I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
Well, Tom, I don't consider you to be an American.
I consider you to be a fascist insect to be treated the way you'd treat any cockroach.
I got something I'd like to stuff down his throat...
Nice choice of words. "Stuffed down their throats."
Paging Dr. Freud. . . .
Atrios, that last line is a pretty low blow! pretty fucking funny, though.
Americans "have been tolerant of homosexuality for years, but now it's being stuffed down their throats and they don't like it," DeLay said.
Stuffed down their throats, eh? Very interesting choice of words. Calling Dr. Freud, Dr. Freud....
Ha ha! Matt you beat me to it...damn, and I wanted to be the funny guy!
..heh, heh, heh--He said, "stuffed down their throats."
--what an stoopid man (yes, that's stoopid with two "o's").
--ventura county, ca
Delay added "Americans do not want this homosexual agenda exploding all over their faces either."
maybe texas should become its own country again...that way, they won't have to put up with things being shoved down their throats.
Any gays seeking political asylum from the Great Nation of Texas (where everything is bigger, I hear, except for the human mind) are welcome to crash at my house
Yeah, you guys think it's funny, don't you? Laugh it up. Now I've got the image of DeLay performing fellatio BURNED INTO MY FUCKIN' RETINAS....
Anybody have a spoon I can borrow for, oh, twenty seconds?.
texans....nascar...retarded populace. is this country even worth bothering with?
Oh this is Tom Delay's "Look, Janet Jackson's boob!" moment. He's looking at possible indictments for illegally funneling PAC money to legislators in Texas in the race for house speaker. There is also a possibility of Delay laundering the money that ended up in legislators' hands. He'd love to make this the central issue in November, just like Bushie wushie would. It keeps people pre-occupied, instead of keeping them focused on the criminal activities these Rethuglicans have been involved in since 2000.
Goddamn it, where is the Rick Perry story? I wish to hell it would break open. I'd just settle for the rumors making the papers at this point.
Delay added further: "You can be sure that I will come down hard on this"
Uh....wasn't it TEXAS that had the (anti-homosexual) sodomy laws just declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court? I don't remember clearly, but wasn't Tom DeLay AGAINST that ruling?
Is that what Tom DeLay calls tolerant? Hmmmm.
Gatchaman - *snort* *spew*
Maybe he can start a new Astroturf organization called Partners for a New American Kleenex.
I wonder what the governor of Texas thinks of DeLay's comments.
I'm pretty sure Bush supports him.
first of all: i just moved to texas after living in ny, boston, london and sf so cut it with all the generalities. four legs good and tena (as well as others) live here and i think we can use a little slack right now. 
now -- you think he didn't mean it to sound the way it did?
"tolerant" indeed!
i swear i just want to scream on basically every thread today. either that or curl up in a ball. actually, perhaps i will scream AND curl up in a ball.
i spend every day of my freaking life maintaining a tolerable level of tolerance of these people (ie the rr) and they think THEY have a right to complain?
I wonder what the governor of Texas thinks of DeLay's comments.
I'm pretty sure Bush supports him.
Has Governor Perry had homosexuality stuffed down his throat?
I wonder what the governor of Texas thinks of DeLay's comments.
I'm pretty sure Bush supports him.
texans....nascar...retarded populace. is this country even worth bothering with?
Tim | Email | Homepage | 02.20.04 - 12:55 pm | #
Man, I'm pretty sure that if Dubya stays in for another term, the rest of the world is gonna rename our country The United States of What The F@#k....
"FLASH: Ralph Nader will Announce His Decision on whether to run for President in '04 THIS Sunday morning on NBC MEET THE PRESS... "
[sound of nail being pounded into a coffin]
Discovery: If you post a comment, then use reload to check for new ones, it reposts your comment.
Sorry, guys.
amity, you could stop reading here. I tried that for a while, though, and found myself a) just as pissed and b) with no one to talk to about it.
A.
Do you think he's right, about the reaction from most Merkins?
I guess he'd know better than we would.
Ugh. Didn't we used to live in a free country? What have gays ever done to America to warrant being treated this way? To know that Democrats are going to lose an entire election all because of us?
Amity -- you're good. It's just the jerkwads who can't leave people who are different from himself alone, e.g., DeLay.
From a few days ago:
A liberal finds out about internet porn, looks at it for a coupla hours, gets bored and never looks at it again.
A rightwing rethuglican finds out about internet porn, looks at it for awhile, prays for forgiveness, looks at it again, vows never to look at internet porn again, looks at it again, makes an appointment with his pastor, looks at more porn, joins a support group, looks at it some more, tries to pass a law against internet porn, looks at it some more, blames liberals for helping Satan bring temptation to the world, looks at porn, speaks out against gay marriage on the local talk radio program, looks at gay porn, makes another appointment with the pastor...
sorry, texas jokes are easy with both W and delay in office...
I love Austin, its great town, and I had a very fun time the enitre weekend I spent in texas...
and the people were so nice, it was hard to imagine how they keep electing so many creeps
DeLay's just sick of Gov. Perry stuffing things in his throat.
Closet cases all...
Gag
I would also add that people should check out Richard Morrison, who is running against Tom Delay.
New Mexico doesn't agree... There could be gay marriages going on there any moment now.
Aish = delay loving brownshirt.
Tena's quite right; they will make this the central issue, because that's all they have to mobilize their knuckle-dragger base and to attempt to distract swing-voters from the obvious.
Ain't gonna work though. Lots of conservatives with gay and lesbian children will be quite put off, and it will thoroughly backfire.
Meanwhile, DeLay's gonna be playing defense for a while...heh heh.
Delay, ughhh. He makes me want to vomit on my keyboard.
In a perfect world he'd end up in a small jail cell with a homicidal homosexual roommate and he could really learn what "cramming it down his throat" is all about.
He is the number one reason why no one should ever vote for a rethug congressional candidate.
Well, I guess after all that homosexual throat stuffing, we'll still be stuck with Tom even after the Rapture comes (and not just the bugman's dental fillings like we had hoped).
Do you think he's right, about the reaction from most Merkins?
Jon - I don't think he is, but I concede that I might be overly optimistic.
"Gay marriage" aside, I've personally seen much more "tolerance" toward gays from people I know in the last few years. My extended family, especially, who are devout Catholics and used to forward me anti-gay emails, are all fans of Queer Eye and Will and Grace. It may sound superficial to say that, but their attitudes really have changed in the last few years.
White house press conf.
Reporter wants to know why bush has not called out the national guard to stop marriages in SF.
Screams: Where is the leadership, where is the leadership!
Asians, homosexuals, immigrants… man we’re running out of Americans.
New Mexico Clerk To Issue Gay Marriage Licenses
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: February 20, 2004 11:22 a.m. ET
(Albuquerque, New Mexico) Sandoval County, a community of about 90,000 people just north of Albuquerque will issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
County Clerk Victoria Dunlap said she fears a lawsuit if she does not grant the licenses to gay couples.
Sandoval County attorney David Mathews agrees there is potential same-sex couples could sue under New Mexico law if the licenses were refused.
State law defines marriage as a civil contract between contracting parties, but does not mention gender.
Dunlap said she has not been approached by any same-sex couple seeking a license but after reading about the recent court decision in Massachusetts which has similar laws she became concerned that a refusal could end up in a lengthy and expensive court battle which the county would not win.
"This office won't say no until shown it's not permissible,'' said Dunlap.
A spokesperson for state Attorney General Patricia Madrid, Sam Thompson, said the attorney general’s office never has been asked for an opinion on the issue.
What strikes me isn't the freudian humor of the second clause -- it's the truly disturbing undertones of the first:
Americans "have been tolerant of homosexuality for years,
The gist seems to be -- "We aren't dragging these fags out back and beating the shit out of them on a regular basis, therefore -- we've been 'tolerant' of them."
I mean - every initiative, every battle to guarantee such basic principles as the right to keep your job regardless of the sex of your significant other - has been met with resistance from the Delay crowd...
