have hard-working, tax-paying gay friends and family members.”

SE OK to Coburn: No Rampant Lesbianism Here

Haha. The Oklahoma Democratic Party released this today:

Oklahoma City – A group of legislators from across Southeast Oklahoma today spoke out to denounce Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Coburn’s statement about the school children of Southeast Oklahoma. Yesterday’s news reports show that during a town hall meeting in Hugo, OK on August 31st, 2004 Tom Coburn commented that Southeast Oklahoma schools are “rampant” with “lesbianism.”

“Tom Coburn apparently doesn’t know anything about families in southeastern Oklahoma or the values we hold dear,” said State Senator Jay Paul Gumm, Durant. “If he knew us or shared our values, he would never have said our female high school students are afflicted with ‘rampant lesbianism.’ Our children deserve better than to have repulsive allegations made against them by a politician.”

Gumm said the only reason Coburn would make such a sickening charge is to avoid talking about real issues like creating jobs, improving public schools and highways, and boosting agriculture. “Given his dismal record on those issues, we shouldn’t be surprised he would try to misdirect Oklahomans with yet another shameful and unsubstantiated claim,” Gumm said.

“To repeat an outrageous claim without some sort of proof or fact is reckless and irresponsible, and regrettably could have consequences,” said State Senator Jeff Rabon of Hugo.

“It’s one thing to believe this kind of crazy nonsense and even say it publicly, but another thing entirely to use school children as props to make your point,” State Senator Richard Lerblance of Hartshorne said. “Making such a baseless attack on our children represents a new low in the discourse of Tom Coburn.”

Tom Coburn’s suggestion that lesbianism is rampant in our schools is perverse. It really is a desperate and sad assault on our children,” State Representative John Carey of Durant said. “We need someone to represent us who believes in all of Oklahoma, and will build us up, not tear us down with such disgusting attacks. Tom Coburn is showing us that he’s just another degrade Southeast and rural Oklahoma Republican.”

At a recent town hall meeting in Hugo, OK, Tom Coburn said:

• “You know, Josh Brecheen is our rep down here in the southeast area. He lives in Colgate and travels out of Atoka. He was telling me lesbianism is so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they’ll only let one girl go to the bathroom. Now think about it. Think about that issue. How is it that that’s happened to us?” [Tom Coburn, Hugo, 8/31/04]

Recently, a number of newspapers have editorialized on the numerous offensive remarks that Tom Coburn has made over the past two months. He has been consistently rebuked by newspapers statewide, some of which have called him unfit to serve the people of Oklahoma, and asked him to quit the Senate race. Excerpts from two such newspaper Editorials are below.

• Coburn has managed to alienate many, even in his own party, with his far, right wing views which are turning off voters in droves. From farmers, to Native Americans to people in Oklahoma City he has referred to as "crapheads," Coburn is losing support by the day and should not be considered by any Oklahoman who cares about their community and their children. [Sulphur Times-Democrat, 9/30/04]


• Coburn, in marked contrast, has painted himself as being on the side of "good" while those who disagree with his politics are "evil." He referred to the state's leadership in Oklahoma City as "crapheads." He dismissed many tribal members as non-Indians. Coburn, who speaks so dismissively, so disdainfully, of so many of his fellow citizens, is not the candidate who will represent all Oklahomans. [Tulsa World, 9/26/04]

“Tom Coburn has publicly made offensive comments about Native Americans, the people of Oklahoma City, and our hard-working farmers, just to name a few,” State Representative Paul Roan of Tishomingo said. “But now to make such ridiculous and offensive comments about our children and the schools they attend in Southeast Oklahoma goes way too far.”

LA Amendment Tossed

Well those activist judges did it again. The most recent state constitutional amendment is overturned because it violated the constituion.

Update [Byron here]. More at Boi from Troy.

Operation Gravy on the Mashed Potatoes, Part II

Strangely enough, I find this out from Dean "Defending Liberalism Means Re-Electing the Most Illiberal President In History" Esmay.

The Federal Marriage (a.k.a. Hate) Amendment died again today, this time in the House of Representatives. It fell 49 votes short of the 2/3rds majority needed.

And the peasants rejoiced.

Maya Keyes Pictures Removed

The Alan Keyes campaign might not be talking to reporters about it, but they're obviously ashamed of Maya Keyes - Alan Keyes lesbian daughter.

The pictures of Maya have been removed from the Keyes Campaign website.

