Paul Babeu, Arizona Sheriff, Allegedly Threatened Gay Mexican Ex-Lover With Deportation (VIDEO)

Paul Babeu, Arizona Sheriff, Allegedly Threatened Gay Mexican Ex-Lover With Deportation (VIDEO) More hypocrisy from the Republican Party

GOP Says Christians Discriminated Against More Than Gays | News | The Advocate

GOP Says Christians Discriminated Against More Than Gays | News | The Advocate

GOP Defends DOMA

From Thinkprogress:

The Offensive Defense

This week, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) released the details of the House's intervention in defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), responding to President Obama's announcement in January that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the law's constitutionality in court. DOMA's Section 3 defines marriage for the federal government as only being between a man and a woman, prohibiting legally married same-sex couples in states like Massachusetts and Iowa from accessing the 1,138 federal benefits of marriage (such as joint tax returns, Social Security spousal benefits, and exemption from the Estate Tax). Binational same-sex couples are also deprived of the opportunity to sponsor the foreign-born partner for a Green Card. This past July, a Federal District Court in Boston ruled the law unconstitutional based on the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. It reads: "No person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." House Republicans will essentially have to argue that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals do not deserve due process; they are willing to spend a lot of taxpayer money to do it and the end result might actually end up being the exact opposite of what they hope to accomplish.

CONSERVATIVE MOTIVES: Last week's "defending marriage" hearing provided an introduction for what kind of defense the Republicans will mount. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) has said he would support impeaching Obama and defunding the DOJ over the DOMA decision and he used last week's hearing to reiterate his rebuke of the President. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) joined Franks in reiterating the lie that children are only best served by having opposite-sex parents, echoed by the testimony of two prominent anti-gay figures, Maggie Gallagher and Ed Whelan. Though the law cannot be defended without reinforcing animus against same-sex couples' relationships, almost every GOP potential presidential candidate has offered their own support for defending DOMA, including Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann,Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney. Boehner responded to a letter from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that he even thinks funding should be reclaimed from the DOJ to support the House's defense of the bill, writing, "Obviously, DOJ's decision results in DOJ no longer needing the funds it would have otherwise expended defending the constitutionality of DOMA. It is my intent that those funds be diverted to the House for reimbursement of any costs incurred by and associated with the House, and not DOJ, defending DOMA." And how much will it cost? The legal contract suggests a cap of $500,000, but a realistic assessment of DOMA's defense suggests the half million is more likely a minimum than a maximum.

THE SECRET CONTRACT: Without including Democrats in the negotiations, the House's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) arranged a contract with former Solicitor General Paul Clement, who now earns $5 million a year at the law firm of King & Spaulding. The contract calls for a "blended rate" of $520/hour (as opposed to Clement's usual $900+/hr rates), but even at that rate, $500,000 will not go far considering there are 12 different cases pending against DOMA. Good thing the spending cap can be raised "by written agreement." In addition to the unrealistic cost estimates, the contract contains other concerns. Noticeably absent from the contract's nondiscrimination statement are protections for "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," despite the fact K&S boasts of their support for LGBT employees on their website. Even more conspicuous is a gag rule for all K&Semployees regarding advocacy for or against DOMA. According to the contract, "Partners and employees who do not perform services pursuant to this Agreement will not engage in lobbying or advocacy for or against any legislation ... that would alter or amend in any way the Defense of Marriage Act and is pending before either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate or any committee of either body during the term of the Agreement." Pelosi is still waiting for answers to her many questions about how the contract was negotiated so that Democrats can provide proper oversight.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED: Since President Bill Clinton enacted DOMA in 1996, the political landscape and public opinion have shifted in support of marriage equality. Multiple recent polls have shown that a majority of Americans now support full marriage equality for same-sex couples. Five states and the District of Columbia now offer same-sex marriages, with several more offering same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships. Plenty of Republicans like Dick Cheney and Meghan McCain have voiced their support of marriage equality. In February, a Maryland senator flipped tosupporting same-sex marriage after hearing the "troubling" testimony "demonizing" gay families. A Colorado senator who recently voted against civil unions is now reconsidering his position. No defection has been more remarkable than that ofLouis Marinelli, who organized the National Organization for Marriage's (NOM) 2010 "Summer for Marriage Tour" and managed much of their online outreach. Now an open supporter of marriage equality, Marinelli is speaking outagainst NOM, and even though NOM is distancing themselves, they are also apparently taking legal action against him. While there is much to condemn Republican House leaders for about their defense of DOMA, their efforts could well have the opposite effect. By inviting the spotlight upon their animus, they will raise visibility for the continued plight of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans and likely promote the very trend of supporting marriage equality they oppose.

