GW has officially jumped the shark

[Redneck Socialist]

The anti gay marriage amendment is going to kill him and it is going to set the republican party back nationwide.

Changing the Constitution is a big deal, just about the biggest deal there is. We didn't do it for ERA, we didn't even try for flag burning and we are not going to do it just to placate a bunch of loudmouthed fundamentalist wackos and their running dog president.

For the first time I am truly confident that we are going to beat bush like a drum. He will be forced to crawl naked down Pennsylvania Avenue and people will line the sidewalk to pelt him with rotten vegetables. His criminal lackeys will be forced to flee the capital under cover of darkness to avoid the torch bearing, pitchfork waving hordes baying for their blood. No male child born in the next twenty years will bear the name George, the shame and stigma will be too great.

Beautiful scene eh?

And it is all going to happen because, while we have people dying every day in Iraq, and millions of people out of work George fucking Bush is worried about men marrying men?! You gotta be fucking kidding me! This is the biggest question facing America right now? I don't think so and most of America doesn't think so either.

I suppose that if asked, most people would say they don't favor gay marriage, but I am certain that they would also say it doesn't rise to the level of a constitutional crisis. What's more they are going to recognize that W is playing water boy for a bunch of right wing fundamentalist nut bars. No one, absolutely no one except the fundies are crying out for a new and improved version of the constitution and the more George panders to them the more apparent it becomes that he has no clue what most of America is concerned about.

I can almost feel those red states turning blue now. Start saving up those rotten veggies and reserve your spot along Pennsylvania Avenue now cause it is gonna be a hell of a party in November and I want to be first in line.

edit: word choice

[Mick Knox]

1. Just a minor correction.. contitution was changed in 1992

but i dont know how long an ERA is.. so maybe its outside the era.

[Redneck Socialist]

2. E.R.A.

Equal Rights Amendment. Sorry, should have spelled it out.

[Mick Knox]

5. LOL DUH ------------------------------------------------> dumb guy ----->

[Bridget Burke]

3. ERA means "Equal Rights Amendment"

That is, equal rights for women. The amendment did not succeed.

[Snow]

4. It's also a distractor from the military service thing

and likely the idiots running bush's campaign think this'll get a bunch of voters on their side, divide the country, blablabla. It's an obvious red herring, and I think/hope it's obvious to most people.

[scottxyz]

6. I agree

While many otherwise reasonable people may still have misgivings about gay marriage at this point in history, those same people probably don't think gay marriage is a really important issue, so they won't see the point of tampering with the Constitution over it.

Bush's support for an anti-gay-marriage amendment has the potential to backfire on him in several ways:

- It makes him look weak for pandering to the religious fundamentalists, and it makes him look mean for trying to deny a little bit of happiness to all those happy, family-oriented couples we've been seeing in SF.

- With all the other stuff going on these days, it's easy to figure out that Bush is trying to use this as a distraction. We've been through the flag-burning and Willie Horton distractions before - a lot of people are on to those kinds of tricks now.

Kerry wasted no time in pointing this out:

Kerry slams Bush for "tampering" w/ the Constitution & looking for "wedge"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x383416

- It makes Bush look desperate (trying to cling to a phony issue because he's losing support and credibility on the really important issues, like why we went to war in Iraq and where all our jobs are going). I think many people (including many conservatives) will see Bush as being a weakling for feeling he had to cave in to his fundamentalist supporters on this.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

7. It's *'s version of the "Willie Horton" issue his Dad used

It's a very complex issue which inflames passions on both sides. By proposing a Constitutional Amendment, * has flip-flopped on another of his promises -- to let states and communities make the decisions that affect their citizens.

So we have Rove's strategy for 2004:

* is a wartime president whose leadership is unimpeachable, and he has made the world a safer place.

the Dem's have no plan for America's place in the world, while he has a positive plan to expand American democracy throughout the world.

*'s tax cuts have resulted in the economic recovery from the recession he inherited from Clinton.

* supports traditional American values, as demonstrated by his calling for a Constitutional Amendment.

---

*'s strategy when he ran for governor and for president was exactly the same. He takes five or six issues and repeats them over and over again, no matter what other issues are raised.

[VOX]

21. Excellent analysis, LLiPS!

Point by point.

[DemBones DemBones]

8. Also, as my husband said tonight, if they outlaw same sex

marriage, what will they outlaw next? How many people TRUST this gang?

As I recall,Constitutional amendments require ratification by state legislatures in more than half the states. That's why we never got the Equal Rights Amendment -- couldn't get enough states to ratify it.

[Redneck Socialist]

9. Three quarters of the states are needed to ratify

an amendment.

http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html

A link for those curious about how the Constitution gets amended.

[lojasmo]

19. with a 75% yes vote

I believe.

[T Bone]

20. There is another way or two to amend the Constitution

and one of them is very scary with this bunch jumping into the amendment business. I can just see them saying how the usual process is flawed and easily obstructed and 'takes too long'.