Rick Santorum defends a law making homosexual sex illegal, comparing to everything from beastiality to statutory rape-- and this is "tolerance"?
I'm of the opinion that it's not a slamdunk to compare recent events concerning marriage to the Civil Rights movement of the 60s -but the parallels to Jim Crow are a little striking....
"OK - we'll recognize your right to 'live', but you best stay in the shadows with your own kind."
I'll bet there are still plenty of aching tonsils left over from people having had that redistricting plan stuffed down their throat.
amity, thanks for the support. However, I agree that most of the state is a loss. It's a pity because there are so many educated, progressive and truly nice people that live here. Unfortunately we're completely out numbered by the ninnies here.
BTW, I had a long discussion with a young woman who has an office near mine yesterday about the whole gay marriage issue. She insisted to me that some gays really do choose to be that way. I'm still depressed about it.
I wish we could just fucking outlaw religion.
first of all: i just moved to texas after living in ny, boston, london and sf
Was this part of some plea agreement, Amity?
As for homosexual marriage being central to who I am, Tom, well, "Duuuude." I mean, my own marriage is central to who I am, and that's not entirely a good thing, by the way. But someone else's marriage is pretty much peripheral. Maybe the fact that gay marriage is central to who Tom Delay is hints at someone's deeply repressed longings.
"Americans have been tolerant of homosexuals for years".
Hey Tom Delay, tell that one to the TENS OF THOUSANDS of dead gays who've been murdered by their fellow Americans over the history of the country!
Tell that to all the gays who received electro-convulsive 'therepy' and brain-operations and hormone 'treatments' or even PRISON until recently.
Tell that to all the children who've been thrown out of their own homes by their own parents, left to die slowly in the streets.
Tell that to the churches who kick us out and deny us a belief in God.
My God, Tom Delay doesn't qualify as HUMAN -- calling him scum is an insult to alge.
Looks like the Nazis have another reason to scream for the FMA:
http://www.wane.com/Global/story...y.asp?
S=1656147
Thanks New Mexico. And say hello to another DOMA.
DeLay is a vicious poison in the heart of democracy.
With any luck, we can remove him with the peaceful antidote of simply voting that damnable Nazi out of office...
Choose your words more carefully, Tom. Your inner desires are spilling out there for all to see. Oh, and lose the bullwhip. Some people might get the wrong impression of what it really represents.
Reporter wants to know why bush has not called out the national guard to stop marriages in SF.
You're fucking kidding me right? Let's see, now we need to call up the national guard to put down spontaneous displays or joy and matrimony?
BTW, on the Texas thing, I don't think I can take much more, so go ahead and pitch the state, I'm going to relocate to a more civilized part of the country.
Ed (OH) - I couldn't agree more. There has been a growing acceptance in this country. This issue is going to kill the Republicans if they insist on going with it. It's not something anyone out in the vast reaches of this country gives a damn about except for those who support gay rights and the RR, which doesn't. Most people do not want to have this election turned into a referendum on full marriage rights for gays, IMO. They want to hear about jobs, the economy and the things that have a real impact on their lives. Bush I and Quayle were hammered for trying to divert attention away from their failings. Bush is going to be hammered much more badly, considering how much more badly his administration has performed.
Think about it - why isn't Bush touting his much beloved record on "terra" and national security? Because it's a fucking mess and he knows it. So he and Rove are in full default position mode - gay marriage. A complete non-issue for the majority of people in this country.
We don't see it that way because it is important to us. It's not that important to most people.
Ed, you live in Ohio? How sad. You must be afraid to walk the streets these days.
BTW, does anyone know how conservative New Mexico's legislature is? I know it has quite a few Dems, but Dems are also against SSM. How likely is a DOMA/state amendment now?
Well, I'm sure that Tom and his friends figure that it's trouble enough having to pretend to think of "Hebes, wetbacks, wimmen, and the coloreds" as fellow human beings, too. The fact that gay people want to be considered part of our species just tips 'em over the edge.
It would be easier to get rid of Tom Delay than the whole state of Texas. I think.
four legs, was it one of those loonie reporters, like the one during the AWOL press briefing who said Kerry hung out with Jane Fonda?
I used to live in Texas. It saddens me to hear how much worse the place has gotten. I was lucky enough to live there with goddess Ann Richards as governor. And moved away about a year before Dubya arrived. Lucky, lucky me...
More support for Texans: Molly Ivins & Jim Hightower.
Jon - I'm not. Should I be?
Tena - That's right, a growing acceptance. Using family (extended family, I meant to add) as an example again... While I doubt they're celebrating what's going on in SF right now, basically, they don't really care. They're seeing that it doesn't affect them, and there are more important things (to them) to worry about.
Oh look, ya'll act like liberals and gays and minorities are being herded into camps in Texas - like we are walking around with armbands already. Frankly, except for a sharp increase in air pollution, and a sharp downturn in the state treasury, not much of anything has changed here day to day since DeLay and the Rethugs engineered what increasingly looks to have been an illegal Rethug takeover.
I'm not crazy about Texas for a number of reasons, but living here is not like being imprisoned in GITMO, nor is it much worse than any other place. I don't like the weather, I don't like the lack of any redeeming natural landscape features, and I don't like the fundamentalists. But it's not as if other states aren't equally hot and humid in the summer, flat and featureless or overrun with fundamentalists. Ya'll get over yourselves on this idea that Texas is some kind of conservative hell, already. I'd rather live here than in Orange County, Ca. or in Florida, I'll tell you that.
Tis reminds me of something from the hate-filled 1992 GOP convention, where culture warrior pat Buchanan was a featured speaker. At one point, then-RNC Chair Rich Bond was asked what teh Convention--which was coming after the Dems--was trying to portray to the public at large. Bonds replied, "We're trying to show who the 'real Americans are." They cut back to the studio, where Jack Kemp (who has never really been amon the haters) was among the panelists; he was horrified. He said something like "I think we're best served with a positive message...." But it was one "they n'them vs. US" after another.
The GOP is going to do it again this year. Its going to be code-word city.
Americans "have been tolerant of ___________ for years,..."
Tom Delay
Suggestions for fill in the blank: homosexuality, women, blacks, poor people, foreigners, liberals, democrats, acedemic elitists, science, secularism, pluralism, everything not Texas.....
DeLay is a little FuckBitch.
Shorter DeLay: "I drank myself out of college, then inhaled noxious chemicals for years. So why are you listening to me?"
I'ts one way to solve the overpopulation problem--just don't count minorities as people.
Ed, considering that super-ugly DOMA bill that passed with such broad support, and considering how anti-gay Cincinnati was when I used to go there, I'd think so.
Tena - didn't they kick all the pro-gay/moderate state legislators out of office, and basically forced Glen Maxey (gay legislator) to retire in 2001? And didn't they almost pass a bill banning gay foster care/adoption and taking kids away from gays? The people behind that bill said they would try again next year, and they will have more support then.
You've read the platform of the Texas Republican Party, right? That they plan to only let gays see their chilren for 5 minutes every week or so, with supervision? And you know that a few years ago they crashed a Log Cabin Republican convention, roughed up a few members, and told one of the speakers (a grandmother in her 70's) that she and her grandson were going to burn in hell?
That doesn't seem very hospitable to me.
Cap'n, the difference between 1992 and 2004 is that the GOP are much smarter and better at framing issues now. They've already whipped up a huge anti-gay fervor in the country, and it hasn't even really started yet.
Pat Buchanan almost seems NORMAL by current GOP standards. It's scary.
DeLay, circa 1958:
I think it will be central," DeLay, R-Texas, told reporters before addressing the Knox County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner at Rothchild's. "Every now and then, an issue that is central to who you are and what your world view is comes along."
Americans "have been tolerant of blacks for years, but now they're being stuffed down their throats and they don't like it," DeLay said.
Regarding press brief:
No transcript yet.
Terry moran wanted to know why there is no leadership from the white house. Why won't bush take stand one way or the other. Something about the country wants leadership from the prez.
Older guy went bonkers and wanted the guard called out. Said the guard has been called in other situations.
Anybody know the older wingnut reports name?
"I'm not crazy about Texas for a number of reasons, but living here is not like being imprisoned in GITMO, nor is it much worse than any other place."
Damn, looks like one got loose I'll have to call the DHS and see if they can help round her up.
Hey, let's pass this around. Maybe he'll lose his seat.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R - PA)'s daughter Karen is working on promoting the "good works" of some of Malosevic's wealthy pals. Nice to see that the GOP is the party of the great family values, huh?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nati...-home-
headlines
Brian C.B.:
*heh*
everybody asks "why texas?" and then i tell them, "well, not texas. austin." and people get all relieved and stuff.
i guess i decided that i wanted to live someplace warm, that had a decent cultural scene, fairly multicultural diversity, inexpensive (comparatively) cost of living, with a fairly hefty tech scene.
plus i now have my sister following my husband and i out here, and one friend moving here from the bay area and another from cambridge, ma. plus my sister may have another friend moving here from ny.
not exactly enough to swing an election or anything, but we have to start somewhere. 
It's official, he's gone too far.
What a fucking tool. These idiots always have skeletons in their closet (pun intended) and I cant wait til his come to light.
America needs Homosexuals. All the male ones are better looking than me and know how to dance. I cant compete with the good looking/good dancer angle, so Mr. Delay on behalf of all us Mid level feeders, shut your fucking sass hole.
Terry Moran has always been a GOP hack. She's gone out of her way to play down the AWOL story. And now, going by your comment, she's trying to make more people support the FMA. I hope she rots in hell along with DeLay and Dubya.
Tena--I enjoy your comments and think I can sympathize with you. My home state of Oklahoma...once the home of people like Senator Gore and Woody Guthrie...is now chock full of right wing chuckleheads. Sad, and it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon.
"An estimated 700 to 800 attended the $25-a-plate event. Money raised will help fund local Republican candidates, said Mike Myers, who was the master of ceremonies for this year's event."
Man, I didn't think his career would fall this fast after "The Cat in the Hat."
Jon - that's true, Ohio's ban is really ridiculous. But this state's legislature is much further to the right than the population as a whole, at least from what I've seen in the Akron/Cleveland area. Don't forget, this state was 50-48 (I think?) for Bush in 2000.
Don't get me wrong.. I'm not seeing huge support for gay marriage here. But if Bush pushes this issue, it will hurt him more than it helps. People will lump it in with the Mars initiative: something that doesn't affect me.
Jon - I have tried repeatedly to reason with you on this, but your consistent position is to concentrate on all the most damning things that have happened regarding gay rights in this country. I'm sorry, but you're so totally down on any kind of optimistic outlook on this issue that I can't talk to you about it anymore. It's almost as if you are trolling, because you paint the blackest picture that you possibly can.
I've said this a hundred times. There is a large, open, active and accepted gay community in Dallas. The Turtle Creek Chorale, which is composed of all gay men, is much loved here and everywhere. Noone is throwing shit at them when they perform. They are on local TV and radio. At Halloween, there is a huge gay parade, and lots of people turn out to see it and enjoy the hell out of it. There are many many many extremely tolerant people in this state. In fact, people here are very proud of their friendliness and their manners.
Tom Delay is the same kind of anomaly that Bush II got empowered all over the country. That power is breaking down now. It's obvious - 3/4's of the new Bush Republicans are fighting to stay out of prisons for illegal political bullshit. DeLay won't last, just like Bush II won't last.
Statement from John Kerry on Massachusetts Gay Marriage Ruling
November 18, 2003
For Immediate Release
“I have long believed that gay men and lesbians should be assured equal protection and the same benefits – from health to survivor benefits to hospital visitation - that all families deserve. While I continue to oppose gay marriage, I believe that today’s decision calls on the Massachusetts state legislature to take action to ensure equal protection for gay couples. These protections are long over due.”
Older guy went bonkers and wanted the guard called out. Said the guard has been called in other situations.
Sounds like "older guy" is getting mixed up. The National Guard were called out to protect de-segregation. You know. Activist judges overruling the will of the people, and all that.
Sometimes it really is like those Republicans live in their own carefully constructed universe, where history only exists in the way they want it to.
This would be a good time to send a few love letters old Tom's way.
Atrios...
who has the story about Texas gov & his boy toy? Get it up here so we can stuff it down DeLay's throat! (Quick before the gov goes to New Mexico to get married.)
Sometimes it really is like those Republicans live in their own carefully constructed universe, where history only exists in the way they want it to.
Remember "MLK would have opposed affirmative action"?
The wingnut reporter who frames his questions to Scottie in the form of a Rethug asslick, is one Jeff Gannon.
He has a web site:
www.jeffgannon.com
I think this is the reason why Delay keeps a low profile. Every time he takes a picture or utters a sentence nothing but hate resonates.
America may or may not need homosexuals, any more than it needs or does not need heterosexuals. It needs to realize that age, gender, skin color, religious upbringing, and sexual orientation are background. What you do, how you behave is important. America needs competent, intelligent, rational people of good heart.
America absolutely does not need Tom DeLay.
I'd love to know what Big Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter thinks about all this. Not to mention Phyllis Schlafly's gay son.
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!
amity, i have the strangest feeling I know you...
Tena, amity, other Texans, I am realizing how unfair it was of me to take cheap shots at texas, particularly when my own visit there assured me that Texans aren't Tom DeLay.
Forgive me, I mean it truly. It was a mistake in judgment. Everything is bigger in texas, and frankly, the texans posting here have been better people than I have...
Mr. Gannon's website entertains me immensely. Aside from what seems an appropriate "Legend of Zelda" reference ("Ganon" is the game's resident personification of blind malice and greed, who also happens to look more than a little piglike), he seems to think that calling the forces dedicated to resisting American influence in Iraq an "Iraqi Resistance" is treasonous glorification of the enemy.
And the question is, can satire keep up?
filkertom - Amen. Beautifully put.
Ed, thanks for answering my questions. Do you think your legislature will ever be clear of nuts anytime soon, or have a governor who isn't a pathetic hack? And now Penn. is the same or worse (the legislature wants to ban ALL legal benefits AND adoption). Do you think that will pass?
Tena, I'm sorry you think I'm a troll. I'm not. I'm just someone who has lived through some awful crap and continue to do so. I don't regret being gay. I wouldn't change my sexuality if I had the chance. But I also realize that America has become a place where homosexuality is loathed, feared, and openly discriminated against by the leaders of the land. That's why I try to step in when people say "America will never let this happen", because it already IS happening, and no one has put a stop to the takeover.
Upright, moral Americans will refuse to swallow this gay marriage thing.
They will not take it laying down.
We will lick these gay agenda activists.
We are not a bunch of suckers.
Brooklyn, last I heard, Phyllis' son still lived at home, and was very cowering and self-hating. I guess he's still a few steps above Mary "gas my people for 100 K a year" Cheney.
Bonus cognitive dissonance courtesy of Gannon:
"Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and his lobbyist wife Linda received a sizeable tax cut when the President’s Jobs and Growth Plan was signed into law. Already among the wealthiest South Dakotans, the high-power Washington pair will pocket an additional $250,000 a year as a result of a reduction in the marginal tax rate and capital gains taxes and elimination of the marriage penalty."
A right-winger trying to use that to smear the Dems is like using a blowtorch for athlete's foot.
Statement from John Kerry on Massachusetts Gay Marriage Ruling
November 18, 2003
For Immediate Release
“I have long believed that gay men and lesbians should be assured equal protection and the same benefits – from health to survivor benefits to hospital visitation - that all families deserve. While I continue to oppose gay marriage, I believe that today’s decision calls on the Massachusetts state legislature to take action to ensure equal protection for gay couples. These protections are long over due.”
: (
Shorter Kerry: I'm really for gay marriage, but I can't say that, lest I be called a flip-flopper now that it's obvious that the issue won't go away 'til after November.
Not too much shorter, I guess.
...was it one of those loonie reporters, like the one during the AWOL press briefing who said Kerry hung out with Jane Fonda?
Speaking of which...
(PS: Make sure to take the poll!)
Jon - for the goddess's sake noone here, certainly not me, wants you to regret being who you are. I've tried so hard to get you to understand that.
BTW - one of the most popular Mexican restaurants in Dallas is Monica's. It used to have a different name, before Monica became a woman. Once she changed genders, noone firebombed the restaurant, noone dragged her away. The restaurant is extremely popular, and so is Monica. She's in the paper, on the local news - and not for being transgendered - noone even mentions that anymore.
Oh, and David E's book about gays in Hollywood was mentioned in the paper today in a column in the film section of the paper. Made me smile - I said, "Hey, I know that guy!"
Jon - If the governor and the legislature continue concentrating on things like a gay marriage ban and CCW instead of fixing the education system and things that actually affect people in the state, it's only a matter of time.
I don't know about Penn's law. It may very well pass. Some of these politicans sure are falling behind the times quickly, aren't they?
Atrios- props for putting up the link to Lloyd Doggett's site, I got Perrymandered out of his district this year, he's a great guy and worthy of the support
Asked if Vice President Dick Cheney would be President Bush's running mate this year, DeLay said, "I hope so people feel very comfortable and secure that he is in the position he is in, and he brings to the table a very strong common-sense approach."
Somebody better tell Delay that Cheney's daugther Mary is a godless, un-American dyke-freak who's undermining the very foundations of our society!
And even worse, that Dick and Lynn have expressed their love and support of their despicable, subhuman daughter.
I'd like King Rat to know that I do not even consider him homo sapiens.
Ilya Kuryakin,
That's the guy, thanks.
Our legilature hasn't been with the times since I've followed state politics. I -hope- Rendell would know better than to sign such a bill, especially since he personally introduced domestic-partner benefits in Philly, but I don't want to get overconfident.
Tena -- thankee kindly. And to all you Texans, hugs and respect from a Michigander. Remember, we had Spencer Frickin' Abraham....
All moral, patriotic, Jesus-fearing Americans should give Tom DeLay a hand for the great job he is doing, protecting us from gay agenda activists.
We must circle our wagons and prevent the gays from jerking us into becoming a nation of Sodomites.
We must get to the bottom of this moral rot that is subjecting our nation to dominance by an immoral, elitist liberal tyranny.
I don't like the lack of any redeeming natural landscape features
Tena-- You really should get out of Dallas for a few days and head over to Big Bend country. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the landscape features Texas can provide.
Sounds like DeLay has been sniffing too much glue.
Or maybe it was the bug spray he used as an exterminator.
Don't know if someone has already mentioned this, but -
""He said that a "very telling difference" between the Democratic and Republican parties is that the former "is becoming the party of gay marriages" while the latter "is becoming the party of traditional values I think it's going to carry the day in the upcoming elections."
According to Thursday's New York Times, Democratic front-runner Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and his closest rival, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., each oppose gay marriage. Kerry supports civil unions for gay couples and Edwards supports domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples."
Clearly, Republicans have already made this an election issue. Anybody who thinks the Dems should just ignore this, it's too late. Kerry and Edwards have been tarred with the "Fag-Lover" brush, so they may as well stop equivocating and support marriage between consenting humans.
the national guard isn't being used in sf to stop people getting married because THEY'RE ALL IN FUCKIN' IRAQ ALREADY! they got more import things to do like not dying and coming home with all of their pieces still attached.
and the ones that aren't there are getting ready to replace the ones that are there. have the old guy take it up with rummy and cheney.
Jon,
Just for a second, can't you see things actually CHANGING for gays? In fact, where you see things as getting worse, many of my gay friends see things getting better - much better- and radically fast.
The fools and knaves in the GOP have to go after the 'others' in society and have to inject fear into any debate - but Jesus, man, over the last three years the boundaries have been getting erased. From improving public perception to the Lawrence ruling to civil unions in Vermont to acts of very public disobedience by Gavin Newsome and his administration to the Mass Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage...Isn't it progress? Aren't people actually DOING SOMETHING?
Has there ever been anything comparable in American history? The Stonewall riots? I'm sure things aren't great being gay. But I think DeLay and the troglodytes are way, way overestimating how many people hate gays the way they do. Too many perhaps, but not enough to change the tide.
once these gay agenda activists succeed with making gay marriage legal, they will next demand to come inside our schools and advocate the homosexual lifestyle to our children.
We must not allow this to happen. We must stand firm and erect against this depravity.
There are times when the Lord puts our faith to the test. I clearly believe this is one of those times.
jon:
when you say that "no one has put a stop to the takeover," i hope you mean to speak hyperbolically, because how you can think that? of course people have tried. just because they don't always win, doesn't mean they don't fight for you. please try to keep that in mind. and also, if we don't start somewhere, we won't get anywhere. the rr's best defense has always been a strong offense. now we just want to take that up ourselves.
when people asked why my husband and i wanted to get married instead of just continuing to live together we told them that we wanted the same rights that queer couples want. and i will always say that. i didn't get married for tradition or religion or any of it. i just wanted to know that if push came to shove and the very worst happened, the person i trust more than anybody else in the world will have a say in what happens. will have the right to come in and see me. or vice-versa.
a legal document representing equal rights for people. for me and mine, or you and yours (if you so chose). why should anybody try to say we ask too much in asking for only that?
Asked if Vice President Dick Cheney would be President Bush's running mate this year, DeLay said, "I hope so people feel very comfortable and secure that he is in the position he is in, and he brings to the table a very strong common-sense approach."
Does anyone want to point out that Cheney's approval rating is hovering somewhere in the 20's? And what does this say about DeLay's political acumen?
don't like the lack of any redeeming natural landscape features
Tena-- You really should get out of Dallas for a few days and head over to Big Bend country. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the landscape features Texas can provide.
Or East Texas...or Central Texas...the whole Trans-Pecos region....(it ain't all where the Central Plains end...)
once these gay agenda activists succeed with making gay marriage legal, they will next demand to come inside our schools and advocate the homosexual lifestyle to our children.
We must not allow this to happen. We must stand firm and erect against this depravity.
There are times when the Lord puts our faith to the test. I clearly believe this is one of those times.
The GOP's been playing with FMA because they figure it's their wedge issue. Which might be true if Bush had anything else going for him.
However, even among people who oppose gay marriage: If you and half the people you know are out of work, you think might lose your house, the VA is jerking you around about bennies you earned in the Gulf, there's a recent local problem with garbage pick-up because your town is out of money and like any American who isn't psychotic, your heart sinks a little every time you hear about casualties in Iraq . . . and then you hear about some total strangers three states away being allowed to file some papers that only affect their own households--it's neurochemically impossible to care less.
Tena, I'm not saying that you want me to reget being gay. You are a very supportive person, and far more of a bright spot than many in the world. I'm saying that I regret how backwards the country is now and that Democrats will likely lose on this kind of issue. It disgusts me that I and so many like me have to feel so ashamed for what we cannot control, what we should have no reason to feel ashamed of. I never imagined that this is the world I would live in in 2004.
Versys, I think this stuff might be amendments, to be put on the ballot in November. If they are, then Rendell can't veto them anyway. They are truly vile...do you think they'd pass?
Some things should not be decided "by the people". Not human rights.
By the time the GOP is done, gays will have no rights of any kind in 98% of America. And nothing we do seems to stop them.
I've got just the thing for DeLay's throat.
Open wide, Tom!
They are truly vile...do you think they'd pass?
It would be close. The central areas of the state (where I now live, more's the pity) can be counted on to vote solidly for such a measure. Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will go the other way, but by how much I don't know. If the party machinery doesn't target the issue in November, I have to say I don't like our chances.
Fed up: My home state of Oklahoma ... once the home of people like Senator Gore and Woody Guthrie...
And Will Rogers -- practically my favorite guy ever!
...is now chock full of right wing chuckleheads.
In the squares of the city
In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office
I see my people
And some are grumblin'
And some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me
Let's take it back.
I just spoke with Morris Meyer - there is a glitch in the small contribution amount and he called me directly. This guy is worthy and really fighting a good. He also wanted to thank all those ".18ers" out there who are donating today.
Thanks renato for the laugh, you some how missed reach around or whatever the term is you once used re Prince Charles and bush's poodle Blair.
Oh, and paging Tom Delay, please go fuck yourself. You deserve to be bitch of the month on cell block B. How such a fine state as TX foisted upon the nation assholes like Bush and Delay is beyond me.
Too many people are looking at the elected Republicans in this country and are somehow assuming that they represent all of America.
Not true.
The Republican party is a creature of the Religious Right. All elected Republicans need to cater to religious bigotry because they have been voted into office by these people, who have mobilized their members to vote, take over school boards, etc. That's why I keep saying that the left has to do the same thing to the Dems - let's take over the damn party! The majority of Americans can't stand what the RR is doing to this country. All the Dems have to do is tap into that, and they will win in November. And then we can start making inroads into the party.
Or, you can vote for dead people or Ralph Nader (repetition) and let the minority of America that believes in bigotry and discrimination continue to run things through the Republican theocracy. Your choice.
Gropenfuhrer says same sex marriages in CA are illegal.
I truly love Lloyd Doggett - one of the most honorable men in politics in this country. I worked on his campaign in 1984, for the U.S. Senate. He lost, but I have always been so grateful that I got to listen to Lloyd and be around him.
Peanut - Always wondered why this Arlo Guthrie song was not played constantly after 9/11 - It captures the American spirit far more than the other patriotic shit we had to listen to like God bless America.
Everybody understands what DeLay is trying to do, right? The Republicans have screwed everything else up so much, they have to resort to an issue like this deperately to hold on to some sort of "us vs. them" battle. Try to see through it, not let homosexuality be the central issue they want it to be (I'm sorry everyone, but they are trying to lure the left into a trap here), stick to the main issues in which Republicans look, really, really bad (jobs, econ, war, security, corruption, etc.), regain power, and THEN take the democrats to task on civil rights issues.
I know the good Dr. MLK said not to wait on civil rights issues - justice denied is justice deferred - this is different. You are not going to get justice taking these guys on here and now. They are using demagoguery to rally their side. Point this out distraction technique out, point out the colossal and general failings of the Republicans, get them out of office, and then get the country back on track as to civil rights.
This may seem unfair, and it is - but do not fall for this trap.
Everybody understands what DeLay is trying to do, right? The Republicans have screwed everything else up so much, they have to resort to an issue like this deperately to hold on to some sort of "us vs. them" battle. Try to see through it, not let homosexuality be the central issue they want it to be (I'm sorry everyone, but they are trying to lure the left into a trap here), stick to the main issues in which Republicans look, really, really bad (jobs, econ, war, security, corruption, etc.), regain power, and THEN take the democrats to task on civil rights issues.
I know the good Dr. MLK said not to wait on civil rights issues - justice denied is justice deferred - this is different. You are not going to get justice taking these guys on here and now. They are using demagoguery to rally their side. Point this out distraction technique out, point out the colossal and general failings of the Republicans, get them out of office, and then get the country back on track as to civil rights.
This may seem unfair, and it is - but do not fall for this trap.
Oh I know there are really beautiful landscapes in Texas. I confess I have not been to the Big Bend - I really want to go some spring, preferably, before it is intolerably hot. I've seen the hill country - it's beautiful. North Texas is just god-awful, especially Dallas, sitting out here in the middle of nothing. Plus Dallas is a city, with really bad urban sprawl and I think it's a boring city. Fort Worth is far more interesting. However, there is a lot more tolerance in Dallas than people seem to realize. There really is.
Of course, we still execute people right and left in Texas, and that is just hideous. There is a growing movement here, however, that is questioning the death penalty. It's a slow growth, but that may be the only kind that will really take root and be successful.
Or East Texas...or Central Texas...the whole Trans-Pecos region....(it ain't all where the Central Plains end...)
Add the Guadalupe Mountains and Palo Duro Canyon to the list.
It looks like Delay's other bitch in Austin is trouble. Tom Craddick's campaign records have just been subpoenaed by a grand jury. This was the headline on the Dallas Morning News today.
yeah, I think this ties into the whole "tired of aWol" feeling that's out there. Kerry, Edwards and the rest need to get in front of this, frame it as a human/civil rights issue that is discriminatory. they should flat out state that they are against any kind of discrimination on this, and then move the topic back to aWol's even weaker points, iWaq, jobs/economy, environment, etc. I think that with the high voter turnout in the primaries that people are fed up with aWol and will support the ones who take a stand against them. far too many folks were apathetic and/or worried about the iWaq war in the 2002 elections and they didn't see a lot of difference in Repugs and DINO Repug-Lites. the fundies are already going to vote for aWol, the Dems are already seen as the pro-gay rights party and once the pics from SF start getting out there the swing voters will go "hey, is that my neighbor/co-worker/aunt/whatever? cool for them"
if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything
I don't like the lack of any redeeming natural landscape features
Tena, HONEY--
I'll agree that up where you are, Texas ain't so pretty, but not all of the state is that way.
Someone mentioned Big Bend, and that's a good one.
Come to the Hill Country. I promise there are plenty of redeeming natural landscape features. Very soon, it will be bluebonnet season. What is more wonderful than driving along a country road and seeing miles of blue flowers? If you have little ones, you HAVE to take a picture of them in a bluebonnet patch. It's, like, REQUIRED!
Take Hwy 16 between Kerrville and San Antonio. I promise, it's just this side of heaven.
Go out to East Texas while some of the great Piney Woods are still standing. What about Caddo Lake, one of the most beautifully primeval places anywhere?
And of course there's South Padre Island and the hot-tub waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
There's plenty of landscape variety here. Sometimes, you just have to find it. I'm lucky. I live in San Antonio. The best parts aren't far from me.
Look, I love southern Utah. I canoed the Green River last October. Moab is filled with tourists from Europe, all driving to Zion and Bryce and the Grand Canyon. It's more cosmopolitan than you'd imagine. Somehow, though, I can't imagine living in Utah just because I could live in the laid-back Moab confines, or in Texas because I could live in Austin. Nice places, but the politics is just too screwed.
I'm glad Atrios mentioned Lloyd Dogget, he used to be my rep. He's a good guy - was part of the team that voted AGAINST the blank check for bush/Iraq invasion.
We must resist the gays' attempt to penetrate our Judeo-Christian institutions and inject their godless values into our culture.
We cannot allow our youth to see men marrying men and women marrying women.
We cannot allow the gays to reach a state where, around the country, they can be considered just as normal and American as Jesus-fearing heterosexual men and women.
I mean, what will we tell the children? How can we safely rear them in a way that is pleasing to Jehovah?
Thanks, Peanut. I sure didn't mean to leave out Will Rogers. He's one
of my favorites, too. And thanks for
the Guthrie lyrics. It would be nice to have old Woody around today to sing about the crowd we have in Washington now.
amity, I do mean hyperbolically. I know people have tried. But no one has been able to succeed. They control all the GOP now and most of the state legislatures, and the media. They grow more powerful every year.
J, surely you see the backlash over the past year. We're at a place now where the press/public/government resents us because they think the courts see us as special and better than everyone else. Each new court ruling has caused a higher drop in poll numbers. A strong majority of Americans (especially blacks, who are leaning closer and closer to the GOP) think we should be jailed for having sex. You don't think this is a sign of America being really bad, and getting worse?
Look, I love southern Utah. I canoed the Green River last October. Moab is filled with tourists from Europe, all driving to Zion and Bryce and the Grand Canyon. It's more cosmopolitan than you'd imagine. Somehow, though, I can't imagine living in Utah just because I could live in the laid-back Moab confines, or in Texas because I could live in Austin. Nice places, but the politics is just too screwed.
Brian C.B.
Different strokes I guess. I live in Wyoming because I think it has the best rock climbing and I like the low population density. To some people that's more important than being surrounded by people who all think the same as they do.
Nearly all wingnuts, particularly the religious right, got that way because they were either psychologically abused (by which I mean reared that way like my much younger brother and sister were), or they clung to the simplistic and rigid external discipline of fundamentalism because they have no self-control. Of the few wingnuts who chose to become that way, I'd say most of those enjoy the power of being in control of the first two groups. Who does that leave? Are there any right wingers who weren't reared that way, traded addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, etc., for the Lord, or are control freaks? Anyone?
And the Republican Governor of Texas was caught in flagrante with a man.
Guess they were checking out logs to build a cabin.
It looks like Delay's other bitch in Austin is trouble. Tom Craddick's campaign records have just been subpoenaed by a grand jury. This was the headline on the Dallas Morning News today.
I just love it when a plan comes together...or karma catches up with someone...or what goes around finally comes around....or something.
Anyway, I love it....
"If you have little ones, you HAVE to take a picture of them in a bluebonnet patch. It's, like, REQUIRED!"
It's a proof-of-residency requirement. You muse be able to display at least one photograph of one of your children in a field of bluebonnets.
Other people's children don't count.
CPS is overworked and underpaid, but it makes sure this requirement is fulfilled by all parents within driving distance of Central Texas....
"Do you mean the flower lupine?"
Speaking of "tolerating" others--are creeps like delay something Democracies must tolerate to be functional?
Having the Uglies around certainly has it uses in reminding us how far humanity still has to go.
you leftist are so smart.
Pennsylvania won't pass the ban on gay marriages...we passed a comprehensive hate crimes bill that included sexual orientation real and perceived about a year ago, and that bill had a lot of republican support (thanks to successful lobbying and some really bigoted people coming out of the woodwork that disgusted the lawmakers---they do have some sensibilities left here in PA).
it wont pass. Rendell won't sign it anyway.
you leftist are so smart.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 02.20.04 - 3:07 pm | #
It's a curse. Don't be envious.
Terry Moran? So that's who that pro-war supporter was trying to address about getting a brain!
I've taken the back highway from Dallas to San Antonion - a truly gorgeous drive. But I'm a mountain person. I love altitude, don't like sea level. That's the main reason that Dallas and most of Texas don't appeal to me. In truth, parts of Colorado are much less liberal than all of Texas put together. However, Colorado has the Rockies. I've loved them my whole life, and I just want to be in those mountains when I'm not there. They are life to me.
Man, Albuquerque beat Santa Fe on this? I'm amazed. But if Albuquerque starts recognizing gay marriage, I can't help but think that one state after another is going to do it, too. Not Texas - I don't expect that, unfortunately. Where's Seattle? Where's Oregon on this? Where's the rest of New England? They should be lining them up at the clerk's office just like San Francisco. Let the Rethugs choke on their hate.
Why not donate to Tom DeLay's Democratic opponent?
I started hassling people on my blog to Annoy Tom DeLay by donating to Richard Morrison, who is running against DeLay.
How such a fine state as TX foisted upon the nation assholes like Bush and Delay is beyond me.
Georgie is actually from Connecticut.
I'm with some of my fellow Texans in finding it onerous to being a liberal AND living here.
It's not all bad. Like Tena said, it's not GITMO. Then again, I live in San Antonio, which is pretty much a live and let live town. We're too busy having a good time to care about other things. Even though we have one of the most virulent corporate bullies on the planet here: Clear Channel. Ugh. Still, they don't affect my life much. I don't watch TV and I don't listen to the radio.
Our cities have substantial gay populations, who pretty much get left alone. Always? I doubt it. But they get just about as much tolerance as they do in ANY large city in America.
Imagine it: We have gays here in San Antonio! And they don't hide who they are! OMG! We have cross-dressers! Gay people can make out in public, and nobody stops them! Honestly, I can't go to a Gravity Kills concert without seeing about 200 lesbians, and they all start making out as soon as that band hits the stage (still trying to understand what the deal is with GK and lesbians...).
So, no, Texas isn't a complete wasteland. Parts of it are fun and most of it is friendly, most of the time. Emphasis on friendly. I've lived in California (Bay Area and LA), and I'm here for a reason. I missed the old black women who come to the post office wearing their prettiest dresses and a hat. Always a tres chic hat. They call me baby and sugar, and they don't even know this dumb old white girl. I missed smiles and "hi there" and "thank you" and "come back soon" and "what's your rush--we just started visiting!" even though I've been "visiting" for two hours.
I can forgive a lot of things, for all that.
That's right, Cole. Envy is one of the seven deadlies.
Varsys, thanks for the update. I guess I'll just hope for the best. I don't like Penn. that much anyway, the people I knew there were very rude/greedy/selfish; one of them stole money from me and I never saw him again. He's probably in the state legislature now.
Tug, we know how this works. I will vote for the Democrat no matter what his position is. You should be worried about the bigoted black/Hispanic/blue-collar white Dems and what their reaction will be.
This may seem unfair, and it is - but do not fall for this trap.
The whole point, of course, is to hang them by their own rope.
They think this country is a lot more intrinsically hateful than it really is. They think people will put gay-bashing above jobs lost, soldiers dead, children saddled with debt, their parents' Medicare depleted, Social Security destroyed...
The issue is here, now. It won't go away. It won't wait anymore. The Dems need to either be on the right side, or get the fuck out of the way and let real people stand up to the Anti-Constitutional forces of the Republicans.
Speaking of Utah, I got a very big shock this morning when I read in the Dallas paper that the mayor of Salt Lake City - mormon central - has said that he favors gay marriage rights. I had to read it 3 times to make sure I'd read it right.
...redeeming natural landscape features ...
Big Bend adventures. This is a river rafting company started by my nephew -- true liberal (and ex-hippie) in the late 70s. He doesn't own it now, but it's still thriving --- they took Mick Jagger on a trip through the canyons there.
Bonus: redeeming progressive thinking in Dallas:
Realistic Living (a research institute).
For what it's worth ...
Yes, give to Lloyd Doggett. Damn good guy. The kind of guy who will come to a meeting of 3 people and answers the phone when you call.
He's been my rep since I was a kid and he's done well for us.
Why does Tom Delay oppose the marriage of loving couples?
Tena, I lived in Salt Lake City for many years. While the LDS Church has its headquarters there, the city is split about 50/50 between Mormons and non-Mormons. Come to think of it, I've lived in Alabama and Texas, too, and now I'm in southwest Missouri, where a liberal is someone who belongs to the Klan instead of the Hammerskins. AAAARGH!
In the Army, I was stationed smack-dab in the center of Texas (San Angelo) for the better part of a year, and I must say it wasn't as bad as I'd been led to believe. The land is flat, but the town was rather pleasant. Of course, I'm a white, educated, short-haired, straight male in the 30-40 age group, so I 'spect I WOULD be treated well there. Don't know if my experience is similar to others.
fed up - listen, Missouri is where my sister in law and brother in law live, and they totally support their gay son, and so do all their friends. Tolerance is there, it's just often quiet, because it's practiced by quiet normal people.
Re: Salt Lake. According to the paper, ya'lls mayor, Rocky Anderson, is an honorary board member of the pro-gay marriage group Freedom to Marry.
I know that all of Salt Lake is not Mormon, still I was really surprised to read that.
Tug, Molly NYC et al: agree the Thugs will try to use gay marriage & other "culture war" issues as wedges b/c they're running out of things, besides lies and fear, for Smirky to run on. So the Dems are the party of "gay marriage" -- woo woo, scary stuff.
Well, the Thugs are the party that wants to define and enforce what it means to be "American" and darned if it doesn't exclude most people who don't look and think like them. That won't work forever and as a gay woman I'm optimistic 2004 will be the year it stops. "Queer Eye," "Will & Grace," etc. -- any guesses who'd poll better, Smirky or Carson Kressley?
Check out this op-ed -- from the Salt Lake Tribune, for heaven's sake.
http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Feb/0...utah/
140290.asp
People see it as a civil rights/equal protection issue and the Thugs just look cruel and backward when they try to frame it otherwise. It's only a religious question for people for whom everything is. That's a large part of the guaranteed Thug voting block but I think hammering the point is going to sound to most people like George Wallace thundering about "segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
We especially don't like this being shoved down our throats while wearing a dog collar, nipple clamps, a garter belt, fishnet stockings, and shiny black pumps. I will raise this issue with Gov. Perry shortly.
Lucy - You go, girl. This is increasingly looking like the year when big changes are going to happen.
The problem with quiet tolerance is that intolerance is not as quiet, and has led to bigots taking over the state legislatures and making all the decisions. Like quite a few other states, Missouri is now gerrymandered into fundieland and they are also likely to elect an uber-conservative GOP governor this year.
Salt Lake City also has a lesbian delegate for the state legislature, although I don't know how much longer she'll last (she said recently that there has been "whispering" about her in the statehouse, and she's been in office for 6 years, which is remarkable for Utah).
Has there been any real political backlash over the brutal gerrymandering in Texas, or did most people not care? Are GOP types still being elected in most races?
maybe texas should become its own country again...that way, they won't have to put up with things being shoved down their throats.
Maybe we just slice out all the recently redrawn Republican districts, and that part of Texas could be resurrected as the Emirate of Texas. Obviously, Delay has done a lot of work to separate the humans from the Republicans, so we can make use of their hard work. I'm sorry for all you readers who are stuck in those districts, but I'm sure blogistan could help raise money to assist you in moving.
The only question left is: who do we install as the Emir of Texas? Based on his recent performance, I think Ahmed Chalabi is probably the best candidate. (yeah, i know you were expecting GWB.... sorry)
any guesses who'd poll better, Smirky or Carson Kressley?
I hope you'll forgive me if I vote for Jai as a write-in.
I wonder what the governor of Texas thinks of DeLay's comments. Maybe someone should ask him.
The governor was unavailable for comment. Someone was stuffing something down his throat.
Jon - Excuse me? Blacks are "leaning closer and closer to the GOP"? On what planet?
W got a measly 8% of the black vote in 2000, a smaller proportion than any Republican candidate in 25 years or more.
One of the very reasons they are trying to make gay marriage the centerpiece of thier campaign is to depress black voter turnout. It can be countered, but not if you adopt the "they've already won" attitude.
We can defuse this issue in the black religious community with 2 tactics: first, connect the dots. More blacks, as a proportion of the general population, are serving and dying in Iraq. Bush's economic, education, and health care policies (or lack thereof) have affected black voters more negatively than the general population. These folks aren't dumb; they know who's screwing them. We have to point it out and point out their use of gay marriage to distract attention from the screwing they've delivered to the majority of black voters. And don't fail to mention Florida 2000 and the GOP's attempts to keep blacks from voting.
Second, point out that the very amendment Bush's FMA is meant to modify is the one that gave blacks equality under the law. Point out that Bush wants to pervert the very amendment that the slaves waited for for 90 years to grant them equal rights as citizens, and then had to wait almost 100 years more to have fully enforced. Ask them if they think it's a good idea for Bush to be tinkering with the amendment that gave them freedom and equal rights to deny rights to others - and if he's allowed to do it, what will stop him or other Republicans from coming back later to take another bite out of it?
Really, I'm with Tena, I want to see you get off of this "we can't win so we might as well give up now" routine. It's beginning to sound a bit trollish to me - particularly when you trot out stuff like "blacks are leaning Republican" which is so demonstrably false.
Seraphiel - Ah hah! It has taken me quite awhile to finally settle on Jai as the one of the Fab Five to have a hopeless crush on. I was leaning toward Kyan for quite awhile, but Jai is the one. And you are the only one of the two of us who'd have a chance in hell. I applaud your excellent taste. They don't come much cuter than Jai.
Thanks, Tena. Sometimes I can't believe I'm so optimistic when six months ago I was in despair. I think Iraq, the economy, and the fact that the American people flat-out disagree with them on every issue have finally popped the BushCo air of invulnerability. Might have happened sooner but for 9/11. People mistook Smirky's ignorance and arrogance for something else for a while. It also helped when Howard Dean got out there and just said Smirky was full of crap about everything. The emperor has no clothes and all that. People started to realize they were right and feel like we could beat him.
Seraphiel -- I'm down with Jai! He and Kyan are actually my faves. They seem the kindest. I guess I thought of Carson as the one who would offer the starkest, shall we say, contrast with GWB.
Morat - about this Richard Morrison who's running against DeLay - is he a good guy? Would he have a chance in hell of winning if say, the Dean machine raised a few million for him? If he has even a prayer of winning, I'll donate. There's nothing I'd like more than to see DeLay sent back to Texas with his tail between his legs.
Jennifer - I've commented on this before, but it's apropos again here - Dallas area black ministers have been on a campaign to get out the vote against Bush for quite awhile now. They've been passing out voter registration forms in church and they've been using their pulpits to get the message out to the black community that Bush is dangerous to blacks in this country. If Bush polls 8% among blacks in November, I'll be surprised as all hell.
Then to sweeten the whole deal, it turns out that local mosque leaders have taken a page from the black ministers' book and have been organizing voter registration drives in the mosques. Bush got the Moslem vote in 2000. He is most definitely not getting it this year. I've read that in more than one place, and who in their right mind would expect anything else? The Moslems are scared of him, and there are quite a few citizens of this country of middle eastern origin or descent.
actually, DeLay DID redistrict away Lloyd Doggett. He's old district has been turned so far to the right that there is NO Democrat even running against the 7 GOP hopefuls. Among those 7 by the way, are at least two who are promising to "help George Bush do away with the IRS".
Thats right, they want to eliminate income taxes all together!! Doggett is now trying to get elected in a 70% Hispanic district that stretches from Austin to Mexico. He is running against two Hispanic Dem contenders who are basically saying "don't vote for the anglo, he doesn't care about you". He well could lose and be out of politics just as DeLay planned.
Only $25 a plate? I'm not sitting next to any poor people!
[/MBF]
Lucy - 6 weeks ago I was not optimistic at all. But there has been a cascade of negative news about Bush since then. At this point I don't see how he can dig his way out of it by November or indeed by the end of his life. One by one, major leaders of the Bush Repugs are finding themselves in deep shit, and Bush just keeps getting more and more disconnected from voters. Worse than his father, and that was what got his father tossed.
""Do you mean the flower lupine?"
Robert M. Jeffers"
Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore, da da dum dum dum..."
Lloyd Doggett was the main target of redistricting. The head of the Travis Co. Republican Party said "I don't care if Austin is cut up six ways, I want Lloyd Doggett gone."
He is one of the good guys and has a wicked knowledge of legislative process. He is the anti-Delay.
His web site is here.
After the redistricting fiasco, my one (albeit small) silver lining was that I'm in Lloyd Doggett's new district. It'll be a better silver lining if the man wins. This guy is absolutely worth supporting. He's got a 100% score on his HRC Congressional Scorecard, too. Help screw the rethugs - donate to Doggett! (And I'm heartened to see Doggett signs ALL over Austin, including in front of businesses.)
Jon: NM Legislature is, for the most part, liberal.
Tena: No, not Albuquerque. Bernalillo--which seems even more unlikely. Sandoval County is sandwiched between Albq. and Santa Fe--Albq. is in Bernalillo County, while the Sandoval County seat is in Bernalillo. Anyway...why CAN'T Albuquerque beat Santa Fe to progressive things?
...
Jai?
...
Jai?!...
He's like a little boy or something, he certanly hasdn't found work yet...
the cutest is obviously Kyan. (the first time this has ever been shatnered, we swear) Kyan...Kyan..KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!
But really Ted the Food Guy is both the most practical choice (adorable retro glasses).
Thom is a little heavy (not unforgivable but also not necessarily good) and Carson is...well...fucking scary looking. Like he needs to be the Clothier, to distract from his face (cf Sandra Bernhardt)...
"In a perfect world he'd end up in a small jail cell with a homicidal homosexual roommate and he could really learn what 'cramming it down his throat' is all about."
He'd get used to it real fast, is my guess. Within a week, Delay would be wearing a dress and selling his ass for a pack of Camels.
There will be civil war.
There will be civil war.
conversely, anyone with a brain doesn't consider Tom DeLay to be human, so i guess that about covers it... and having seen that video of him from the SOTU address, i can safely gather that he's also not a steer, either.
DeLay and his cronies who want to do away with the IRS can't unless they managed to either totally stack the Supreme Court to their liking or extort them to their bidding, for some ungodly reason they [the IRS] are nearly bulletproof, which wouldn't be so bad if they didn't often behave as if they were brazenly aware of their untouchability
Actually I think the black issue is of major concern. Rove wants to get at least 20% of the black vote this year. Meanwhile, many black churches are telling people to support Bush and support the FMA. A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, laws to stop gays from having sex, etc. poll quite high among blacks. Many black voters feel disenfranchised and left behind by Democrats. And the GOP is running more black candidates. It's a valid concern for Dems that blacks may leave or stop voting. We shouldn't take their votes for granted. And for whatever reason (I guess they want business contracts), many wealthy Arabs are giving Bush millions and shrugging off his anti-Muslim policies.
I'm not trying to be negative. These are things we should be worried about and take into consideration. We have to fight for each and every vote. We can't assume that everyone thinks as we do just because it's "the right thing".
What the Dems won't say:
Americans have been tolerant of white inbred bigotry for years, but now it's being stuffed down their throats and they don't like it.
Hrmph. I wish I could hear that on CNN.
why oh why hasn't deay died from all the toxins he has use over the years.
Jon - Well, you are from a totally different place then. I work fairly closely with the Legislative Black Caucus here, and I can tell you that no one in the black churches here is being encouraged to vote Republican.
As for the Muslims, I can only offer anecdotal evidence by way of saying that one of my successful Muslim businessman friends, who formerly worked the local Muslim community to raise funds for GOP candidates (and who voted for Bush) started raising those funds for Democrats in 2002. He tells me that Bush has lost at least 90% of the Muslim vote, at least in his local circle, and I believe him. And this is a guy who raised something like $20K for Bush back in 2000. He'll be raising it for the Democrat this time around.
So in my experience, Bush doesn't hold the upper hand with either of these groups. But I agree that neither of them should be taken for granted, which is why I'm continually honing the message.
Bush will win my state over my dead or broken exhausted body. I've registered over 50 new voters so far, and I'll personally be registering at least that many more before November, as well as doing the speaker's bureau circuit. I routinely ask store clerks and others I come into contact with if they are registered and if they aren't, tell them how important it is for their and their kids' futures to register and vote against Bush. Maybe they think I'm obnoxious and nosy, but I don't care - I don't want to miss a single opportunity to turn out a vote against Bush. No way in hell am I going to give up an inch of ground that I don't have to give. And by the way, the connect the dots strategy works with black voters - I've given it a number of test drives. If we all do the same, we can not only win but deliver a crushing humilation to the GOP.
And for whatever reason (I guess they want business contracts), many wealthy Arabs are giving Bush millions and shrugging off his anti-Muslim policies.
Can you provide a source for this statement, Jon?
I heard a recent story about supposed Arab funding and it turned out that the major contributor was not even from this country. And there was no evidence to suggest that significant numbers of Arab-Americans were contributing at all.
Bush and Ashcroft scare most of them to death. They're not voting for Bush.
Jennifer, what state do you live in (if that isn't too personal)? My state is going to Bush no matter what, so I'm giving money to swing states and to gay groups that need help. And I'm thinking about volunteering for House races.
I wish you luck and applaud you for your efforts. I'm glad you live in a state that is not rage and violence.
Jon - I live in - get this - Arkansas.
Forget all the jokes you've heard about the backwards snake-waving Jew-hating fundie rubes here; this state actually can be fairly politically progressive. It's socially conservative but with a huge populist streak. We're the only ones who bucked the trend in 2002 by unseating a GOP incumbent senator and replacing him with a Dem. Not a liberal Dem, but a Dem nonetheless. Our congressional delegation is now 2 Dem Senators, 3 Dem congressmen, and 1 GOP congressman. Not too bad for a socially conservative hellhole backwater, though our neanderthal legislature more than makes up for it.
Bush only won here by 2 or 3 points in 2000, and would not have won at all had Gore done the smart thing and sent Clinton here to work it hard for a couple of weeks - WTF? Did Gore think Clinton was gonna hurt him here of all places? In any case, U of A poll from Jan. 2003 showed Bush with something like 57% approval in the state; by Jan this year it was down to 45% in the same poll. AFL-CIO and a number of other groups have us on the map as a "battleground" state for 2004, so we're getting some $$ to help in the registration and GOTV efforts. Bush is going DOWN here, baby! And as the girl in the horrid Shake-N-Bake ad said, "And I hailped!"
If you want to help out here, our gay rights group, Arkansas Equality Network, could definitely use it (they're helping out with voter reg, BTW). We're one of only 3 or 4 states still trying to get a hate crimes law on the book. The ED for AEN is a good friend of mine - you can reach them at arequality@aol.com.
Chin up, pal. We're gonna win this thing regardless of what they throw at us.
Hooray, Jennifer! I lived in Osceola, taught school there, for a couple of years. It was a pretty Democratic running place then, I think.
I never met Tom Delay.
I never met Tom Delay.
I never met Tom Delay.
Will Rogers | Email | Homepage | 02.20.04 - 9:38 pm | #
LOL!
Will, be thankful. It spared you a lot.
'Christians have been tolerant of Jews for years (well, fifty years, sorta), but now this circumcision thing is being shoved down their throats, and they don't like it...well, actually, it seems quite a few do like it. But anyhow, make it stop.'
That wasn't about cocks. I'm straight. Aren't I?
Rick, how do you get the dog to stop when you've had enough? What do you mean you don't know?
"At this point I don't see how he can dig his way out of it by November or indeed by the end of his life.--Tena"
Wow, it must be nice living in your world. In my world, Bxco is a coup, and these are traitors and felons who have no intention of 'losing' or of facing a loss.
The October surprise is an MTE (major terrorist event) followed by 'polls' showing a sudden great rise in Bx support (rally around the Chief), followed by a skewed Diebold election that puts him back in power.
Then they do the nyeah-nyeah thing from the front door of the WH, the Dems start crying, and the black caucus spontaneously combusts, but the press is around the clock MTE coverage, and 'everyone' agrees it's time to forget 'politics'...and the Constitution, damn liberal rag.
Meanwhile, they kill several thousand more innocent people in the summer 04 'A few more stomps should do it' repression of Iraq. Then the '6 more countries in 4 more years' strategy for total world domination and endless war is called 'reasonable' by Dan Rather and the Stepford's all nod.
And then the draft.
There was a diary a while back on dKos about Morrison, the guy running against Delay. He even has a website called StopTomDelay or something like that. Let's see if I can find the diary. here it is. Oh, the website's called Taking On Tom Delay.
I wonder what the governor of Texas thinks of DeLay's comments.
Is it true that the wife of Texas' Governor just moved out of the mansion after she caught him in bed with someone...the male attorney general???
I've heard this rumor and I really want to get some info on it...does anyone have the polaroid??
Hmmm....it seems to me that if all of the Nader hating "realists" stuck to their guns, they would oopose the idea of gay marriage during an election year as it will undoubtedly be used by Bush as a vote getting tactic. "A vote for queers is a vote for Bush." You're either a triangulator or you aren't.
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