I love it. In 2004, the anti-gay marriage amendment only got 48 votes in the senate, far short of the 67 votes required to send it to the states. This year, supporters crowed that it would at least pick up votes, but not only could they not get the 2/3 vote required to pass the amendment, they couldn't even get the 60 votes required to vote on it. A cloture vote failed 49-48, with 6 Republicans voting not to even hold a vote on the bill. But of course, they knew it wasn't going to pass anyway. Today was all about political posturing, not about actually achieving anything.
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Jonathan Rauch has a terrific column on the politics of the Federal Marriage Amendment (now apparently called the Marriage Protection Amendment). Why would the Republican leadership bother to bring up a bill for a vote that they know has no chance of passing? Pure demagoguery:
The MPA would amend…
Another part of Bush's interview with the Washington Post the other day that was fascinating was this exchange on the Federal Marriage Amendment:
The Post: Do you plan to expend any political capital to aggressively lobby senators for a gay marriage amendment?
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I think…
And does so with his usual brilliance and clarity. His post is in response to this one by Mark Olson. Jason sums it all up so perfectly:
I must begin by saying that I do not seek respect for the gay community. Far too often, the gay community has been spoiled, immature, ignorant, and yes, purely…
Bill Frist has announced that he plans to bring up the Federal Marriage Amendment for another vote in the Senate in early June, so expect the next few weeks to be filled with all sorts of nonsense about how gay marriage will make the baby Jesus cry and let the terrorists win. The amendment has less…
The supporters have had their chance to strut and posture. Now they can go back to the most important work they do: raising campaign money.
When can we expect the violent Flag Burning video-game Spanish pledge-of-allegiance amendment this year?
It was a defeat anyway.
This november Bush and his brothers in Christ will cry loud about how depraved America is becoming, and the urge for all believers to stuck with him in the fight for the "true" America, the "moral" America, the Jesus's America.
Best news I've heard all day. Hopefully the GOP will again fall on its face in November.
Hopefully the RR will take their paper dolls and go home, sitting out the next election while Ayatollah Dobson pouts in his Colorado stronghold.
Republicans everywhere should be enraged about this: their leaders must cynically think they are truly sheep to be herded. With all that is actually going on in this world that warrants serious consideration, they waste the governments time with this?
Are republican voters really child-like enough to be swayed by this kind of empty posturing? I would vote non-republican in the fall simply because they are treating me like an idiot. Fuck them.
If you want to be further enraged, dogscratcher, recall that the last time Bush said anything whatsoever about this subject was at the very end of October 2004.
As Jon Stewart said, it's as if Republicans think marriage is only threatened in this country in even-numbered years.