The Shrinking Republican Party

Sen. Arlen Specter has finally switched to the Democratic Party

While his defection is good news for the Democratic Party, it is not clear he will help pass Obama's progressive agenda on health care and other issues. He will probably side with "Blue Dog" DemoCons.

His defection is a reminder that the Republican Party continues to contract, especially outside the South, and that it appears increasingly less welcome to politicians and voters who do not consider themselves solidly conservative. Northeast Republicans have gone from an endangered species to a nearly extinct species. Republicans lost ground in the Rocky Mountains and the Midwest in the last two elections. That's no way to build a national party.

The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll shows the depth of the party's problems. Just 21 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as Republicans. That's the lowest since the fall of 1983, when just 19 percent identified themselves as Republicans. Party identification does fluctuate with events. But as a snapshot indicator, the latest figures highlight the impact of Obama's opening months on the Republican Party. From a high-water mark of 35 percent in the fall of 2003, Republicans have slid steadily to their present state of affairs.

It's hard to see how the Republican Party will become a majority party by denying science, global warming, siding with religious fanatics, supporting and defending torture, and promoting hatred of Barack Obama.

Obama's Big 100 Days Accomplishment: The Defection of Arlen Specter

McCain/GOP Have Double Democratic Cash!

Here's why Barack Obama should NOT be wasting his time helping Hillary Clinton pay off her $20 million debt!

Republicans Have Double Democratic Cash

McCain is sitting on $97 milllion!

The McCain campaign and Republican Party have nearly $95 million cash on hand combined for use in the presidential race, campaign manager Rick Davis said Thursday. He said the McCain camp had more than $27 million, and the Republican National Committee has more than $67 million.
And, they're planning on $400 million -- including the $85 million from the public finance system:
Davis said he hopes the campaign and party will be able to raise an additional $95 million by the end of the summer. Including the matching funds, he estimated the campaign would have a total $400 million budget through Election Day.

As pointed out on AmericaBlog, McCain and the GOP are a huge financial advantage over Obama and the Democratic party.

Thanks to Hillary Clinton, the RNC and McCain got a head start on raising money for the general election, and now she wants Obama to help pay her debts instead of raising money to beat John McCain????

McCain Wins FL, Giuliani Drops Out, Endorses McCain, Hillary won?

John McCain Wins the FL GOP Primary, with 36% of the vote, he gets all 57 delegates, making him the new GOP frontrunner! Even the conservative pundits on MSNBC (Matthews and Scarbourough) squirmed at the thought of McCain being the GOP nominee (McCain says we will loose more jobs, and have more wars!).

Rudy Giuliani Concedes and is ready to drop out and is expected to endorse McCain Wednesday.

Now the GOP is divided between McCain ("the Maverick") and the social conservatives "Multiple-Mitt" Romney and Mike Huckabee.
Did McCain win by Gay Baiting Romney?
A McCain robo-call reminded voters that Mitt Romney supported "special rights" for gays:
"Mitt Romney thinks he can fool us. He supported abortion on demand, even allowed a law mandating taxpayer-funding for abortion. He says he changed his mind, but he still hasn't changed the law. He told gay organizers in Massachusetts he would be a stronger advocate for special rights than even Ted Kennedy. Now, it's something different."
I guess that blows McCain getting a Log Cabin Republican endorsement again... doesn't it?

