Bush calls for gay-marriage amendment

[siliconefreak]

President reassures religious conservatives at Baptist meeting


Mark Humphrey / AP

President Bush addresses the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting via satellite on Tuesday, praising membersfor their strong family values.

By Alex Johnson
Reporter
MSNBC
Updated: 2:01 p.m. ET June 21, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Reviving a major plank of his re-election campaign, President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Tuesday.

The president’s address to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention — the fourth year in a row he has spoken to the conservative evangelical gathering — was crafted to rally the social religious conservatives who make up a crucial part of Bush’s governing coalition. He restated his commitment to issues dear to conservatives’ hearts, notably his opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion and research on human embryonic stem cells — a stance he calls the “culture of life.”

“We will continue to build a culture of life in America, and America will be better off for it,” Bush said by satellite hookup from the White House.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8303545/

[cyberpj]

1. OMG - THIS is what he's going to use to get back in good graces?!

And look! It's Big Brother - projected right into the room.

[Sandpiper]

8. Gays are the new n*ggers

And a sure fire way to stoke the bigotry of the most reactionary segment of the public.

[cyberpj]

9. Couldn't have said it better myself. It's all so deja-vu, innit? nt.

[Catfight]

66. Yup...stomp on them gays, hang them from trees, ostracize them from

society! It's the Bush era of hysterics! Pander and whore yourselves to the voice of the devil disguised as someone good, as he sends your children to DIE!

[JerseygirlCT]

94. Makes you scared about what they're going to do

when they can't use homosexuals for this anymore. The newer generations do not have the same built-in fear of homosexuality as their elders. It's just no big deal to kids now. The tide will turn, and then what?

This is another one of those hatreds that I simply cannot understand. What the hell does it matter to someone who someone else chooses to live with (or sleep with)? So long as I know where my husband is, why should I care? It's pathological, really.

[TaleWgnDg]

73. huh?

.

Concerned U.S. Taxpayers want to know: WHO THE HELL IS PAYING FOR THIS BLATANT POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING?


.

[dbt]

2. Anything look like '1984' in that picture?

:scared:

[last_texas_dem]

11. I see it

Only I'd like it more if those fundies would decide he was a "Goldstein" and start a 7-minutes hate (is that the right number of minutes? I need to read that book again!) against him!

[siliconefreak]

3. First Frist, now Bush?

Images like this have shades of Orwell's "1984".

[UCLA Dem]

4. Blah, blah, blah....kiss ass of fundie wing nuts--check.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

Look at all those white so called Christians!

[mitchtv]

29. Them's Pharisees

He is a war Crimial

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. Look at all those white so called Christians!

[UCLA Dem]

7. Dean was very correct indeed.

[FreedomAngel82]

43. Of course he was

In my church there's only one family who's black. In this picture I only saw clearly one black woman (wearing a blue dress).

[David Zephyr]

68. You sound like Howard Dean!

And so do I.

[dolo amber]

74. What? Where? You must be a democrat!

BURN HER!! :grr:

;)

[devilgrrl]

6. Yeah... because we NEED that!

:sarcasm:

[siliconefreak]

10. Red meat

He's gotta throw a red meat bone to his disciples. I bet he knows the amendment is never going to pass, and he probably wouldn't want it to pass.

They can beat their "familiy values" drum for decades to come. I've come to learn that "family values" is basically nothing more than "anti-gay".

[TaleWgnDg]

84. Bush is throwing red meat . . . to his disciples, you say?

.
Bush is throwing red meat . . . to his disciples, you say?


Wow. How utterly "Christian" of Bush to do so! No surprise.


.

[Miss Chybil]

12. How come so many people get dead in this "culture of life?" nt

[truthisfreedom]

13. he's preoccupied with perpetual swinging. once they get married, they

won't sleep with him!

[rocktivity]

14. Well, he needs SOMETHING to talk about on June 28!

Social Security? No. Gitmo? Bolton? No. Saddam? No. Osama? Definitely no. DSM? POSITIVELY no!

