In the immediate aftermath of Republican losses in the 2006 midterm elections, Ken Mehlman announced his resignation from the chairmanship of the Repubilcan National Committee. It is commonplace in politics for leaders of such organizations to resign in the face of electoral defeat.
Two weeks ago today, citizens in three states approved amendments to their respective constitutions to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Nearly every gay group across the nation rallied to defeat these ballot measures. This was not the first time they had failed to sway voters.
Only one leader of gay organization committed to defeating such initiatives has stepped down since November 4. (That leader is the head of the only national gay Republican organization.)
Instead of clearing the decks and making way for new leadership and new strategies, the other national gay organizations (as those in the Golden State) are retaining their current leadership and have so far given no indication that they intend to develop a new strategy to promote their agenda.
Since the institution of marriage involves assuming certain responsibilities in order to receive benefits from the state, shouldn’t gay organizations show their understanding of this concept by taking some responsibility for their failure to defeat these propositions?
I think those groups are too prideful to ever admit their tactics don’t work. They could easily change the tide in their favor by addressing the concerns of ambivalent evangelicals like myself, such as the judicial/constitutional processes involved and the history of heterosexual marriage. (In other words, by doing just what you say.) When there is nothing but contempt for the concerns of traditionalists, why should traditionalists bother to be open-minded?
The power of the religious right is so much more limited than gay rights groups imagine. People like me don’t take orders from Jim Dobson or Pat Robertson. But if GLBT groups are going to treat all people like me as if we are, we’re not going to be intimidated into going along with what the GLBT groups want.
The GLBT movement is creating enemies for itself unnecessarily. Young straight Christians like myself can really be the voters that swing things the other way. But if the GLBT movement is going to be a bitter, caustic voice that won’t even listen to concerns that people like me have, they will continue to be counterproductive in their cause. Ultimately, I think it’s the GLBT movement’s hateful tone, not the sex, that is keeping so many Americans voting the way they do.
I thought I heard that Joe Solomese was leaving. Do you know if he is? I agree with you that they definitely need to clean house. The leadership, if you can call it that, has been truly pathetic.
One can only hope.
Ugh, I hope not, if for no other reason than the only other place he could go is into the Federal government, and anything he does there can affect a whole lot more people.
HRC deserves what they have.
I’ve never spent much time involved with gay rights issues as a straight guy with very few friends or family members that happen to be openly gay. recently however, I’ve found myself strongly against the attempts of the religious right to prohibit marriage between gays.
I took action a little over a week ago in an attempt to wake up the Republican Party with regard to the same-sex marriage debate. On the RebuildTheParty.com forum set up as a place to brainstorm and discuss ideas of how to rebuild the Republican Party, I posted the following idea.
Separation of Marriage and State
http://ideas.rebuildtheparty.com/pages/general/suggestions/66509
I’m hoping I can find support amongst a diverse set of people to back such an idea in order to bring it to the forefront in coming elections.
Taking responsibility? Are you kidding? Left-wingers never take responsibility for their failures.
As I’ve said before, left wingers base their politics on the assumption that they are a better breed of human being. All the flies in the ointment are because of unpleasant, inferior others.
As an example, let me bring up a leader of the anti-Prop 102 effort in Arizona, Jim Burroway. Jim is the owner of the Box Turtle Bulletin site.
I alerted you, GPW, that I had quoted you in a post at BTB, but warned you would have to wait to see it: As I said yesterday, I have been placed on moderation for disagreeing with his friend and fellow blogger Tim Kincaid. (Kincaid accused me of making a “straw-man” argument against Burroway and himself and threatened me with moderation; when I defended myself… I ended up on moderation!)
Well, if you visit BTB today you’ll find my comment is still awaiting moderation. This isn’t a good sign. Just what did that was unacceptable?
Timothy Kincaid’s criticized a wedding guest soley on the basis of his being a Mormon:
In response I wrote,
A truly terrible comment, no?
I then decided to add the following statement:
I then proceeded to quote from the essay “Once Again…”
Apparently all of this is just too far beyond civil discussion for Burroway, Kincaid, and the rest at BTB.
If gay-marriage activists like Burroway and Kincaid can’t tolerate criticism like the above, how can they be expected to look at themselves for the failure of gay marriage efforts. To them all opposition to same-sex marriage is anti-homosexual bigotry and that’s that.
Hey, I LOVE THIS BLOG. Just left a question on the Box Turtle Bulletin after reading your post (under the name Boh). Check it out! Keep up the good work Patriots!
You could catch a liberal red-handed simultaneously shredding stolen top secret national security documents, stealing money from taxpayers, funneling contracts to their spouse’s business, soliciting foreign campaign contributions while receiving oral sex from an intern he then kills by drunk-driving said intern off a bridge into a pond and they still wouldn’t resign!
You are forgetting the entire premise of liberalism: no personal responsibility for anyone except Republicans.
AE,
Personal responsibility requires a code of ethics.
Nancy Pelosi promised the most ethical Congress in history. Based on the Democrat code of ethics, she was telling the truth and her “truth” is growing.
Traditional responsibility, morality and code of ethics lack nuance, hope, change and flexibility of the moment. We need to be much more like the UN where there is no one better to watch the henhouse than the fox himself. Everything is torture and there are no standards of decency, but watch what you say. That is the world of today.
Get with program.