Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Coming Out Swinging

The Obama Campaign is out with a new ad contrasting the President’s “Forward” position on marriage equality to Mitt Romney’s backward thinking.  The spot even includes former Governor Bush to show that Romney is to the right of him.  This ad also shows that the President and the campaign aren’t going to hide from this issue and that they are prepared.

During the ABC News interview the President says he had decided to make his position known before the Democratic National Convention but that Biden forced an earlier announcement:

“He probably got out a little over his skis, but out of generosity of spirit,” Obama said in an interview that aired Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Would I have preferred to have done this in my own way on my own terms without, I think, there being a lot of notice to everybody? Of course. But all’s well that ends well.”

It’s too early to know if this “ends well” politically for the President but the campaign seems to be banking on being on the right side of this issue.  With Romney having to defend his Right flank he’ll have a really hard time not coming across as a flaming bigot.  And since Maggie Gallagher of NOM says her organization is determined to make marriage equality an issue during the election it may not fade into the sunset like Romney might wish it to.  Poor guy, every time he tries to focus on the economy the culture war jumps in.


40 comments

  1. fogiv

    politico, even:

    President Barack Obama’s embrace of same-sex marriage was viewed for so long as such a risky move that operatives in both parties expected it to drop like a bomb, handing Republicans a powerful wedge issue in an election year.

    Instead, it’s landed like a feather.

    Top Republican officeholders went out of their way Thursday try to shift the conversation back to the economy. The GOP’s House and Senate campaign committees practically ignored it. And prominent Republican strategists are warning the party to steer clear of it.

    http://www.politico.com/news/s

  2. fogiv

    (AP) WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A lesbian who sought a North Carolina marriage license with her partner and was rejected under a state law banning same-sex marriage was arrested with another person Thursday after they refused to leave a government office where several gay and lesbian couples were turned away.

    The civil disobedience followed a day after President Barack Obama publicly endorsed same-sex marriage, and two days after North Carolina voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman.

    The protest came amid attempts by a gay rights group, Campaign for Southern Equality, to broaden public support to allow same-sex marriage and more protests are planned in coming days at other county offices in North Carolina that issue marriage licenses

    Nine gay and lesbian couples each presented completed forms and identification to a clerk at the local Register of Deeds office in Winston-Salem, but were refused because state law recognizes only heterosexual couples.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-20

  3. Here’s a charming story Mitt tells (in Newsmax, that liberal rag) about his first encounter with his future wife:

    Mitt first met the beautiful daughter of the mayor of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., at a party given by classmate Cindy White. It was March 21, 1965, just before Ann’s 16th birthday. She was a sophomore at the Kingswood, a private school for girls. He was a senior at Cranbrook, its affiliated all-boy school.

    The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were playing on 45 rpm records. Mitt saw her across the room. He remembered that when he was a Cub Scout in elementary school, he and some other scouts saw Ann riding a horse bareback across a railroad track.

    “What do Cub Scouts do when they see a little girl on a horse?” Mitt says now. “We picked up stones and threw them [at her].”

    [Emphasis added.]

    Here’s the thing: It may or may not be obvious to the average person that throwing rocks at a horse being ridden across railroad tracks, with or without a saddle, is a dumb and dangerous thing to do. Mitt himself rides, so he definitely would be aware of that. At Cub Scout age? It’s jerk behavior, and somehow I doubt that any and every Cub Scout would choose that as their default reaction, but I’ll give him a pass on that; lots of little boys do jerkish things. But he’s telling the story as an adult, without a whisker of remorse or recognition that it was dumb and dangerous; no, it’s just a charming funny story.  And one has to wonder:  which among that pack of boys picked up and hurled the first stone?

    By itself? As irrelevant as Mitt’s defenders insist the haircut story is. As part of an emerging pattern about Romney’s character? Another brick in the wall.  

  4. HappyinVT

    A well-known, openly gay supporter of Mitt Romney in New York has decided to withdraw his support for Romney and back President Barack Obama instead.

    snip

    White said: “I’m looking at the television screen one day and I see my president – whether I’m Republican or Democrat, he is my president…and I’m looking at him doing one thing, one day. And two days later, I’m looking at a guy who I’m supporting for president, and who I want to be my president and who I’ve given my money to, to be president, saying something I didn’t think he would be saying.” [In reference to Rmoney’s commencement address at Liberty University.]

    snip

    “Now, I feel like he’s declared war on my marriage. And I could just sit back and not say anything. Or I could do something about it. And I’ve chosen to do something about it.” http://politicalticker.blogs.c…  

    Unfortunately, the article also mentions that at least one black pastor has decided he cannot support the President because of his stance on marriage equality.  Based on how the President and the campaign are not shying away from the subject it seems they believe the backlash against his stance by former supporters will not hurt his re-election overmuch.

  5. DTOzone

    I’ve read some dumb ass things at DailyKos, but this is the dumb assed of them all;

     It’s all about Europe (1+ / 0-)

    President Obama and his Treasury team were wrong to insist on the integrity of the Eurozone 18 months ago.  The Eurozone, when created, was destined to fail.  It’s always been a question of when.  

    Had it failed 18 months ago, Europe would today be booming, and President Obama comfortably ahead.

    First of all, what difference does it make what Obama says about the Eurozone, its an entirely different continent. Second of all, does anyone really think had it failed in November 2010, we’d all be peaches and cream right now, Europe would be booming and President Obama would be “comfortably ahead”

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