Queer Quote: Sen. Rob Portman Supports Marriage Equality

Rob Portman was the head of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President George W. Bush and is now an U.S. Senator from Ohio. He had supported DOMA and a federal constitutional amendment prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriage nationwide. His college-aged son, Will Portman, came out to him as gay two years ago and now Senator Portman has come out in support of marriage equality, the first sitting Republican Senator to do so.

His statement of support (published in today's Columbus Dispatch) is today's Queer Quote:

"I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay."

Reactions to his statement have been mixed. LGBT activists are happy that a Republican senator is now supporting marriage equality, but some progressives are noting that he is only doing so because he has suddenly discovered that homophobic public policy can negatively impact his family, even though the argument for marriage equality supporters has always been that families all over the country are affected by the lack of empathy towards LGBT people's civil rights. Conservatives are claiming that one can love one's gay family members while still supporting public policies and legislation that discriminate against them and diminish LGBT citizens' civil rights.

It is also not going un-noticed that Portman was a finalist in the Veepstakes last year to be Mitt Romney and that even though Romney's people claim that they knew Sen. Portman's son was gay and that it did not impact their decision to choose Congressman Paul Ryan instead, the fact is that Portman has not publicized this change-of-heart on anti-gay legislation until it was going to have limited negative impact on his political career.

Portman's op-ed also takes a position on gay Götterdämmerung, stating that he thinks that the Supreme Court should leave the questions presented in the Hollingworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor (on the legalization to marriage equality) to the states.

Here's the important section of the piece, titled "Gay couples also deserve chance to get married":

The process of citizens persuading fellow citizens is how consensus is built and enduring change is forged. That’s why I believe change should come about through the democratic process in the states. Judicial intervention from Washington would circumvent that process as it’s moving in the direction of recognizing marriage for same-sex couples. An expansive court ruling would run the risk of deepening divisions rather than resolving them.

I’ve thought a great deal about this issue, and like millions of Americans in recent years, I’ve changed my mind on the question of marriage for same-sex couples. As we strive as a nation to form a more perfect union, I believe all of our sons and daughters ought to have the same opportunity to experience the joy and stability of marriage.

It's becoming clearer and clearer that opposition to LGBT equality is a more and more isolated (and rare) position. And that's a good thing!

Queer Quote: Sen. Rubio Doesn't Know Earth's Age

Marco Rubio is a first-term Republican United States Senator from Florida (elected in 2010), who is widely expected to run for President in 2016 or in the future. He's young (41 years old), Latino (Cuban-American), relatively telegenic and conservative enough to be acceptable to the Tea Party wing of the GOP. Rubio was widely believed to be on the shortlist to be Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate and was a surrogate for the Romney-Ryan ticket in the all-important state of Florida, incorrectly predicting a Republican win this year's election.

He also is either an idiot, or a religious extremist (basically the same thing, in my opinion). He apparently is willing to embrace creationism and reject basic scientific information about the age of the Earth. He was asked by GQ magazine "How old do you think the Earth is?" and his response is today's Queer Quote:

"I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I'm not a scientist. I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries."

This is an absolutely unacceptable answer by a serious politician on the national stage who has aspersions of even higher office. The Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old. This number is not in dispute among any reputable scientists. To deny this fact is an assault on reason and science.

I would also strongly dispute the claim that knowing (or not) the age of the planet has no impact on the United States economy. Our economy depends on increasing the number of people in the workforce who are educated and informed about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Such informed people will know how old the Earth is, and will make important contributions to the future of the country.

Clearly, Rubio did not get the memo issued by (another 2016 presidential hopeful) Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana that the GOP needs to "stop being the stupid party."

I'd love to see how old Governor Jindal and Governor Chris Christie think the Earth is?

2012 Elections: Romney Picks Paul Ryan

Yes, he is pretty. But he's no Sarah Palin. And he's very conservative. And 42 years old. Is he really ready to be President of the United States?

Romney-Zimmerman 2012?

Comedian Bill Maher is attempting to help presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney select a Vice Presidential running mate. One of his suggestions is that Romney choose George Zimmerman, the Latino gun enthusiast who is claiming that Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law empowered him to shoot and kill an unarmed 17-year-old Black kid named Trayvon Martin who was walking around "looking suspicious" in his neighborhood.

After all:

"It's unorthodox, but who better than George Zimmerman to personify your campaign theme of, I think the black guy's up to no good?"

Indeed.

Palin Can't Name A Single News Source She Reads

TPM Take On Sarah Palin as "Earmark Reformer"

VIDEO: Palin-Clinton Skit on SNL

Poll on Vice-Presidential Selections

Daily Kos is publicizing a poll of Clinton voters on their impression of Vice Presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

McCain Spokesperson Disembowelled in Live CNN Interview

On 72nd Birthday, McCain Picks 44-Year-Old Former Beauty Queen For Veep

John McCain has picked current first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate, the first woman to be on a Republican ticket, 24 years after it happened on a Democratic ticket. He is thus completely undermining his argument that 46-year-old Barack Obama is too young to be President, since he is picking someone 44-years-old (on his 72nd birthday!) to serve as his vice-presidential pick.

I now feel much better about our chances of the Democrats retaking the White House.

Obama-Biden 2008

Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

MA Passes Bill To Repeal Residency Requirement For Marriage

More good news! There will soon be two states in the United States where LGBT Americans (who live in states that have not passed Super-DOMAs) can travel to and get married.

The Massachusetts State House has just passed a bill by a vote of 118-35 that would repeal a 1913 law that restricted issuing Massachusetts marriage licences to couples whose marriage would be recognized in the state in which they resided. This was initially passed to reduce the number of interracial marriages and was enforced by former Massachusetts Governor (and possible Republican Vice Presidential candidate) Mitt Romney when the state opened up its marriages to same-sex couples on May 17, 2004.

