Hucksters on the Hustings (GOP ignores real needs to pass flag/same sex)

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http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-congress9sep09.story
EDITORIAL
Hucksters on the Hustings (GOP ignores real needs to pass flag/same sex)

September 9, 2004

Oil prices continue to soar, the cost of health insurance and the number of Americans without it keep rising, and the nation's intelligence system is still a mess. This year, the federal deficit will blast to an unfathomable $422 billion, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is warning baby boomers not to expect the Social Security and Medicare benefits their parents receive, wages have stalled and hiring is slow. Sounds like Congress has a lot of work to do. Too bad it's an election year.

Congress returned Tuesday for a last push before Nov. 2. Leaders know that agreement on a package of energy conservation measures (yawn) will hardly get their voters to the polls. Nor will consensus on deficit reduction (double yawn).

Republicans figure that voters will pull the lever for their guys if they're mad at the other guys. So congressional leaders will throw out the usual slabs of raw meat — such as proposed constitutional amendments to ban flag desecration and same-sex marriage. The tiresome endgame is to paint Democrats into a corner where a "no" vote may cost them their seats and Sen. John F. Kerry the presidency.

Even though senators defeated the same-sex marriage ban in July, they may vote once more to get the attention of constituents who might have been off fishing. House leaders have staged five hearings since March on the parade of horribles they see trailing gay marriage. Now, with the cameras rolling, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will put the proposed ban before his majority Republican colleagues in coming weeks for near-certain passage.

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