How to beat the Republicans on gay marriage [View All]

[Brian_Expat]

The Republicans are making this a hot-button issue, and frankly, the mealy-mouthed Dem leadership is making it easy for them to whip up a froth. Kerry's backhanding to the gay community was particularly galling.

But there's an easy way to smash the Republicans on this issue and go on the offensive, if Democrats have the backbone.

Bring back the ERA.

Update it, add in women, homosexuals, Arabs, Pagans, Wiccans, Quakers, Muslims, recent immigrants, and lots of other people and then take it to the vote. Challenge every single Republican supporting the "Federal Marriage Amendment" to vote for the ERA. Then, when they refuse, assault the Republicans for hating the principle of equality.

A strong majority of Americans support the ERA according to polling, yet the GOP isn't supporting it. A small minority support the FMA, yet they're pushing it hard. Repeat that point, over and over and over.

"President Bush wants to take away rights from American gays but won't guarantee the equality of all people, women, immigrants, conservatives, etc." Repeat that meme every debate. Slam them with it. Put them on the defensive explaining why they're opposed to granting equal rights to all Americans with a popular amendment, but backing a hateful amendment that a majority doesn't support.

Of course, this is too bold and tactically brilliant for the pink tutu crowd, which is why we need a smart renegade group of Democrats to do it and then lobby McAuliffe and Daschle and Pelosi to back it with the one or two vertebrae they have between all three of them.