What's needed here is a slam-dunk winner; a can't miss common enemy...those godless gays, of course--and during their national Gay Pride week! THAT will send him into June 28 on the upbeat!

:eyes:
rocknation

[XemaSab]

15. Let's use the constitution

to deny people basic human rights. That's a terrific legacy for the shrub.

[Coastie for Truth]

16. If people are really concerned with "Defense of Marriage"

the villain isn't gay marriage -- it's "No Fault Divorce."

[MemphisTiger]

19. Truer words have never been spoken

or typed in this case

[TaleWgnDg]

86. Uuuummmmm, no! If the *fault* of the divorce rate lies with your . . .

.

Uuuummmmm, no! If the *fault* of the divorce rate lies with your . . . erroneous implicit assumption that "no-fault divorce" causes a high rate of divorce, then explain why:

(1) Massachusetts allows no-fault divorce and

(2) Massachusetts allows same-sex marriage, but

(3) Massachusetts continues to enjoy one of the lowest - if not the lowest - divorce rate(s) in the entire country?

On the other hand, where are the high divorce rates in America? Why, of course, in the so-called "Bible Belt" in the South!

However, the issue of divorce and the "whys" of divorce are far more complex than what is typically spewed by political hacks pushing their deflective political agenda to the naive for votes, power, divisiveness, and campaign monies. For example, the rightwingnuts are espousing incorrect information <gasp!> that no-fault divorce is causing a high divorce rate in America. And, you are biting into that apple. Shame!

"Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the nation at 2.4 per 1,000 residents. Texas has a divorce rate of 4.1 per 1,000. The states in the Northeast all had lower divorce rates in a national ranking. The Southern or bible belt states all had higher rates of divorce, about double those of the northeast." http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/31/walking_the_walk_on_family_values/

Frankly, I'd rather be asking and pondering why the Republican "Bible Belt" has the highest divorce rates in the entire country than erroneously *blaming* fault-divorce or no-fault divorce. I'd also be questioning why the hell the religion-into-law and bible-thumping rightwingnuts want to deflect away from their own miserable selves and statistics.



.

[Megahurtz]

17. "Culture of Life"

:puke:

[TaleWgnDg]

87. "culture of life" is a phrase first *coined* by Pope John Paul II . . .

.
"culture of life" is a phrase first *coined* by Pope John Paul II . . .

As such, if George Walker Bush and his political agenda want to embrace the "Culture of Life" then Bush should end worldwide poverty, all contraception, war (including his own War in Iraq), the death penalty, and divorce, to name but a few of Pope John Paul II's "Culture of Life."

Shall we say, then, that President George Walker Bush picks and choses only those items for his own political end then ratchets it up and calls it his own? Oh. No surprise there as Bush tries to *score* with both ultra-conservative Roman Catholics and Evangelical/Pentecostal Protestant religion-into-law types, co-mingling Church and State.








"I believe in an America ... where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source." -- President John F. Kennedy while on the presidential campaign trail, 1960. JFK was a practicing Roman Catholic.

"I want a chief executive whose public acts are responsible to all and obligated to none -- who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require him to fulfill -- and whose fulfillment of his Presidential office is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation." -- President John F. Kennedy, who was a Roman Catholic, in his address to SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADERS, while campaigning for the presidency, September 1960. Source: NYTimes, September 13, 1960
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/66.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rcc_poli.htm




.

[kwolf68]

18. I swear

The shrub looks more and more like Pat Robertson every day.

Is it just me?

[arwalden]

20. What Is WRONG With Those Christians?? Why Are Those Christians So Hateful

and bigoted???

[Imagine My Surprise]

33. they are not Christians.They are the very people Jesus rebuked: hypocrites

[FreedomAngel82]

44. I really don't know

I got into a discussion with someone on another board who's Christian and we talked about gay's in the conversation. Basically we both agreed how we don't like how they're treated in the country even though we're both not for marriage but they should get the benefits. I was actually pretty surprised. I didn't see anybody my age in that photo (I'm twenty-two).

