GOP Wasting Your Time to Boost Their Numbers

By: msnook
Published On: 6/3/2006 3:07:59 PM

Jack Cafferty has a pretty good argument against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. There are plenty of good arguments out there, but I think this one's worth studying if you ever want to convince a conservative to vote against the ballot measure this fall.
Guess what Monday is? Monday is the day President Bush will speak about an issue near and dear to his heart and the hearts of many conservatives. It's also the day before the Senate votes on the very same thing. Is it the war? Deficits? Health insurance? Immigration? Iran? North Korea?

Not even close. No, the president is going to talk about amending the Constitution in order to ban gay marriage. This is something that absolutely, positively has no chance of happening, nada, zippo, none. But that doesn't matter. Mr. Bush will take time to make a speech. The Senate will take time to talk and vote on it, because it's something that matters to the Republican base.

This is pure politics. If has nothing to do with whether or not you believe in gay marriage. It's blatant posturing by Republicans, who are increasingly desperate as the midterm elections approach. There's not a lot else to get people interested in voting on them, based on their record of the last five years.

But if you can appeal to the hatred, bigotry, or discrimination in some people, you might move them to the polls to vote against that big, bad gay married couple that one day might in down the street.


This really is how we should approach the gay marriage ballot measure. I've spent a great deal of time talking politics with my born-conservative roommate. I've convinced him not to hate gay people, and that whether they are going to hell or not is for God to decide and no one else. Then I brought up the ballot measure -- he said he wouldn't vote on it. No matter how much I pushed I couldn't convinced him to vote against it until I told him that the only reason the GOP was doing this was because they didn't have any other way of getting conservatives to the polls. They can't run on their record, or even their candidates -- only their common bigotry.

Another point that goes along with Cafferty's take, and applies specifically to the VA ballot measure, is the fact that Virginia law already forbids same sex marriage. So here are my suggested talking points for convincing independents and even non-partisan conservatives to vote against the constitutional amendment:

Gay marriage is already illegal. The GOP is using you to save their own asses; you shouldn't let them get away with it. Vote against this political ploy, and while you're there, vote against the dumbasses who wasted all our time putting it on the ballot. Ok, so you might want to tone it down a little, but I think you get the idea. If you ever have to get into the moral debate, that's a different story. The way I see it, some guys like blondes, some like brunettes, some like shy women, some like artsy women, some like ditsy women, some like women with glasses, some like short women, some like tall women, some like men. Case closed. Next year let's amend the constitution to forbid marriages between men and short women.

Comments



Nice Work Michael (Mark - 6/3/2006 4:38:13 PM)
I think you have something there with the talking points. Like you, I sometimes wish I could let loose a string of extreme language (not cursing really) and tell it like I feel it.

Like you also, almost all the times I feel like that, my better judgement steps in and saves the day.

I understand, because I am very frustrated with all the mess.

That said, the issue you speak of is really tiresome and worn out. One has to wonder how many times the GOoPers can stir up the hate and invective and still get their base. I think most Christians I know would get tired of hating so much. Not that all the base are Christians, of course. I think that the tide of death from this administration is such that it will overwhelm a lot of voters this fall, who will vote for real grownups to come in to fix the once-in-our-history problems caused by the Republicans.

I hope they do. That's all I have really, is hope right now, being used as a fuel.