Gone, gone and gone.

Via Archpundit.

Kinky Rick Santorum

Via Wonkette, the latest from the kinkiest Senator in Washington:

Santorum will seek Whip slot.

Because, he seems to know more about various sex acts than just about anyone else in Washington (heck, in just about anywhere for all I know):

“In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality.” –Rick Santorum, AP interview

That's right, guys. Save marriage today, because next generation, it'll be man on box turtle.

Iraq, Jobs, Hate Amendment...

Basically, Tom DeLay and the GOP House leadership are saying screw jobs and screw Iraq. You know, because what's the most important issue for the GOP House leadership to debate thirty days before the election, even though it's a lost cause?

Yup, it's here again. Hate Amendment time:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, acknowledged Tuesday that the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage would fail to win House passage Thursday.

But he insisted that he would go forward with a vote on the amendment anyway.

"The American people need to know where their representatives stand" on the issue, DeLay told a news conference.

DeLay acknowledged that past House votes on gay marriage issues show it is unlikely that the proposed amendment could receive the necessary two-thirds support.

Ok, Tom, so why are we debating the issue? Norman Ornstein gives us the answer - Armageddon:

Norman Ornstein, a congressional analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the issue is being pushed by Republicans to energize their conservative base.

"The upside potential in convincing the Christian conservative community that Armageddon will come if John Kerry and Democrats are elected is greater than losing Log Cabin Republicans and some socially moderate Republicans," Ornstein said.

Ok, it all makes sense now. Jobs and Iraq are pretty minor compared to Armageddon. Why didn't the just come out and tell us earlier? I was confused for the longest time.

More at Boi From Troy.

Getting what they deserve

I really think it's hilarious how some of the most notable right-wing anti-gay reactionary activists wind up with gay kids (or brothers or sisters, etc.): Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, etc. (ok, I'm having a brain fart here - usually I could rattle off a dozen of these)...

Well, anyway, the latest addition to the list is Alan Keyes (remember he was calling Mary Cheney a hedonist a few weeks ago?). Well, it seems as if his daughter is a lesbian. For more info, start reading here and here with analysis over on kos and Archpundit (here, here, here and here).

Well, of course, she's a lesbian. Duh.

Update: Another picture at Wonkette.

Update: Shocker here. Check out the Alan Keyes website. See the top story?

Gay marriage provides ammunition for Keyes.

Hahahaha. The hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Liberals Want To Impose Their Values on Arkansas

...whereas conservatives want to impose their values on Arkansas AND the other 49 states.

The mailer that hit West Virginia hit Arkansas this week, and who knows where else?

If only all this stuff about liberals being for raping, pillaging, casual sex, horrible drugs (besides, you know, tobacco), irreligion, and loud music were true! I've always wanted to be a Viking. Or an extra in a Mad Max movie.

"Hey kids, let's go get drunk, grow long beards, wear funny hats... and sack Arkansas!"

They say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

Death Threats Are Funny?

Jimmy Swaggert thinks so:

In the broadcast, Swaggart was discussing his opposition to gay marriage when he said "I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry."

"And I'm going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died," Swaggart said to laughter and applause from the congregation.

Today, Swaggart said he has jokingly used the expression "killing someone and telling God he died" thousands of times, about all sorts of people. He said the expression is figurative and not meant to harm.

"It's a humorous statement that doesn't mean anything. You can't lie to God -- it's ridiculous," Swaggart told The Associated Press. "If it's an insult, I certainly didn't think it was, but if they are offended, then I certainly offer an apology."

That's a hell of a non-apology apology. I posted on this last week, here.

Who would want to look at Jimmy Swaggert "like that" anyway?

Jimmy Swaggert one-upped our friends Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson the other day as the lead hate mongering wingnut of the religious right in America. Falwell and Roberson just blame gays and lesbians (and feminists, abortion providers, the ACLU and PFAW, etc.) for 9/11. Swaggert, pictured above, took things a step further. Instead of merely blaming gays and lesbians for terrorism, he advocates the final solution for anyone who would look at him "like that" (although Jimmy, I really don't think ya got too much to worry about).

Anyway, I found the story on Angry Finger via alandwilliams.com.

Here's exactly what Swaggert said:

I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died.

Of course, this is coming from the same guy that regisned his ministry in 1988 over "moral failures". Jimmy Swaggert should read his bible.

John 8:7 - "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone."