Don't be surprised when they call for a constitutional convention, the problem with that is that a convention can change anything and everything in the constitution.

They are the supreme manipulators and opportunists because they are a minority and they are fascists.

[KharmaTrain]

10. This Is A Local Bone

I don't expect to hear much of bunnypants harping on this issue in the months ahead, this is one that can be handed off to the Senate, House and Gubenetorial races as well as the house races in every state.

This is an issue that you won't hear much in the heavy democratic area, but it'll ring to high heavens in the bible belt and midwest. The key here is that if passed out of the House & Senate, this ammendment will bounce around the states for a while and could allow the GOOP to amass overwhelming majorities in their Red states purely on this issue.

Remember, there are a bunch of new house seats in Texas and the GOOP has more open seat this year than they've had in a long time. RoveCo. leaves nothing to chance.

[Ridley Park 704]

11. GOP Sullivan will lead the charge against this nitwit

Well said, Redneck.

Stick a fork in him, he's done. Log Cabin Republicans are outraged.

Next poll should have "Democrats 59%, Bush 40% if election held today."


Bush's commercials won't do diddly. $200 million could not even sell New Coke, because the product itself sucked.

[KharmaTrain]

16. What Charge? Sullivan's Toast

He was never liked in the GOOP tent but tolerated as long as he aped what RoveCo. wanted, and now's been screwed. Rove knows he just the church busses flowing again...and I fear the more there's a backlash by Democrats and gays in specific, it'll keep this heavy voting bloc very energized.

Sullivan's a man without a country now. Tossed overboard by the GOOP and surely has no home here.

[Cat Atomic]

12. I don't want to hear Rove called a genius ever again.

Honestly, it seems like this fool steps in shit every time he tries to walk. It's the most incompetently managed joke of a campaign ever.

Amnesty for illegal aliens, a trip to Mars, a constitutional ban on gay marriage... strike, strike, strike.

[Cronus Protagonist]

13. He's overburdened with legal and political problems

The Bush adminsitration is bursting at the seams with malfeasance - this is the last second and Bush threw a "hail mary", to use a football analogy. Time to fire the coach and pin the blame on someone else.

http://bushspeaks.com/home.asp?did=160



"LICK BUSH" Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[PurityOfEssence]

14. Nah, he jumped it with the Mars Crap

You remember: the BIG IDEA that went over so well it wasn't even mentioned the next week in the State of the Union Address...

This is going to backfire. Not in a huge way, mind you, but they'll try to force a wedge issue with gay rights and it will backfire each time, and the residual ripple will be one of ill-fated hatred that went nowhere.

He already lost the Log Cabin Republicans and their assorted cohorts...

[Fight_n_back]

15. You are right it is a panic move

he knows he is losing and is probably shocked that he is suddenly unpopular.

He is still a really good cheater though so watch out.

[radfringe]

17. more smoke and mirrors from the Hocus-Potus

that the issue has reached proportions of a "proposed" constitutional amendment is an indication that bush* can't defend his own record

time to divide the country some more, and beat the "family values" drum

if bush*, et al, were truly concerned about family values, they would show it by valuing families. Cutting programs which help families is NOT the way to strengthen families, nor does it demonstrate tht you value families.

Corporate tax breaks, and wealthy-fare tax cuts do not help families.

family values emerge from strong families - but if you don't value families you don't get "strong" family values. The strength of any country lies in it's people and it's families - the more bush* and GOPers cut programs the more they undercut our country's strength.

[Paschall]

18. Here in Europe

Where many countries have some form of (often less advantageous) civil union arrangement, this is sure to boost public approval of gay marriage. If Bush is against it, it's gotta be okay. ;-) (Or so my partner said after reading of this nonsense.)

In other words, the GOP is making the kind of mistake it did with Anita Bryant in the 70s. Never before were gays--and their supporters--as mobilized nationally as they were by the Orange Juice Queen.

[mopaul]

22. RED ALERT!!! MARSHALL LAW!!! GAYS GETTING MARRIED!!

I visualize bush standing in the rubble of the world trade center with a bullhorn, screaming, "Gays are getting married, and this will not stand!!!" stop the freekin' presses! call out the marines!!
shut down the government!! and you can bet your ass that attacks against gay people will be on the uprise now.

with all the shit going on in this crazy world, this is what they want to emphasize. the really love that christian conservative voting block.

[Redneck Socialist]

23. Totally gratuitous

kick for the daylight shift.

[Beetwasher]

24. TOTALLY OUT OF TOUCH

That's going to be what most people are thinking.

They are going to ask themselves "Why is this such an important issue? I may not really agree w/ gay marriage, but it doesn't really effect me and I certainly don't want to change the constitution to deal with it. This guy's a radical who's pandering to the religious extremists while the country is going to hell."

He's going to lose w/ this.