"Gay marriage": It's how Republicans say "Don't think about Iraq."

By: Josh
Published On: 6/7/2006 11:08:57 AM

The gathering forces of greed, ignorance, and hate today have forced the most august body in the world to debate a non-issue, in an insulting effort to distract the nation from the ongoing failure of right-wing conservatism to serve the needs of the nation and the world.

How unhinged have the forces of hate in this nation become?  In a desperate effort to hold on to power, right-wing extremists are willling to allow this failed government a pass on every astronomical example of incompetence if only for the momentary pleasure of using the US Constitution as a means to scapegoat homosexuality. 


[UPDATE by Lowell:  For an powerful indictment of our record in Iraq, see this report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS). No wonder why the Republicans want to distract peoples' attention from their "F" grade in Iraq.]
The right-wing conservatism of George Bush and George Allen has brought America the most costly, most incompetently managed, and damaging war in our nation's history.  The right-wing conservatism of George Bush and George Allen has raped the national grandure that once was held in trust for all Americans to enjoy.  The right-wing conservatism of George Bush and George Allen has bankrupted the federal government and left an unpayable debt to our children and grandchildren based on Enron-style accounting and unreasonable prospects of economic prosperity.  Think I'm making that one up, just consider the housing bubble, tanking stock markets, looming stagflation and Bernanke's "economy in transistion".
One blogger pulled together a telling selection of letters to the editors of the Chicago Tribune.  I found this letter extremely telling:

So rather than reach out to the majority of American people, whom I still firmly believe are moderates, Bush panders to the ultra right-wing religious fundamentalists. It's just more polarization from Bush, who used to claim with a straight face that he was "a uniter, not a divider." Ha.

Will anybody -- or at least a majority -- buy the scare tactics this time? I hope not. I think Americans are realizing that they've been had. The polls show it. A sizable majority of the public does not trust the president and other Republican leaders. They think the nation has run off the tracks.

The problem is that Americans seem willing to heed the right-wing hydra of fear:  greed, ignorance, and hatred.  Look at last night's Republican victory in California's 50th Congressional District.  This should have been a Democratic pickup, but republicans successfully used nativism to drive a hate-filled electorate to the polls. 

As Americans continue to be driven by fear, we continue to allow ourselves to be ruled by incompetents.

[The title for this piece was egregiously stolen from this brief letter to the editor.]

Comments



Bread and circuses... (Loudoun County Dem - 6/7/2006 11:14:48 AM)
Now with less bread and 50% more circuses...


Sen. Warner Votes for FMA? (PM - 6/7/2006 11:18:27 AM)
Americablog is reporting that only Gregg and Specter among the GOP voted against the FMA.  That means Warner voted for it.  Thrice married John Warner -- wanting to ensure American marriages are stable.  Ha! 

From the Gospel of Matthew, Ch. 19:  "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."

Nice going, John.  I've given up on you as a "moderate."  You're a first-class hypocrite.



Is there ANY evidence at ALL (Lowell - 6/7/2006 11:27:52 AM)
that gay marriage or civil unions has led to increased divorce rates and family breakdown in places like Massachusetts, Vermont, Canada, etc?  My guess is that there's none, and that  divorce/family breakdown stems from broad socio-economic forces that have absolutely NOTHING to do with gays.  So why do some people believe this crap?  It's not like Jesus preached this or anything.  I don't get it.


Nice pic. Is this a family site? (loboforestal - 6/7/2006 11:32:33 AM)
Actually I think the economy, corruption and immigration are replacing terrorism and same sex marriage as the hot button issues this election.  The Republicans can try and exploit some divisive issues, but the Democrats need to concentrate on helping to solve the problem of working Moms and Dads.



And pay no attention to eliminating the Estate Tax... (Loudoun County Dem - 6/7/2006 11:35:58 AM)
... just let the GOP run up huge deficits raiding the treasury for the ultra rich and big business and then make certain that they aren't stuck with the bill when it comes due (that leaves us to pick up their tab).


Excellent post Josh (Todd Smyth - 6/7/2006 11:42:13 AM)
They have doomed our children to a lifetime of terrorism and massive debt and think it's OK to pretend the government has the right or the competence to protect them from whom they want to marry?  It is appalling.

There are two things you can count on from Republicans.  They will lie and cheat every chance they get.  -- Martin Bowne 1960



The Evidence Points the Other Way (PM - 6/7/2006 11:43:59 AM)
Divorce rates are highest in the South and Midwest, i.e., the Red States.  Divorce rates are highest among born again Christians, lowest among agnostics and athiests.  Catholics and mainline Protestants are somewhere in the middle. 

