G.O.P. Moves Fast to Reignite Issue of Gay Marriage

There's something drearily predictable about the Republican Party when they are facing the electorate at the ballot box and the subject of gay marriage.

At a time when the GOP are rocking with the Foley scandal and the nightmare that is the Iraq war, the Republicans are suddenly all over a court ruling in New Jersey that decided "that gay couples are entitled to the same legal rights and financial benefits as heterosexual couples."

Oh, you can almost hear the collective sigh of relief emanating from Pennsylvania Avenue. At last, they feel they can move away from the war and Foley and start gay bashing. Indeed, when one considers the Foley scandal they may feel they can bash with more ferocity than usual just to emphasise how strongly they disapprove of his actions.

Bush grasped the ruling to his grubby little paw like he was holding the equivalent of Democrat Kryptonite. He hasn't mentioned the subject in weeks, but rewrote yesterday's stump speech to include:

“Yesterday in New Jersey, we had another activist court issue a ruling that raises doubts about the institution of marriage,” Mr. Bush said at a luncheon at the Iowa State Fairgrounds that raised $400,000 for Mr. Lamberti.

The president drew applause when he reiterated his long-held stance that marriage was “a union between a man and a woman,” adding, “I believe it’s a sacred institution that is critical to the health of our society and the well-being of families, and it must be defended.”

The Republicans are hardly hiding their glee that this ruling has come at this time. Senator George Allen, a Republican who has come under fire for using racially insensitive remarks clearly thought he had been thrown a bone.

On Thursday, Mr. Allen could be found in Roanoke at a rally held by backers of a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage. Victoria Cobb, an organizer of the events, said the New Jersey ruling was giving the cause “a new momentum.”

“It’s an issue that’s going to play a big role in the next 12 days,” Mr. Allen’s campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, said in an interview.

The Democrats are remaining certain that this issue will not dominate in the same way as it did in 2004.

“It’s not going to be close to the issue it was in 2004,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. “In 2004 they scared people that the court ruling in Massachusetts would just change America and families dramatically. By 2006, it’s clear that hasn’t happened, and so the scare tactic, what motivated people to go to the polls, just isn’t there.”

I only hope Schumer is right. There is something deeply distasteful about this Republican habit of grabbing this issue every time they are asked to defend their last six years in government.

They should be being held to account for Bush's illegal war and the enormous deficit that has been acquired under his leadership, not being allowed to slip off the hook because their extreme right wing base and they share a hatred of the country's gay population.

Cheney was on TV recently saying that "the heartland" - which Cheney naturally assumes are supporters of the GOP - dislike the tone of political debate in the US at the moment.

I wonder if they realise that nothing lowers the tone more than their disgraceful and blatant attacks on a minority of the population.

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tag: New Jersey, Gay, marriage, bashing, Dick, Cheney, Bush, speeches, November, mid term, elections,