[arwalden]

55. Thanks... I Think. But **WHY** Would You Be **OPPOSED** To My Equality?!?

I suppose having you partially support the cause is better than NO support at all... and better than fighting AGAINST my equality.

But when I hear semantical arguments such as yours ("don't call it marriage, but give them the benefits") it still reminds me of the old "separate but equal" and "go to the back of the bus".

Separate isn't equal. And even if the folks riding at the back of the bus still arrive at the downtown bus-stop... that doesn't justify treating people differently.

[TaleWgnDg]

85. Immoral folks make money off the backs of others. Whether . . .

.
Immoral folks make money off the backs of others. Whether . . . via demonizing others or promulgating divisiveness. Then there's the power issue. Further, if it's combined as it is here -- money and power -- it's lethal.

Welcome to the world of immorality, power, and money = demonizing homosexuals = the Republican Party of today.

Where's the outrage?

been there, done that . . .
.

[VegasWolf]

53. Simple, because they are filled with godly luv. nt

[progressivebydesign]

82. There is nothing christian about those people. Nothing.

I'm afraid that people like that are what has tipped me away from any type of religion... I can't hang with a god that abides with those pigs.

[davidinalameda]

21. Mr. President

piss off

[marmar]

22. The National Convention on Narrow Mindedness

Gays and lesbians seem to be under attack from all sides. As an African American heterosexual male, I find it discouraging that other minority group leaders have been kind of reluctant to join with gays and lesbians in their struggle for rights, and vice versa I suppose. Once gays and lesbians have been stripped of every right, who are they going to move on to next? As a collective block, gays, African Americans, Latinos, Asians, progressives, women — are a big majority. For whatever reason, getting these groups unified is an impossible task.

[Dulcinea]

23. Didn't he already try this?

It flopped the first time, & it'll flop this time.

He'll never learn. What a putz.

[AlGore-08.com]

25. He's trying to turn around his poll numbers

In the short run, it doesn't matter whether it passes or not.

The real push for this bs will be closer to the 2006 elections.

Book it.

[FreedomAngel82]

45. Exactly

I don't think anything will happen. I remember in the third debate gay issues were big. The mod asked what they thought about marriage for gay people. Kerry said he was against marriage but was for civil unions because it was unfair how they were treated in the country and Bush quickly (very quickly) agreed. It was so fast if I wasn't paying attention I wouldn't have heard him. You could tell he was uncomfortable for whatever reason addressing the issue and wanted to move on. :shrug:

[kurtyboy]

88. Actually, he's trying anything, anything at all

to take attention off of Iraq, DSM, plummeting poll numbers, etc.

It may have worked a year and a half ago, but it ain't gonna work now.

Enjoy the slow burn, George....

[tjdee]

24. The constitution doesn't TAKE RIGHTS AWAY, ASSHOLE!

This proposed bullshit makes me livid.

The constitution of the United States of America is not about taking rights AWAY from people. That's so 1850.

Since gay marriage is just sooooooo wrong, I guess they don't need gay people's tax dollars? Don't need them to buy things? Employ people?

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[Enraged_Ape]

26. This proves that he's run out of gas on EVERY issue

Now it's time to ignite that "base" of psycho right-wingers.

[Barrett808]

27. Yes, desperation -- trying to rally the base

This might indicate that the base itself is in danger of fracturing.

[jsamuel]

28. HE WILL KEEP WINNING THIS ISSUE UNTIL THE Dems get the balls to FIGHT on

the other side of this issue. But they are too scared. Crying home to mommy...

"Those stupid christians and their racism! I don't believe against them, I just don't believe what they do..."

WTF kind of arguement are the dems trying to make???

Here is a lesson. If you will not fight for your own brain-child then who will?

They need to stop being scared of christians, because just like every sector of every other type of person, they disagree vastly with themselves. Over half of catholics voted for Kerry. Just make the arguement and people will understand why you don't agree with Bush Co.

[JerseygirlCT]

95. I agree

Namby-pamby, half-way support of homosexual's rights is a loser. Say it, come out and say that you support civil rights for all citizens. Support marriage. And then explain, explain, explain. (That is, religious groups would absolutely continue to set their own rules, because gov't has no place there. This is the big fear, I think, among people who would otherwise take a live and let live attitude.)