LA Gay Marriage Ban Vote Today

Louisiana is holding elections today. Or rather, has been attempting to as a number of polling locations had no voting machines and Ivan disrupted some polling locations.

The biggie on the ballot was a state constitutional amendment to ban Gay Marriage which is expected to pass with around a 70% 'yes' vote. Click here to watch the returns as they come in later tonight (since results are being somewhat delayed today).

For those of us here in Texas, if we let our state legislature puke a similar measure out of the session next Spring, we will face basically the same thing on the 2005 State Constitutional Amendment ballot. We won't be able to stop it at the voting booth if it gets that far, so in the spring, please be aware and help try to kill it in the legislature.

An Openly Gay Senator?

If the election were held today to replace John Kerry, we'd have one. According to this poll, Barney Frank has a striking 20 point lead in a large field for the Democratic nomination.

The Boston Herald has the first poll on the potential race that I've seen (Note: The Boston Herald is Boston's right-wing newspaper):

The short story is this: U.S. Rep. Barney Frank [related, bio] of Newton holds an early and significant lead. Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley has the potential to emerge as a strong candidate. And if the field remains crowded, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Boston, the sole pro-life candidate, could end up the winner, capturing a plurality - but not a majority - of the votes.

[...]

Frank holds a startlingly significant edge, with favorability ratings that are considerably higher than anyone else in the field: 70 percent positive with only 16 percent negative. The other candidates range from 54 percent to 44 percent favorable, with the exception of Lynch, who is only at 26 percent. Moreover, when looking at the horse race, Frank gets 33 percent of the vote; everyone else is 11 percent or less.

Should the MA Senate race open up, I'll probably give Frank a small donation for the race. The U.S. Senate is grossly overrepresented by white, heterosexual males. Women are very underrepresented, and Blacks, Hispanics and (openly) gay or lesbians are not represented at all in the U.S. Senate. It's time to change that with Barack Obama and Ken Salazar in November, and with Barney Frank next year.

Log Cabin is Relevent After All

The Log Cabin Republicans came to their senses last night as their executive committee voted 22-2 to not endorse George W. Bush for President.

The New York Times:

The board of Log Cabin Republicans, the largest group for gay men and lesbians in the party, voted overwhelming last night against endorsing President Bush for re-election because of his support for a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

The decision ends six months of soul-searching as the group, which endorsed Mr. Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996, wrestled with its divided loyalties.

[...]

In a meeting last night in Washington, the group's board voted 22 to 2 to withhold its endorsement, a spokesman said, declining to name the holdouts.

In a statement afterward, Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, cited exit polls showing that more than one million gay men and lesbians voted for Mr. Bush in 2000. That included 45,000 in the pivotal state of Florida, which Mr. Bush carried by roughly 500 votes.

"Some will accuse us of being disloyal," Mr. Guerriero said. "It was actually the White House who was disloyal" to those gay voters, he continued.

Absolutely. The Bush administration filp-flopped on gay marriage. In 2000, it was a state issue. In 2004, it's a federal issue. They flip-flopped on the compassionate and uniter crap. They used gays and lesbian as a wedge to divide Americans on social issues in order to distract people from the critical issues where the Bush administration has failed such as the economy and Iraq. Anyway, Log Cabin is now relevent for another election cycle. If they had chosen to endorse President Bush, they would have lost the little credibility in the GLBT community that the have in the first place.

Kos has more.

CNN is being a pussy

They won't air this ad by the Log Cabin Republicans that calls for unity within the Republican Party, asking the party to focus on what unites it - the war on terror, and put aside divisive figures like Pat Buchanan and Rick Santorum. Log Cabin also airs a picture of a "God Hates Fags" sign by Fred Phelps's gang. C'mon CNN. It's offensive, but you're also airing ads by the Swift Vets that talk about chopped off heads. That ought to be much more controversial. Anyway, it'll be interesting to watch if the Log Cabin Republicans do ultimately sell-out, and make themselves irrelevent to the gay community by endorsing George W. Bush, or will they actually hold Bush accountable for using gays and lesbians as victims in fanning the flames of the culture war.

The Set-Up

Could America be one appeal away from declaring "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" unconstitutional?

That, to me anyways, appears to be the upshot of the appellate decision discussed here (on the ACSBlog).

Another GOP Closet Case Hypocrite?

