Bush* is making a play for his base with the gay marriage stuff.

[Renew Deal]

His base has been really cut down. He figures that he can get them all fired up with this. Here are the problems with this issue.

1. it could be a 10 point swing against the Dem's.
2. Gays will be pissed with the Dem's if they don't fight for them.

This can be turned on Bush. He will probably fuck something up and make it sound hateful.

I just think it's a terrible idea to touch the constitution for this issue. I would be embarrassed to have something so hateful in there.

[StClone]

1. I don't know about that

It seems there are more people willing to take a stand once they start thinking about it. This wedge issue is, like it or not, going to be another scare tactic by Right to desperately hold power.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. i think some gays also know this as a wedge issue

i would like to marry my wife but will support the democratic candidate cos in my opinion there is no way he can openly say he supports gay marriage and still win any part of middle america or the south...so i will support the candidate regardless of gay issues

also i think homeless children, people without healthcare and jobs are more important than whether or not i can get married.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

3. youre damn right he is

probably even moreso now that he his base off so bad with that immigration policy he introduced. it's probably difficult keeping track of all the things the RW hates, so this has got to be frustrating for him.

I think its key for gays to recognize this as a Bush strategy to drive a wedge between gays and the Democratic party.

That being said, i find the institutionalized hatred among the RW'ers something to behold.

[displacedtexan]

4. So we get 10% more Dems to register and vote!

Bring it on, Chimp Boy!

I feel really good about Kerry's willingness to fight back.

[Renew Deal]

13. It's your responsibility and mine to get people registered.

It needs to be done.

[Beetwasher]

5. No way will he get a 10 point swing

I expect this will work against him actually and ONLY his nutjob base will support this. They never left him to begin with.

Hardly any moderate voters will support tinkering w/ the constitution to LIMIT only CERTAIN people's freedom.

[underpants]

8. Right-His base is secure anyway and this comes off as at best whacky

I think the first thing most people will say is ~"Don't we have more important things to worry about"

W is showing his "politicize everything" hand.

[Beetwasher]

9. Yup, Another Pet Issue that Screams He's Out of Touch

Consumer confidence plunges, there's no jobs and he's worried about gay marriage and steroids.

[underpants]

15. Not to us but to Joe at the corner bar

What the hell is he worried about that for? So and so's kid got called up in the Guard and this guy is worried about gays getting married?

Everyone at the bar turns their palms skyward, shrugs, takes a pull on their beer and conversation turns towards baseball.....but everyone remembers it.

[Jackpine Radical]

11. I'm not so sure that his base is solid.

For one thing, there's the Roy Moore problem.

I think the fact that he's doing this means that he's afraid of losing some of his base. If there's one thing Rove is likely to know, it's when he needs to do something to feed the wackos. They wouldn't be doing this unless they thought they needed to, because it has the potential of losing them some moderate and Log Cabin votes.

[underpants]

14. They might grumble but they aren't going anywhere

even if they are grumbling it smells like despiration to take time to worry about something so unimportant as to worry about this.

Is this Roy Moore talk serious? Has he said that he is actually considering a run?

[Jackpine Radical]

21. I dunno about Moore.

Last word I saw was that the Constitution Party or somesuch was courting him.

[buckeye1]

20. His base is not secure.

His base says: GWB ,GOD has chosen you and you let us down. Nuke those Queers in S.F. If you can't do that then what good are you? I think Newsom used his own wedge. I could be wrong,but AS embarrassed CA once again today.

[nostamj]

6. bush's base is HATRED

he must be so proud...

he has nothing. NOTHING to run on but HATE, FEAR & IGNORANCE

if that's the new vision for Amerikkka...

words fail me

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. He put in the bitterness and anger meme...

again today. :puke:

[cally]

10. I don't see many changing their votes

over someone else's choice to marry. The latest Newsweek poll showed something like 60 + percent opposed gay marriage but only around 40 percent said it would influence their vote. Previous wedge issues like abortion or racial hatred had more resonance to people's lives. I just don't see this issue as that influential to those who don't have loved ones who are gay or lesbian.