Hillary "won" the Democratic Primary, but because FL Democrats violated DNC rules, the votes don't count and she gets NO delegates, but the Clinton campaign threw a big party anyway to try to make up for Obama's S.C. win and the Kennedy endorsements...

Huckabee Gaining Support of the Confederate in S.C.

Conferedate Group Airs Ads Supporting Mike Huckabee

"Americans for the Preservation of American Culture" are running ads in South Caroline praising GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for his "pro state's rights" position on the confederate flag, and attacking his Republican rivals, John McCain and Mitt Romney, who called the confederate flag a symbol of racism.


On a related topic, Huckabee told a Michigan audience that the U.S. Constitution should be amended to support "God's standards" and in an interview on Beliefnet.com, Huckabee Equated Homosexuality with Bestiality again:

QUESTIONER: Is it your goal to bring the Constitution into strict conformity with the Bible? Some people would consider that a kind of dangerous undertaking, particularly given the variety of biblical interpretations.
HUCKABEE: Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal. Again, once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again. I think the radical position is to make a change in what’s been historic.

Before we start cheering Huckabee's nomination as the GOP candidate, let's consider the real possibility that he could win a general election!

Guess what, Huckabee has Pulled even with McCain in S.C.!

Doug Ireland explains why we should not dismiss Huckabee's chances of winning the GOP nomination: Beware the Huckabasher

GOP Candidates Support Anti-Gay Discrimination

During Wednesdays CNN/You Tube GOP Presidential Debate, all the Republican candidates expressed their support of the military's discriminatory "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. Retired brigadier general Keith Kerr, who served 43 years in the military, asked the question:
"I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians." The audience booed him! All of the GOP candidates reaffirmed their support of the policy which does not allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, though none gave reasonable explanations to justify their position. The right-wingnuts accused Gen. Kerr of being a plant by the Hillary Clinton campaign since he is part of her LGBT steering committee, while the Clinton campaigned denied being behind Kerr's question.
Right-Wingers are so good at changing the subject and diverting attention away from real issues.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign has asked the Democratic candidates what they would do to end the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy.
John Edwards
Chris Dodd
Joe Biden
Barack Obama
and
Hillary Clinton
have all pledged to work to end the anti-gay policy.

Trent Lott Resigns: Another Sex Scandal?

Senate Minority Whip, and former Senate Majority Leader, Trent Lott (R-MS) announced he is resigning from Congress, just in time to avoid new ethics rules about lobbying after he leaves office. Or, could it be because he had a sexual relationship with a hot gay male escort Benjamin Nicholas? Read more about it on BigHead DC. Or maybe it was becausehis brother-in-law and nephew have been indicted for bribery !

Dem. House Passes ENDA/GOP Panders to Christian Right

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) The vote was 235-185, mostly along party lines. The Bill (HR 3685) did not include gender identity so it does not protect transgender people from discrimination. The bill divided the gay community and civil rights groups. The HRC supported the bill withouth gender identity, while the NGLTF and Stonewall Democrats led a coalition to include gender identity. Democratic leaders in the House, including Rep. Barney Frank, decided to bring the bill to a vote without gender identity and offer an amendment to add it. The amendment, offered by Tammy Baldwin, was withdrawn because of the lack of votes to pass it. So it's a mixed deal. After 30 years, ENDA has finally passed the House. Even if the Senate passes it, Bush will probably veto it. With the passage of the Hate Crime bill and ENDa, the Democrats in Congress have fulfilled part of their promises to the gay community, and will also probably pass a "military readiness" bill to overturn the "don't ask don't tell" policy prohibiting gays from serving openly in the U.S. military.

The GOP tried to kill the bill by arguing that it would legalize gay marriage (?) and tried to adjourn the House to stop the vote.