I don't think we win when we try to half-way it. We stand for things: we should say so.

[jaxx]

30. They're trotting out all the old BS today.....

Gay marriage, social security, anything to get the focus off the DSM and Bolton going down like a broken balloon again. War, what war?

[Kool Kitty]

90. That's what I was thinking when I heard this-

Not this shit again. Real inclusive and loving, such good Christians. NOT. Jesus wouldn't know these people.

[Imagine My Surprise]

31. I am never one to be optimistic, BUT...

I think this will backfire on him. It's groping at straws. In a weird way, I think his timing is great. More and more people -- even Republicants -- are catching on.

[FreedomAngel82]

46. I think so too

I think we as a country agree more then we disagree. We all want the same thing for our country but it's little things that divide us. Bush is trying to divide us and gather his little so-called base together so his poll numbers can go up and people can forget he's a failure. As I mentioned in another post previously I got into a discussion with someone else from another board and they're Christian and we basically agree on gay's. I'm personally not comfortable but that's because I didn't grow up around it. We both agreed that gay people should get the benefits, so I think there are more open-minded people. He's trying to divide on his terms like "are you for gay marriage?" and most Christians will say "no" but if you ask "are you for civil unions?" that might be another story. As the old saying goes "a rose called by any other name still smells like a rose". So it's all about the language they use. Remember they're good at doing that with their talking points. Just like with Social Security.

[killbotfactory]

Yes, the main issue in the American conciousness is gay marriage

That is a giant sea of assholes in that picture.

[jsamuel]

35. very tight, closed ones

[wicket]

32. Gay rights are CIVIL rights

The fact that he does this on the 41st anniversary of the Mississippi Burning killings says a lot, eh?

[FreedomAngel82]

47. Oh wow

I didn't know that was today. Very telling. I wonder if he knew?

[enigmatic]

34. His administraion is in it's last throes....

Pandering to the Fundies in hopes they have his back again...

[Imagine My Surprise]

37. I believe you are right! That was my earlier points.

[Catfight]

72. That's brilliant, using the "in the last throes," right back at them.

Desperate measures call for desperate actions! Also, let's not forget this month is celebration of gay history and pride month. Too bad they don't have those orange alerts anymore. Fear gay marriage, since it's not an issue anyway! This is the funniest thing I've heard all day.

[confludemocrat]

36. There you go: his strategy to get out of the approval ratings toilet!

Brilliant stuff push this shameful engraving of bigotry on the Constitution, very savvy, you rotten excuse for a human being.

[Senior citizen]

38. From your headline I thought he WANTED gay marriage

I clicked to see if he was going to divorce Pickles and marry Guckert.

Oh well.

[geniph]

39. When will these Pharisees decide

that the next target of their insane, hateful crusades should be uppity women? Will they propose a constitutional amendment taking away women's rights to vote, own property, drive, appear in public without male family members, appear in public without wearing a burka unless they're porn stars supporting Republicans?

Who will be the next target?

First they came for the Jews...

[arwalden]

40. Look At All Those "Christian" People Who Hate Gays!

Look at that fucking smirk on the chimp's face!

Bush AND those people are vile. They are ALL beneath contempt! They are vermin! I have more respect for a worm-infested puss-filled anal wart on a bloated road-kill carcass than those people who stand up and applaud BIGOTRY!

[More Than A Feeling]

41. H&E to Bush: "Are you still talking?"

It must be tiring to have a knee-jerk fear of anything different from yourself.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

42. Something must be done about this culture of

mold that grows in their brains.

[Sleepless In NY]

48. What "family values"? they have the highest divorce rates in the country

Isn't it time someone pointed that out to them?

Take a look at the findings from the George Barna Research Group. George Barna, a born-again Christian whose company is in Ventura, Calif., found that Massachusetts does indeed have the lowest divorce rate among all 50 states. More disturbing was the finding that born-again Christians have among the highest divorce rates.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/31/walking_the_walk_on_family_values/

[GoddessOfGuinness]

51. I wonder if they get their divorces as a result of their "rebirth"...

I'd probably divorce my husband if he suddenly went self-righteous fundy on me...