[lcooksey]

12. The right-wing hates civil unions, too

I haven't seen a transcript from what Bush said today, but the Washington Post quoted him as saying states should be free to set up alternatives to marriage for same-sex couples.

Backing any Constitutional amendment will cost him some moderate Republican votes, and being open to civil unions will not gain him many conservative votes that he didn't already have. This will be anywhere from a very minor boost to Bush to a slight gain for the Dems.

[pmbryant]

16. The amendment wording likely bans civil unions as well

Who care what Bush said about 'states should be free to set up alternatives'. We know he lies.

The wording of the amendment that I've seen (a couple weeks ago) will likely ban civil unions as well as "marriage". It is somewhat ambiguous, but not very.

That would be an utter disgrace.

This must be fought with everything we have. I hope whoever the Dem nominee is does not mince words on this issue, because it will work in his favor to be on the right side, and strongly on it.

--Peter

[NoPasaran]

17. Like it or not Democrats can't dodge this issue

Bush* and Rove have already decided that they are going to shove this issue down our throats. NOTHING in my opinion better exemplifies the sort of fanatical cruelty, hatred, and pandering to the very worst in our society that the Rethugs stand for than this. If our party can not stand up to this and defend the concept of equal rights under the law for all Americans then we really have become totally morally bankrupt and deserve to lose.

[central scrutinizer]

18. and it is a useful smokescreen

Nothing like sex to grab the headlines away from other issues.

[DrWeird]

19. It could also make him look like a mean asshole.

And people could get upset that he's spending so much time on a "nonissue" when there's a war going on.


Yes, a lot of people are against gay marriages. There's also a lot of people against interracial marriages. That doesn't mean they want Bush campaigning on the issue.

[yellowcanine]

24. If it looks like a mean a-hole and quacks like a mean a-hole

Maybe it really is a mean a-hole. I am convinced that Bush really does have a mean streak in him. His propensity for conferring demeaning nicknames is evidence of that. Nicknaming is often a power play bully thing. Also notice how often he frames issues in black and white - you're either for me or against me - no middle ground for "maybe I just disagree with your approach, etc". Two mor examples - the Adam Clymer a-hole comment and the Karla Tucker "please don't kill me" mock. Bush operates at the shallow insensitive level of a sophomore fratboy. He clearly does not care about gay marriage as an issue except in the potential it has to play to his base. Gays are an easy target so he will target them.

[lapislzi]

26. Look like???

Damn, that's insulting to bona fide assholes.

[chookie]

22. Culture war is all he has left

The economy is in shambles, the "bounce" from Sept 11 has long since vanished, his war is going badly and his deceptive agenda is increasingly revealed -- so culture war is all he has left.

Yes, he will risk civil unrest in order to stay in power.

I think that even if he takes Osama off the ice and parades his capture as a glorious victory -- he will continue to plummet.

What we may well as well see increasingly this year is the motif of equating George W with Jesus Christ. He will be portrayed as a godly man who is being persecuted for his innermost beliefs, and *only* his beliefs. Not only is he fighting on Our Lord's side in the gathering battle of Armageddon, but he is also fighting sin in the form of sodomy and baby-killing.

If you think it was bad when we Democrats were just called "America-haters" -- wait till they start accusing us of hating God, because that's next.

[Sparkle]

23. Well Bush* can bring it on!

The republican party: YOU CAN MAKE WAR BUT NOT LOVE

The republicans want gays to make love in sin instead of lawfully. How sad.

[StopThief]

25. You are absolutely correct.

The religious right did not vote in 2000 in nearly the numbers they had voted in the mid 90's. This is definitely an effort to get them off their butts and to the polls.

[grasswire]

27. if you want to know...

...how it's playing with his base, take a look here. The reaction is mixed. (and there's little trash-talking on this thread)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1084457/posts?q=1&&page=51