Same sex marriages? Nope — don’t support it. A truly terrible idea.
But President Bush’s expected “major policy announcement” today calling for a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriages is a big yawn.
Frankly, it should be insulting to the influential swath of GOP voters who care about this issue.
It’s as if, like automatons, socially conservative Republicans are expected to fall in line and become “energized” to vote GOP this fall — despite the fact the President has totally ignored the issue until now, when his numbers and those of most of our candidates need a base boost.
The reason it’s so lame, though, is that it’s just a political tactic — rooted in electoral expediency, not consistent conviction.
Most Republicans would rather see major cuts in federal spending, more tax cuts and more regulatory relief. But that won’t happen — we don’t have the juice to get it done, much less survive the attacks of gutting key programs for seniors and children in favor of “tax cuts for the rich.”
Next up on the DC GOP legislative agenda? A flag burning amendment — another pressing national issue.
The political necessity of playing these GOP political base cards is obvious and valid; we’ll get a few points’ bump in the data from Republicans coming home, but it just shows how pathetically weak we as Republicans are this year. And who’s to say if these voters will even turn out on election day.
The President has framed the issue as best he can: “In our free society, people have the right to choose how they live their lives. And in a free society, decisions about such a fundamental social institution as marriage should be made by the people, not by the courts.”
But still… what a snoozer.