Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Marriage Amend't: Meaningless Sop?
Now that moral conservatives have the upper hand in the mid-term elections, President Bush and Senate Republicans are advocating a ban on homosexual marriages in the form of a marriage amendment to the Constitution. Their efforts to regain their base's strong support would seem more genuine if the amendment has a realistic chance of passage and the Bush and Congressional Republican poll numbers were not in the tank. Reasons for the abysmal ratings are that the Republican base is dissatified with profligate government spending, weak illegal immigration control efforts, and a wearing war in Iraq. Republicans are fortunate in that Democrats appear leaderless and rudderless on national issues and policies. It remains to be seen whether Republicans can hold the House and Senate in their weakened position this fall.
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4 comments:
I think that the Marriage Amendment may have more of a shot than you think. Like war funding, it's easy for Senators to vote against cloture and prevent the vote. A vote against cloture can be spun many ways to indicate that the Senator may still support the bill but has problems with, A, B, or C parts of the bill. An actual vote on passage, however, forces the Senator to lay down his or her cards and make a decision that goes on the record (and in many cases, their opponents campaign ads). I think a Marriage Amendment could also help lay the groundwork for a future pro-life amendment.
But wait! There's already an amendment to the Constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage. It's called the Eighth Amendment, which forbids "cruel and unusual punishment." The way I sees it, the spectacle of perverted "unions" publickly displayed with official sanction for all the world to see, would more than constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" for the rest of us!
Joseph, you may be right as to the actual vote on the marriage amendement. However, today the cloture vote was 49 for and 48 against. Supporters lacked the necessary eleven votes needed to bring the marriage amendement to a vote.
Good one, G! You've hit it. Why should something that makes sense be passed? It almost always has to inconvenience most of us.
I appreciate your sentiment Joseph. Unfortunately, there are too many cowards in congress to do what's right. The republicans are acting like they are the minority. Good grief, get some onions senators!
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