Posted on 04/01/2006 5:17:01 PM PST by Graybeard58
I t was just last week that the New Hampshire House overwhelmingly rejected an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state's constitution. But that's by no means the last that residents of this or any other state will hear of the issue. This week Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate renewed their push for a similar amendment to the federal constitution.
What's striking about the 16-page paper released by the Senate's Republican Policy Committee is that it could have been written for a readership of one: Sen. John McCain.
The last time the Senate took up a marriage amendment, in 2004, McCain was hailed as a hero by the Log Cabin Republicans, a group dedicated to protecting the civil rights of gays and lesbians. One comment in particular was heavily quoted and survives in countless internet search results. Speaking on the Senate floor, McCain called the amendment "antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans."
It was a legitimate quote, reflecting the broader position McCain laid out: that the amendment "usurps from the states a fundamental authority they have always possessed." This opinion was echoed by several other Republican senators, including New Hampshire's John Sununu. When Senate leaders tried to proceed to a final vote, they mustered only 48 supporters - well shy of the 67 required to advance a constitutional amendment.
But other parts of McCain's speech bear revisiting as well. He made clear his personal opposition to gay marriage. And while he urged likeminded citizens to take their concerns to their state legislatures, the speech was full of rhetorical hedges -"thus far,""at this time,""there really is insufficient reason"- whenever he discounted the alleged threats to marriage cited by the amendment's supporters. All of which set up the following:
"If," McCain said, "the Supreme Court of the United States rejects the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional; if state legislatures are frustrated by the decisions of jurists in more states than one, and if state remedies to such judicial activism fail; and finally, if a large majority of Americans come to perceive that their communities'values are being ignored and other standards concerning marriage are being imposed on them against their will, and that elections and state legislatures can provide no remedy, then, and only then, should we consider, quite appropriately, amending the Constitution of the United States."
Well, two years later, the Republican Policy Committee, which is chaired by McCain's fellow Arizonan, Sen. John Kyl, argues that even though McCain's preconditions have yet to be met, all of them are inevitable if Congress fails to act. The committee paper depicts an army of social engineering lawyers determined to advance gay marriage one state at a time with the complicity of state and federal judges prepared to override the majority of citizens.
"Congress can either send an amendment to the states," the policy paper concludes, "or it can allow the courts to impose same-sex marriage nationwide."
McCain need not and hopefully will not buy this specious argument. On the other hand, recent news reports that McCain will be the commencement speaker at Liberty University in May included Chancellor Jerry Falwell's assertion that McCain would support a federal amendment given a noxious enough court ruling.
That McCain is even going to Falwell's campus reflects the dynamics of the 2008 presidential campaign, in which McCain seeks a broader base of Republican support than he enjoyed in 2000. The same dynamics will be at work when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has his own presidential ambitions, brings the marriage amendment to the floor later this year.
Frist, who was already an advocate of the amendment two years ago, may be hoping McCain remains opposed. At this time, it would seem Frist has insufficient reason to be sure.
The last time the Senate took up a marriage amendment, in 2004, McCain was hailed as a hero by the Log Cabin Republicans
What a coveted endorsement. LOL!
McCain has no 'wiggle-room' left. He pulled the noose tightly around his own neck come '08 with his crack-brained amnesty plan.
The mechanic who works on my car said that "I'd rather vote for Saddam Hussein than John McCain for President." Well, I'd never go that far, but I could never vote for the guy either, not only on this issue but many others.
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