I dismissed an email last week that attempted to out a Republican congressman on this webpage. That would be Republican congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA). At first the webpage looked unprofessional, and the whole thing looked a little bit far fetched. Well, my causiousness was unfounded. Schrock, a congressman with a 92% rating from the Christian Coalition, has decided to end his campaign for reelection. This is certainly a signal that the he is unable to defend the rumors that are now emerging in his campaign:

When the story of Congressman Ed Schrock (R-VA-2) first came to me, I was quite skeptical. After all, Congressman Schrock's district includes parts of Hampton and Norfolk and all of Virginia Beach, home to no less than NINE military facilities and Pat Robertson’s Regent University! Nevertheless, the activities of Congressman Schrock have been documented and verified as thoroughly as any I have seen come before me and what I have learned is, well, ScHrOCKING!

Congressman Ed Schrock has made a habit of rendezvousing with gay men via the MegaMates/ MegaPhone Line, an interactive telephone service on which men place ads and respond to those ads to meet each other. What makes this story more amazing? Congressman Schrock not only voted for the homophobic Marriage Protection Act, but he also signed on as a CO-SPONSOR of the Federal Marriage Amendment!

Ed Schrock has a voting record that the most right wing conservative would be proud of. The Christian Coalition gave him a 92% rating in their 2003 voting guide.

Schrock's voting record at the Christian Coalition: 92%

His score over at the Human Rights Campaign? ZERO!

Why has Schrock resigned? Well this ought to explain it:

The blogger who triggered yesterday’s resignation of Rep. Ed Schrock (R-Va.) by spreading rumors that he is gay promised “there’s more to come.”

The gossip first surfaced two weeks ago on a Washington, D.C.-based Web log, or blog, Blogactive.com. The site links to an audio recording that it claims is Schrock calling into the MegaMates/Megaphone Line, a telephone service that men can use to meet other men.

After the GOP push to ban gay marriages, Blogactive.com began “outing” political aides and has since targeted lawmakers who voted for legislation on the issue. Schrock was one of 233 lawmakers who this year supported the Marriage Protection Act, which would block federal courts from considering constitutional issues arising from gay-marriage cases.

Mike Rogers, the blogger who is promising more embarrassing revelations, said an anonymous source gave him the audiotape. “[We target] people who say they are Republicans and then use sexual orientation to stay in power.”

Schrock, a 63-year-old second-term lawmaker and retired U.S. Navy captain, did not respond to the allegations specifically, and his office could not be reached for comment last night. Schrock, a cancer survivor, is married and has one son.

In a press release, Schrock said: “After much thought and prayer, I have come to the realization that these allegations will not allow my campaign to focus on the real issues facing our nation and region. Therefore … I am stepping aside and will no longer be the Republican nominee for Congress in Virginia’s Second Congressional District.

“Words cannot express the gratitude I have for all of the people who have entrusted me to be their representative and have shown unwavering support. Together, we have accomplished so much for the people of Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore.”

Uh, yeah. Closet case. That makes three gay Republican congressmen: Jim Kolbe, Mark Foley (closeted but obvious), and this guy.

Does Cheney Support his Daughter or his boss?

Or does he just flip flop?

He couldn't seem to make up his mind today:

Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter Mary is a lesbian, spoke supportively about gay relationships on Tuesday, saying "freedom means freedom for everyone."

At a campaign rally in this Mississippi River town, Cheney was asked about his stand on gay marriage - an issue for which his boss, President Bush, has pushed for a constitutional amendment to ban such unions.

"Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue our family is very familiar with," Cheney said. "With the respect to the question of relationships, my general view is freedom means freedom for everyone ... People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.

"The question that comes up with the issue of marriage is what kind of official sanction or approval is going to be granted by government? Historically, that's been a relationship that has been handled by the states. The states have made that fundamental decision of what constitutes a marriage," he said.

[...]

Last month, Lynne Cheney said states should have the final say over the legal status of personal relationships, a comment that came just days before the Senate failed to back the ban.

Cheney said the amendment did not have the votes to pass, but he also said the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed into law in 1996, may be enough.

"Most states have addressed this and there is on the books the federal statute, the Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996, and to date, it has not been successfully challenged in the courts and may be sufficient to resolve the issue," the vice president said.

[...]

During the 2000 campaign, vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney took the position that states should decide legal issues about personal relationships and that people should be free to enter relationships of their choosing.