My take, Lowell, from reading lots of theology and religious history, is that there has always been a subset of people who are opposed to sex being for other than procreational purposes.  Call 'em ascetics, Essenes, prudes, Pilgrims, Gnostics, they've always been around.  It's not, for example, a "Christian"-generated idea.  It was a philosophy well before that. 

So why push it upon others?  Mencken defined a Puritan as someone who is afraid someone else is having too good a time.  (That's not a really accurate paraphrase -- he said it much better.)  In my experience, I've never met a person who both really enjoyed sex -- experiencing knock your socks off sex -- and also wanted to restrict others' sexual habits.  I believe that the subset consists primarily of people who dislike or fear sex.  And it becomes a big deal to them because the procreative drive is an important part of mankind's makeup.  So people who somehow have a flawed drive react against others who have a normal drive.  I think the religion angle is just an add-on that the anti-sex group uses to justify their position.



I think you've nailed it (Lowell - 6/7/2006 11:47:55 AM)
People who are obsessed with "gay marriage" have some serious psychological "issues," let's just say.


Does that go for people obsessed on both sides of the issue? (loboforestal - 6/7/2006 12:01:42 PM)
[sorry]

I still don't think the electorate is ready for same sex marriage : http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=273

I'd certainly recommend that supporters wait until public approval went positive for a year or so before going to the baracades.  Trying to jump the gun with "judicial decree" and not legislative debate and approval is a mistake.



No. The people on the other "side" of this issue (Lowell - 6/7/2006 3:49:25 PM)
are mainly gay people who do not want discrimination against them written into the US Constitution.  And let's be clear, that's EXACTLY what the goal is here - to write into our great Constitution an amendment that specifically takes AWAY rights from a group of Americans.  That is an absolute disgrace, and frankly it's un-American.


Or.... (Doug in Mount Vernon - 6/8/2006 12:42:19 AM)
Either that, or they're simply gay and lesbian people who are consistently and constantly reminded that their relationships are not real, based in love, or of any redeeming value to society.  That tends to get one a little obsessed---or is it pissed off?


The good guys on the vote (PM - 6/7/2006 11:57:21 AM)
There were more than two Republicans on the good side.  Here's the list from the Senate website.  Byrd and Nelson voted with the idiots.  You know, the VA Senators may have the most total marriages -- 5 -- when compared to the Senators from any other state.

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
  Feinstein (D-CA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
McCain (R-AZ)
  Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Wyden (D-OR)
 



Number will stay at 5 when Webb wins (teacherken - 6/7/2006 12:04:28 PM)
since he nis on his 2nd wife.  This is probably not an issue you want to explore.


Not an issue to use (Eric - 6/7/2006 12:46:32 PM)
for promoting Webb, but certainly if the Repubs are going to use (gay) marriage as one of their primary weapons, we need to really work the whole marriage picture.  And that would include going after all these "family values" Republicans who are on their second and third marriage, no matter where our guys stand.  If we can't get the individual on it, then we can certainly destroy the message.

Those poor guys - all them homosexuals must have destroyed their first marriages. 

Ha - and there's the angle right there.  Ask any one of 'em directly: Did same sex unions have anything to do with your breakup?  If so, explain.



and actually, ins't number really 4 (teacherken - 6/7/2006 12:05:30 PM)
since Warner has never married Barbara Wa-Wa.  He was married to Cathy Mellon Bruce and Liz Taylor.  Who would be his third wife?


Republican Pedophiles (Josh - 6/7/2006 12:58:05 PM)
For a party that claims moral ascendency, it's always amazed me how many sex offenders are Republicans.

Here's a stunning list.

The one that always gets me is the Underage Male Prostitution ring that was run out of the first Bush White House and the Gay sex that our current President apparently enjoyed on some roadtrips. 

The only ones beyond the salvation of Christ are the hypocrites.  Think about that next time somebody says Bush has brought Jesus back in to the White House.



Best sig/by-line ever (snolan - 6/7/2006 1:30:02 PM)
Democrats, Moral Leadership: Universal Opportunity. Responsibile Government. Energy Security. Fair Markets. Sustainable Growth. Healthy Families. Strong Communities. The Right to Privacy. The Common Good.

Josh, that by-line is awesome!  Evocative, succinct, poignant. 



Feel free to borrow, use and re-use. (Josh - 6/7/2006 1:46:42 PM)
I borrowed it strongly from Jeffrey Feldman's "Elevator Speech", an absolute MUST READ for all Progressives.