[MisterP]

49. worship your new God!

[holboz]

50. When in trouble, * brings the old "ban gay marriage" schtick n/t

[jobycom]

52. GOOD!!

These acts of hatred always backfire on them. The religious right is a minority, and the majority doesn't like them. Except here in Texas, but you know, it's Texas.

[jsamuel]

56. Only if dems take the opportunity to point out that they are hateful

How many dems (senate or house) have you seen publicly denounce this as a hate issue?

....

exactly

They aren't fighting it...

[jobycom]

62. That's because Bush is trying to divert the argument away from Iraq/ DSM

The Democrats DON'T need to fight this, they need to fight Bush over Iraq. There won't be an amendment for years, if ever. We need to focus on what's at hand.

This is mileage for 2008 if the Repub nominee then chooses to support it.

[arwalden]

58. Not Good.

Bigoted and hateful talk like that from Bush (and the Pope and Phelps and Falwell and Robertson) all help to establish a hostile environment for gays and lesbians. They an foster a climate of intolerance and violence.

I think it energizes the STEALTH BIGOTS and helps them to justify their hatred of Queer Americans. Those are the ones who nod and agree with you when talking about equality for all Americans... but in the PRIVACY of the voting booth, their true feelings and bigotry comes out.

[jsamuel]

59. Exactly, they will cheer those in a Gay parade, but they will not join in

the parade.

Think about what that means...

it means * wins every time...

[jobycom]

65. You're right.

You're right. It's not good.

But I don't expect Bush to do anything good. I just meant it exposes who he really is, and gives people a chance to vote against the real Bush, instead of the caped wunderboy the media pretends he is. I'd rather he not support bigotry, too, but he's been doing this all along. He's just being more obvious about it now. And the exposure may turn people against him.

He's doing the same thing here his father did with the flag amendment. That eventually backfired, as people saw it as a hollow political gesture which violated the first amendment. I think people will feel the same here. There will also be people afraid to speak out whose true feelings will come out in the voting booth.

Bush would love to get an Amendment passed, because it's something else his daddy failed out, and Bush is all about surpassing his daddy.

[arwalden]

67. "And the exposure may turn people against him."

I hope!

[symbolman]

54. By the looks of this picture

most of these assholes will be dead before they get back to the motel 6 :)

Ooooo..Ooooo.. I'm so scared - there's, what, a whole maybe TOPS 20 thousand in that room?

out of a country of 340 MILLION or so?

He's pandering to a base that won't even get what they want.. he can't pass ANYTHING..

Tempest in a teapot, tho I agree that being against gays as the new n*ggers is true and also a Hate Crime, and I would fight for my gay brothers and sisters..

I really think this is all about INSURANCE in the long run, these cheap insurance thugs become Congressmen all the time, along with Real Estate Developers, ambulance chasers, etc..

they just don't want to PAY insurance for two people when they can cheat them with tricks instead..

Don't worry if you are gay, remember, in the end Bush invariabley FAILS at everything he does..

I think Rove is smoking crack at this point..

[sled]

57. Orwellian???

If it walks like a duck...

[theHandpuppet]

60. Isn't it ironic...

That on the very same day a Baptist preacher named Killen finally got convicted for the murder of those young civil rights workers in Mississippi, Bush addresses the Southern Baptist Convention calling for constitutional discrimination against another minority group? Ah well, you know, there's always someone to hate in the name of God... but I'm sure the irony escapes them.

[Pystoff]

61. Non-fundy people are sick of this act

Regular americans are tired of him trotting out this tired stuff from campaing 1999-2004 (the perma campaign). People need jobs and healthcare and are starting to wake up from this hatefest. Osama is still on the loose and they understand he failed there as well. They heard the where is Osama chant for too long now and realize he misued the military in missing that chance at Tora Bora. The masses demand butter not guns anymore and he still provides guns and hate. The act has worn thin shrub and the people are growing angry and their first act will be 2006.