Those gay Republicans who continue to argue that the Democrats never deliver on their promises to the gay community are lying.. as usual. In the meantime, the Republican Presidential candidates continue to ignore the gay community and are pandering for the endorsements of the anti-gay Christian Right. Pat Robertson has endorsed Guilianni, Sam Brownback has endorsed John McCain and the Paul Weyrich has endorsed Mitt Romney. The GOP continues its march towards Fascism.

GOP Courts Christian Right

None of the GOP Presdidential candidates would appear at the Human Rights Campaign/LOGO forum to discuss gay issues, but they did climb all over themselves to appear at the ant-gay Family Research Councils' Values Voters Summit" this weekend. Most of the candidates tried to reinforce conservative doubts about Rudy Guiliani, who in the past has had moderate views and positions on abortion and gay rights. "Multiple-Mitt" Romney, a former supporter of gay rights who claimed he would be more supportive of gay rights than Edward Kennedy when he ran for the Senate, is now championing the radical right's anti-gay agenda. In fact, all of the GOP candidates seem to be competing for the most ant-gay award. The Christian Right is not too happy with the leading GOP candidates, especially Giuliani, and their favorite candiate, Sam Brownback, has dropped out of the race because of his extreme positions. However, all of the remaining candidates (except libertarian Ron Paul) have been pandering to the Christian Right because they cannot win without the support of the base of the Republican Party. Some may see the predicament off the Christian Right as good for gays ("Values Voters" Anarchy Good News for Gays">, but even Giuliani is promising to support the Christian Right's agenda, including appointment of federal judges like Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts, and has distanced himself from gay rights and now tells the Family Research Center that he would support a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriages. The danger of Giuliani is that he can appeal to the anti-gay Christian Right and "moderate" voters, making him the GOP's best chance of winning in 2008. The bad news is that he can probably beat Hillary Clinton, who appears to be the Democratic candidate for 2008.

The GOP and the Christian Right

The Christian Reich base of the Republican Party is throwing a temper tantrum! A group the conservative Christian leaders meet over the weekend and are threatening to support a third party if the GOP nominates a pro-choice candidate (i.e, Rudi Giuliani).
Maybe they should save John McCain's faltering campaign. In an interview on Beliefnet, the Arizone Republican presidential candidate said that he would prefer a Christian president to lead the U.S., and that "the Constitution established the United States as a Christian nation" ! Evidently McCain has not read the U.S. Constitution, which does not even mention Christianity or god! The Constitution estabished a SECULAR government that forbids (a) religious tests for candidates and (b) the "establishment of religion"! Another reason John McCain should NOT be president!

Bush Approval Rating Sinks but Will it Help Dems in 08?

George Bush's approval rating has sunk to 28% according to a new Newsweek Poll, and it seems to be dragging down the whole GOP. The poll also shows every Democratic candidate beating the Republicans in 2008. However, Hillary Clinton seems to be the one hope the Republicans have of winning. She does worse than any other Democratic candidate, barely edging out a Republican opponent. So why is she the leading Democratic candidate among Democrats?

"The NEWSWEEK Poll finds each of the leading Democratic contenders beating the Republican frontrunners in head-to-head matchups....

"Though the New York senator and former first lady aims to project an aura of inevitability that she will win the Democratic nomination, Obama beats the leading Republicans by larger margins than any other Democrat: besting Giuliani 50 to 43 percent, among registered voters; beating McCain 52 to 39 percent, and defeating Romney 58 percent to 29 percent.

"Like Obama, Edwards defeats the Republicans by larger margins than Clinton does: the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee outdistances Giuliani by six points, McCain by 10 and Romney by 37, the largest lead in any of the head-to-head matchups. Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton wins 49 percent to 46 percent against Giuliani, well within the poll’s margin of error; 50 to 44 against McCain; and 57 to 35 against Romney.