Addressing Bush's position on the amendment, Cheney said, "at this point, save my own preference, as I have stated, but the president makes policy for the administration. He's made it clear that he does, in fact, support a constitutional amendment on this issue."

Why won't Dick Cheney just say point blank, "I disagree with the President on this issue, but he makes the decisions for this administration, so his position is our policy"? Ok, well Bush doesn't really make the decisions, but that's beside the point. He didn't say that, so all the modifying rhetoric is meaningless. Dick Cheney has constantly refused to back up his support that he expressed for states rights on the marriage equality in which he expressed in the 2000 Vice Presidential debate. "Freedom" doesn't mean "freedom for everyone" when he remains silent when his boss wants to write into the constitution of the United State an amendment saying that his daughter's family is of lesser value than the families that President Bush's daughter's might choose to have. Dick Cheney can't have it both ways.

More on McGreevey

First, I'd like to state my agreement with Andrew's comments regarding Rick Perry below. Rick Perry is not gay (to my knowledge). And I stand by the posts that I made earlier in the Spring, because we were blogging on legitimate reports from people working in the legislature, people deeply connected in Austin politics and Republican and Democratic sources. They were all saying the same thing, and we felt an obligation, as an Austin-based Texas political blog to report on what we were hearing. I think that we handled the situation in a professional manner, but as far as I'm concerned, it's over. There was no evidence to suggest that the Perry rumors are true, yet there was plenty to suggest that the rumors were perpetuated by opponents of the governor within the Republican party. Perry blamed this blog and the Texas Democratic Party Chair, because we were easy targets - making this look like a Democratic attempt to smear the governor, when in fact the rumors came directly from the governors Republican political opponents. But regardless, I consider the issue to be over.

As for McGreevey - there's several aspects of the resignation speech to explore. Last night I focused on the gay aspect of the resignation. That post was my gut reaction after glossing over the aspects of the resignation. Obviously, the situation is more complicated. I think there are two issues here. First, the gay issue, and second, the issue over the misuse of public money, and power of appointments.

The most shameful aspect of this for me is that McGreevey's announcement yesterday could very easily be put into headlines like this:

"NJ governor is gay, resigns"

"Jersey Governor resigns, Is Gay"

Etc. Etc.

Which is exactly what you'll find under a search through Google News:

"NJ Governor out of closet, quits"
"New Jersey Governor Resigns over Gay Affair"
"US Governor steps down over gay affair"
"New Jersey Governor Quits over Same-Sex Affair"
"NJ governor had gay affair, says he'll quit"
"NJ governor resigns, citing affair with man"
"NJ Governor Quits Over Gay Affair"

This is a shame. Why? Because it sends a message to America, and to the world that being openly gay is inconsistent with public service. That's a terribly harmful message that has been sent to millions of Americans today. And that's what drove the thrust of my post last night.

Now, as for the real reason over the resignation, after researching the background here, it's hard to feel too much love for the guy. (I didn't look too much into the story last night - I was in Austin, at a friend's place writing the post, as I had just moved my stuff into my apartment - but did not yet have cable or Internet access. I'm back in Dallas now - working for another week before moving back to Austin for the semester).

Back to the real reason for this whole thing... Golan Cipel. I don't have much respect for this guy either, as he tried to extort and blackmail McGreevey in order to keep his mouth shut. But, the truth is that McGreevey paid him $110,000 / year for a job in which he was underqualified. That's hardly excusable, and it's hard to feel too much sympathy for McGreevey. The whole situation is shameful, and I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it all, but I think the best thing that I can do now is just wait for the facts to come out, and see what happens.

Perry Isn't Gay (I Don't Think)

Alright, enough is enough. I know that we kind of got our name in the world of blogging by reporting (not creating, not even promoting, but simply reporting) on the the rumors that were swirling around the governor's sexuality earlier this year. At the time it seemed like a lot of really well-placed sources were saying the same things- Perry was sleeping with Geoff Connor, he was going to resign, Anita was going to leave him. As a result, we did what we do and we reported on them.

Now I'm not so sure. I don't know if Perry is gay or not- I suppose only Perry and anyone he has slept with would know that for sure (and I haven't slept with him, to my knowledge). But it appears that what happened was a very well coordinated whisper campaign orchestrated by someone aligned with Carole Strayhorn's office. The only thing more despicable, in my estimation, than a gay person hiding their sexuality and scoring political points off of discriminating against their own people would be to score political points off of people's bigotry by cowardly suggesting that your political opponents are gay. I don't know which is true but to be on the safe side, don't vote for either of them.