Divorce Rate:Conservative Christians Higher than any other Faith Group....Huummmm!! (kevinceckowski - 6/7/2006 1:22:24 PM)
From Religious Tolerance. org
SEE {NOTE} below for Conservative piece............

Divorce rates in the U.S.:
"There is consensus that the overall U.S. divorce rate had a brief spurt after WW2, followed by a decline, then started rising in the 1960s and even more quickly in the 1970s, then leveled off [in the] 1980s and [has since] declined slightly." 7 However, such gross statistics are misleading. There are a number of factors involved that obscure the real data:

  The normal lifestyle of American young adults is to live together for a period of time in a type of informal trial marriage. These relationships frequently do not endure.
  Couples enter into their first marriage at a older age than in the past.
  A growing percentage of committed couples have decided to live in a common-law relationship rather than get married.

The current U.S. divorce rate:
The media frequently reports that 50% of American marriages will end in divorce. This number appears to have been derived from very skimpy data related to a single county or state. However, it appears to be reasonable close to the probable value. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that "Probably, 40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue. However, that is only a projection and a prediction." 7

Divorce rates among Christian groups:
The slogan: "The family that prays together, stays together" is well known. There has been much anecdotal evidence that has led to "unsubstantiated claims that the divorce rate for Christians who attended church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions is only 1 or 2 percent". 8  [Emphasis ours]. Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention's Council on the Family said that for "...born-again Christian couples who marry...in the church after having received premarital counseling...and attend church regularly and pray daily together..." experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages -- or 0.00256 percent. 9

A recent study by the Barna Research Group throws extreme doubt on these estimates. Barna released the results of their poll about divorce on 1999-DEC-21. 1 They had interviewed 3,854 adults from the 48 contiguous states. The margin of error is within 2 percentage points. The survey found:

  11% of the adult population is currently divorced.
  25% of adults have had at least one divorce during their lifetime.
  Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significently higher than for other faith groups, and for Atheists and Agnostics.

{NOTE}

George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group, commented: "While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages."

{NOTE HERE}
According to the Dallas Morning News, a Dallas TX newspaper, the national study "raised eyebrows, sowed confusion, [and] even brought on a little holy anger." This caused  George Barna to write a letter to his supporters, saying that he is standing by his data, even though it is upsetting. He said that "We rarely find substantial differences" between the moral behavior of Christians and non-Christians. Barna Project Director Meg Flammang said: "We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ... in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same." Both statements seem to be projecting the belief that conservative Christians, liberal Christians have the same divorce rate. This disagrees with their own data.

The survey has come under some criticism:

  David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University has said that the survey doesn't make sense. He based this belief on his assessment that Christians follow biblical models of the family, making a bond that "the secular world doesn't have...It just stands to reason that the bond of religion is protective of marriage, and I believe it is."
  Tom Ellis of the Southern Baptist Convention suggests that the Barna poll is inaccurate because the people contacted may have called themselves born-again Christians, without having previously made a real commitment to God. He said: "We believe that there is something more to being a Christian...Just saying you are Christian is not going to guarantee that your marriage is going to stay together." 9
  Some researchers have suggested that religion may have little or no effect on divorce rates. The apparently higher rate among born-again Christians, and lower rate among Atheists and Agnostics may be due to the influence of financial and/or educational factors.

One reason for the discrepancy of beliefs about divorce rates among born-again Christians may be that their churches are unaware of the true number of divorcing couples in their midst.

  Many couples would find it difficult to continue attending services in the same congregation after their marital separation; meeting at church would be awkward. So, they drop out.
  Many probably find that the climate in their church is very negative towards divorcing couples. So, they move to other congregations that are either more accepting of divorce, or are unaware of their marital status. 

Variation in divorce rates among Christian faith groups:
Denomination (in order of decreasing divorce rate) % who have been divorced
Non-denominational (small conservative groups; independents) 34%
Baptists 29%
Mainline Protestants 25%
Mormons 24%
Catholics 21%
Lutherans 21%

Barna's results verified findings of earlier polls: that conservative Protestant Christians, on average, have the highest divorce rate, while mainline Christians have a much lower rate. They found some new information as well: that atheists and agnostics have the lowest divorce rate of all.  George Barna commented that the results raise "questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families." The data challenge "the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriage."

Donald Hughes, author of The Divorce Reality, said: "In the churches, people have a superstitious view that Christianity will keep them from divorce, but they are subject to the same problems as everyone else, and they include a lack of relationship skills. ...Just being born again is not a rabbit's foot." Hughes claim that 90% of divorces among born-again couples occur after they have been "saved."