Current Governor Deval Patrick (who has an openly lesbian teenaged daughter and has worked tirelessly to protect marriage equality in the state) has announced that he will happily sign the repeal measure into law.

Rea Carey, newly named Executive Director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a statement applauding the move:

“Massachusetts lawmakers wisely dismantled the barrier to same-sex couples from other states who wish to marry in the Commonwealth. We look forward to the signature of Governor Patrick on this legislation. The 1913 law, a shameful vestige from another wrong-headed time of denying marriage to interracial couples, became Gov. Mitt Romney’s archaic tool in his unsuccessful bid to deny the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. Not only does today’s House vote repudiate Romney’s efforts to block our marriages in Massachusetts, it also invites couples from around the United States to experience the joy and happiness of celebrating their lives by becoming married in the Bay State.

“We applaud MassEquality, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, and the many others who worked so long and hard to achieve and protect marriage equality in Massachusetts.”

The Veepstakes Heat Up: McCain-Romney and Obama-Kaine

former VA Gov. Tom Kaine and Obama
McCain and former MA Gov Mitt Romney

There are exactly 26 days until the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver on August 25-28. So, sometime in the next four weeks the identity of the vice-presidential candidates on both national tickets will most likely become known. The Beijing Olympics are from August 8 to 24. Barack Obama has already made a $5 million advertising buy to promote his presidential campaign on NBC's Olympic coverage.

The Veepstakes (the search for a Vice Presidential candidate) has reached a fever pitch.

On the Republican side most of the discusion is about a McCain-Romney ticket.

On the Democratic side most of the discussion is about an Obama-Kaine, Obama-Clinton, Obama-Biden or Obama-Sebelius ticket.

MadProfessah had been mildly supportive of Virginia Tim Kaine being on the ticket but that is before I read these posts from noted progressive bloggers Rod McCollum, Melissa McEwan and Matt Stoller:

Rod2.0:
Choosing the first term Virginia governor for the number two slot appears to be the conventional wisdom, albeit a bland and uninspiring choice. The Dixiecrat endorsed Obama early in the primary and is anti-choice, pro-death penalty and supported the Iraq War—the perfect resume for the "post-partisan" Republican lite politics of the new "Democratic" Party.The icing on the cake is Kaine's woeful record on gay rights—against gay adoption, partner benefits, discrimination legislation, and ,of course, against same-sex marriage and supported the amendment that now bans gay marriage in the Commonwealth. The Virginia governor also has the distinction of running one of the more creative gay-baiting campaigns in recent history, branding his anti-gay Republican opponent "having a gay sounding voice." Kaine is hardly presidential timber—more like pressed plywood.

Melissa McEwan:
Suffice it to say I am as decidedly unthrilled as I am (unfortunately) totally unsurprised that the Obama campaign is even considering putting a gay-baiting DINO war hawk whose personal "views on abortion are roughly in line with those of George W. Bush" on the ticket.

Matt Stoller:
Kaine is a very bad choice for VP. He's done nothing as Governor except turn a functional state government into a partisan cesspool of giveaways to the rich and anger everyone in the process. And on national positions, the only thing he brings to the table is that he can play the Lieberman as VP role again. And sequels usually suck, especially if the original was bad.
You can read more from those who know him best and even helped get him elected at RK, the blog that no longer bears his name out of disgust for what he has done as Governor.

If this is a trial balloon then it is fair to descibe the progressive blogosphere unimpressed. Next!

The Veepstakes Begin in Earnest for Obama

kennethinthe212 posted this picture of the current popular contenders to be Barack Obama's running mate. They are:

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE)
NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg
Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark
Sen Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC)
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ)
Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA)
Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM)
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)

Mad Professah is surprised to not see our favorite, Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) on the list, or Markos Zuniga's fave, Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT). I think a Governor should have an edge over a current Senator.

Obama Starts VP Search, DNC Consolidation

According to the Huffington Post, Barack Obama has quietly begun a search for a running mate and a take-over of the Democratic National Committee, having selected staff to manage both processes. The person chosen to replace work with current Democratic Party head Howard Dean is Paul Tewes, the main architect of Obama's Iowa caucuses win and the person vetting the vice president search process is Jim Johnson. Johnson helmed the veep search for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 and Walter Mondale in 1984.

Obama's campaign refused to talk about who was being considered, but possible options are Clinton; governors such as Arizona's Janet Napolitano, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Tim Kaine of Virginia; foreign policy experts like former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd or Delaware Sen. Joe Biden; or other senators such as Missouri's Claire McCaskill and Virginia's Jim Webb.

He could look outside the party to people such as war critic and Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel or independent New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. Or he could look to one of his early prominent supporters such as former Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota or try to bring on a Clinton supporter like Indiana's Evan Bayh.

Mad Professah is surprised that Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is not on this list, as well as Ed Rendell Pennsylvania Governor (and former DNC chair). However, they both were early and import Hillary Clinton supporters and used their machines to power their candidate to pyrrhic victories in these two large states. Do people really think Bill Richardson would say "Thanks, but no, thanks, I'd rather be Secretary of State"?

I actually like the Kaine, Richardson and Napolitano suggestions. (In that order.) I think Obama should pick a governor, or someone who will definitely bring a state with them.

With that in mind, Mad Professah is endorsing the notion of a joint ticket: Obama-Clinton. Others, like Chris Bowers at OpenLeft.com has started to come around to this idea, and numerous Hillary partisans, with the most prominent being The Big Dog himself, have been pushing the idea hard.

We've already had 8 years of embarassing media about the Vice President, why not 8 more?