The rumor gained traction I believe because the governor is a fairly private man and that means that there isn't much conviction that he is certainly straight, he is attractive and very attentive of his physical appearance (which is often stereotyped as "gay") and for a long time was known to be something of a wild child- his carnal appetites were well-known. Throw all of this together and it creates fertile ground for a rumor. Get some well-connected capitol staffers talking and the small world that is the Austin political scene is running rampant with a rumor. Karl Rove did a similar thing to Ann Richards in 1994, suggesting she was a lesbian.

So now that I've said that, the jokes are still funny but they are inaccurate. I doubt that Perry is gay and I suspect the worst of his political opponents. So please, don't expect me to be the one to beat this dead horse any further.

Shame

I don't really care what Andrew or anyone else says about Jim McGreevey's resignation announcement today. It's a shame, because if the affair was with a woman, McGreevey wouldn't be resigning. There's no doubt about it. He wouldn't be resigning (Ok, unless his name was Bob Livingston). That's all there is to it. I don't care if he was a bad governor (he did some good things and he did some stupid things, but that's not the point).

Some people here might be inclined to call me a hypocrite, because had this happened to a Republican governor, they'd say I'd probably be laughing my ass off right now. They're probably right. My belief about closeted gay politicians is that it's a personal decision to come out, and I respect that decision so long as they are consistent in supporting GLBT issues. Jim McGreevey did that, and passed domestic partnership legislation for GLBT couples in New Jersey. I have no respect for closeted gay politicians who consistently oppose gay legislation. They deserve to be outed, embarrassed and humiliated.

But today is a historic, yet sad day for the gay community in America (in addition to the voiding of the same-sex marriages in San Francisco). For the first time, America has an openly gay statewide elected official, but it's a shame that he failed to be honest with himself, and especially his family (until today) about his sexual orientation. There's a first for everything, and Gov. McGreevey through his courage in coming out to 300 Million people today has opened the doors for many others. Who knows? We might be looking at Sen. Barney Frank (D-MA) in a year...

NJ Gov Resigns, Comes Out of the Closet

I know I should probably wait for one of our two openly gay authors to write about this one but I'll just crib the AP report.

In a stunning declaration, Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation Thursday and acknowledged that he had an extramarital affair with another man. "My truth is that I am a gay American," he said.

"Shamefully, I engaged in adult consensual affairs with another man, which violates my bonds of matrimony," the married father of two said. "It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexecusable."

The Democrat said his resignation would be effective Nov. 15.

McGreevey said he would step down because his secret — both his sexuality and his affair — leaves the governor's office vulnerable.

He's a dirtbag for misappropriating funds and cheating on his wife, but until November 15 America has its first openly gay governor.

Republican Runs From FMA

They thought that this would be an issue that would embarrass Democrats in a tough election year. Instead, many of the conservative Democrats such as both senators from Louisiana, both senators from Arkansas and Tom Daschle held the line as they could take cover by telling their constituents that they voted with John McCain. On the other hand, FMA is embarrassing Republicans like George Nethercutt - the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Washington State. Despite a zero lifetime rating from the Human Rights Campaign, Nethercutt knows he needs to become a born again moderate to have any chance in Democratic-leaning Washington. The Seattle Times reports:

WASHINGTON — In the midst of a heated Senate debate on gay marriage, there is surprising tranquility in the senatorial campaign in Washington state.

U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt of Spokane, who is expected to be the Republican challenger of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in November, released a short statement yesterday saying he does not support the Federal Marriage Amendment, which is scheduled for a Senate floor vote today.

That brings him in line with Murray, a Democrat, who has said she would vote against the bill. The state's other senator, Democrat Maria Cantwell, also opposes the measure.

So George Nethercutt is reinveting himself as a moderate after spending a career voting for progressive legislation only five percent of the time.

John Cornyn: Gays = Box Turtles

Occationally, you have to give Andrew Sullivan a little credit. He found this gem about our Junior Senator in Texas:

"It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right. . . . Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife."

-- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), advocating a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in a speech Thursday to the Heritage Foundation.

That's right. In 2004, it's men marrying men and women marrying women. In ten years, it'll be men marrying goldfish and women marrying box turtles. Really, can anyone take these nuts seriously?

Update: As noted in comments, Cornyn did not use the "box turtl