Rise up!

[Charlie Brown]

63. Isn't the Bush family METHODIST?

Why is Bush addressing the SBC?

[arwalden]

69. Vote Whoring? How Could He Resist A Gathering Of Bigots Like That?

You know he probably got a small erection while talking to them. I'll bet he creamed his pants before the speech was finished.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

80. I think the elder Bush's are Episcopalian,

Shrub is born-again Methodist (whatever that is), and Jeb is Roman Catholic. Not sure of the other siblings, particularly the one entertaining prostitutes who magically appeared at his hotel room door (Neil?).

The SBC crowd is most freaked out by gay marriage and Karl makes sure they get to the polls - in droves.

Driving thru VA and NC this past weekend I saw plenty of these slapped on mini-vans:



That, and tour buses with "W - The Journey" written on the side. I have no idea what that was all about (and probably don't want to know).

Idiot America.

[TaleWgnDg]

89. No. Mom and Dad Bush are Episcopalians . . . stanch New England

.
No. Mom and Dad Bush are Episcopalians . . . stanch New England Episcopalians.

While brother John Ellis "Jeb" Bush converted to Roman Catholicism due to his marriage to a Roman Catholic.

On the other hand, George Walker Bush, our much *beloved* <cough> president, converted to Methodist due his own marriage to Laura. However, somewhere along the line George Walker Bush "saw Jesus" and went extreme evangelical bible-thumping religion-into-law nuteroo.

Okay? Good. Aren't we all fortunate? No?


How corporate-America has found a way to snare poor and middle working class Americans into the Republican Party!

.

[underpants]

64. Put the quarter in George-now twist the handle-throw the food to the gulls

It's about like that

[Supersedeas]

70. a crucial part of his governing 'coalition'?

[Sequoia]

71. F that antichrist

why can't someone put us out of our misery with this idiot who's destroying the universe. Idiot. It won't do to get rid of him unless we get rid of cheney and rummy.

[alcibiades_mystery]

75. Their internals must be truly awful for Bush to be pulling this out now

The go-to bump? Gay marriage.

Great article in the new York Times magazine this week on this. Pretty clearly demonstrates that gay marriage opponents are not so much anti-gay marriage as just plain old anti-gay. Bunch of fucking kooks, ya ask me.

[sadiesworld]

76. He must be getting desperate.

:scared:

[Skittles]

91. way desperate to be playing the gay-card

WAY desperate

[jsamuel]

77. It should be called the "Hate-Gays Amendment"

man, dems suck at this whole politics thing... thats what Dean says...

we always let them frame the issues...

[gollygee]

78. Why would same-sex marriage be contrary to a "culture of life" ???????

I don't get it.

[progressivebydesign]

83. '*cuz them gays can't have babies' *not actual quote, but close. n/t

[many a good man]

79. Needs amendment because he's tempted to dump Laura and marry Gannon

He can't control his impulses to show his love to those chrome domes; Laura's just a drone crone.

[progressivebydesign]

81. Flip-flopping dipshit! Hard up much??

I coulda sworn he decided against it after the election.. Man that fucker must be hard up for support!!

[Logician]

92. Need to create a simple national smear campaign

Which correctly and honestly portrays Shrub as a fully incompetent and a really, unintelligent and dishonest elected official who hides behind anti-gay rhetoric to sure up support from the right-wing fundies.

It is really time to focus efforts on a simple, repetitive campaign on Bush's very competence. Perhaps American will then intensify it focus on the damage that he is creating.

Think of what Shrub has really done for our country? And now he wants to further move us backwards on civil/equal rights!

[leesa]

93. I guess he doesn't want to marry his boyfriend.

[bushisanidiot]

96. He is dillusional if he really thinks this will improve his poll numbers

americans are AGAINST writing discrimination into the constitution of the united states. he's on the losing end of this argument.

[Politicub]

97. Just ehw...

What a craven asshole he is.

Yeah, Georgie, that's one way to improve your ratings. Put your bigotry on display.

:puke: