Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

John Kriesel took a stand…

John Kriesel (R) took a stand in Minnesota. I applaud his efforts, as a Republican. As a human being. As a lawmaker. He did the right thing to stand against folks who would deny folks the right to marry and choose their own lives. He did the right thing. He stood against a tide that shames us all.

Crossposted to The Suicidal Cactus Hour

John gave for his country. He lost both of his legs serving this country. That he can physically stand now, despite his injuries shows a bit about his spirit and determination. That he stood against the Republican House in Minnesota shows it again. He served his country in Kosovo and again in Iraq, and now he serves us again by standing against blind bigotry. I don’t care what your party affiliation is, I hope that you can see the courage that he displayed in standing for what this nation symbolizes.

If you truly believe that being gay is so terribly different that folks who are gay can’t feel the same things that hetrosexuals feel for their partners, then, by all means, demand that your ministry deny homosexuals the right to marry within your church.

To demand that that ALL churches, ministries, and faiths do the same, then you have lost sight of the freedom of religion, and the freedom to choose your own path. You invite the government into your bedrooms, you invite all sorts of meddling. That is not a Republican value, it is not a Conservative value, and I, for one, would really like these radicals to GTFO of my damn party, because your blindness and short sightedness is a symptom of what ails this country. The need to meddle. The need interfere. The need to stick your nose in other folks’ business.

Northampton, Massachusetts has embraced gay marriage. It is a quiet little college town. The worst that has happened has been that gay couples can plan their weddings, buy their dresses and tuxes, and walk their dogs and get on with the business of living a life. Not a life that is drenched in sin, not a life that full of radicalism, but a normal life. Full of arguments, full of laughter, full of hopes, full of small tragedies, simply full of all the things that they watched their own parents go through.

Denying folks the right to marry makes them into a special class. It creates an inequality that drives folks to action, action that makes some folks uncomfortable.

Gay couples want only one thing: to be treated normally. To have the freedom to make the same dumb mistakes, to pick up their sweetie at the hospital, to share in the hopes and fears, and all the rest that goes with married life, that is sometimes grand, sometimes scary, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes amazing, sometimes terrifying, and at all times it is the dream to share a life. To be. Nothing more. Not different. Not strange. Just to be who they are, with someone who loves them.

Don’t like them? You’re not marrying them. I’m not a fan of the asshats who use their religion as a shield from knowledge, but I’m not going to deny them the same rights as everyone else. I don’t care what folks do in the damn bedroom, and I don’t assume that MY life is the model for others. Live your lives, folks. But stop demanding that everyone else follow your path.

This is a fundamental issue. It IS about being treated “special” and I would like to see us stop treating our brethren and sistren as something special. They are folks. No better. No worse. Equal treatment under the law. No special “commitment ceremony” because “separate but equal” has no place in this country.

(John Kriesel at Walter Reed)

I am a Republican. I do not stand for treating folks as special classes. I don’t do not stand for imposing others’ will on our bedrooms. I do not stand for invasion of privacy, and I do not stand for imposing others’ religious views on our fellow citizens. If you can truly do these things, and try to call yourselves “Republicans” then you have no idea what the Republic actually stands for, and I would love it if you left the party, and not let it hit your fanny on the way out.

(John Kriesel, age 25)

It is a disgrace. It is shameful. It is more than time to stand against this sort of disgrace to the nation and our people.


28 comments

  1. sricki

    of a breed I have never known here in Alabama, born under Reagan and growing up under Bushes. I think I would have drifted leftward politically no matter what, but if I’d had your kind of Republicanism modeled for me as a child, I think the shift would have been far less dramatic.

  2. I respect your intellect and your stance on many issues, but if you truly believe what you wrote here then you are suffering from some serious cognitive dissonance. If you truly believe the things you said here and still call yourself a Republican then you have no idea what the Republican Party stands for, and they would love it if you left the party.

    I am a Republican. I do not stand for treating folks as special classes. I don’t do not stand for imposing others’ will on our bedrooms. I do not stand for invasion of privacy, and I do not stand for imposing others’ religious views on our fellow citizens. If you can truly do these things, and try to call yourselves “Republicans” then you have no idea what the Republic actually stands for, and I would love it if you left the party, and not let it hit your fanny on the way out.

  3. fogiv

    shamed those motherfuckers. Very powerful. Somehow, some way he’ll be rewarded for being on the right side of history.

  4. Jjc2008

    I know a few republicans who these days are more likely to vote democratic than anything. I ask them why they remain republican.  I simply do not get what the appeal is.

    It’s easy for me to appreciate and see how decent human beings should and would call the right out on it’s blatant hypocrisy.   In that world, the ones screaming about too much government, want government to control women’s bodies and everyone’s sexual preference.

    But there are other things that are so pervasive on the right, in the republican party.  More and more I see a party that wants “their” version of theocracy.  They fear monger over Sharia Law (as if that’s actually potentially happening somewhere in this country), yet they themselves continually are pushing that government has a duty to promote their form of Christianity as law.  

    As a veteran of forty years in public education, and despite the spin of the right and the corporates who see dollar signs on the heads of children, I do not get why the republican party thinks that privatization, or charters, or whatever are some magic bullet.   Yet, the republican “schools should be run like businesses” meme seems to rule the party.   WHY?  It’s connected to being a decent human being, raising tolerant, knowledgable citizens.  Public schools work hard (not always succeeding but trying to head in the right direction…except in TX of course) to teach children to NOT discriminate; to not base judge others based on anyone’s religion.  Yet, many of the moderates want to end public education because they fear an educated, knowledgeable, electorate.

    And please tell me how Grover Nordquist, a non elected person has so much power over the party.  As long as republicans are signing pledges to this man, I have a problem.   Elected officials are supposed to uphold the constitution, not the desire of some trust fund dolt whose greed should deter him, not empower him.

    I want to believe there are some common sense brokers in the republican party worth saving. I just don’t see them.

    Cantor wants to hold back emergency funds and use the tragedies of states to win political points

    This guy was impressive and is sadly an anomaly.    

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