"Where Clinton remains the undisputed champ is among Democrats. When matched against her main rivals for the Democratic nomination, Clinton is the choice of 51 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters over Obama’s 39 percent; and she defeats Edwards 57 percent to 38 percent. Obama has not substantially narrowed Clinton’s lead since the early March NEWSWEEK poll, where he trailed Clinton by 14 points. Edwards has narrowed Clinton’s lead over him though. Back in March Edwards trailed Clinton by 31 points; now her lead is down to 19 points."

Wake up Dems! We have a good chance of winning in 2008, but NOT with Hillary Clinton! Her negatives are too high among most voters, especially independents and "swing voters" and she would probably loose in the general election because of all her baggage (i.e., "hillary health care", Bill and Monica, etc.) Many Democrats I know even say THEY will not vote for her! Our best chance is a new face, like Obama or Edwards.

Bush/GOP Pander to Christo-Fascists

The U.S. House passed the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act" Today, and the White House wasted no time dismissing the law and threatening a Presidential Veto, Bush's 3rd Veto in his two terms. The Republicans are pandering to the anti-gay Christo-fascists (Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Focus on the Family, etc.) who do not want ANY government recognition of the civil rights of gays and lesbians which would legitimate our citizenship in the United States. Amazingly, many religious fundamentalists, including a group of African-American pastors, are actively opposing including gays and lesbians in the hate crime law arguing that the law would impose upon their freedom to preach against homosexuality! James Dobson's Focus on the Family and other anti-gay extremist groups have been spreading a BIG LIE that the hate crimes law would outlaw their religious beliefs and freedom to speak against homosexuality. (The law explicitly defends freedom of speech, and only applies to cases in which CRIMES are committed against individuals based on the gender identity or sexual orientation!)

(BTW, the Memphis CBS station, WREG CH. 3, ran a story last night in which they repeated much of the anti-gay religious opposition to the bill without giving any FACTS about the bill. Most of the story was an interview with a black preacher who opposed equating homosexuality with civil rights, and said the law would prohibit him from preaching against homosexuality. That was a LIE. WREG gave NO factual information about what the bill actually said, and gave only a few short minutes to local gay activist Herb Zeman who was not able to counter all the misinformation in the story.) I think we need to contact their station to point out how biased the story was and how they failed to inform the public of the FACTS about the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act!)

If you could not stomach watching the first Republican debate tonight on MSNBC, here's an excerpt in which Tommy Thompson says it is OK for employers to FIRE someone just for being gay!
Republican Debate: Thompson Says Employers Should Allowed to Fire Gays
And as expected, the leading GOP candidates pandered to the religious extremist base of the Republican Party by opposing abortion and gay rights, and each supported the illegal Bush invasion and occupation of Iraq. While they supported the impeachment of Bill Clinton, none were asked about whether they would support the impeachment of Bush and Cheney for their crimes. To learn more about the REAL Republican candidates, check out the DNC Report on the Republican Candidates

Mission Impossible

It's the Fourth Anniversary of George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech, and he continues to lie. Today he vetoed the funding bill Congress sent to him because it included a "nonbinding" resolution with a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops in a year. Using Orwellian logic, Bush and the GOP are accusing the Democrats of witholding funds to the military and U.S. troops, even though it is BUSH who is blocking the funding bill, NOT the Democrats.

Following the Karl Rove/GOP playbook, Rudy Giuliani warned that if the Democrats win in 2008, they will retreat from the "war on terrorism" and put the U.S. on the defensive rather than an offensive position on the "war on terror." How can Bush and the GOP keep getting away with this BIG LIE. Do we have to remind them and the American people that it was BUSH and the GOP who allowed the terrorist attack on 9/11 to take place? Richard Clarke and several other former members of the Bush adminstration have testified that BUSH did not even discuss terrorism before 9/11! Cheney's terrorism task force NEVER MET! Bush ignored repeated warnings from the intelligence community about a terrorist attack. BUSH, was the President almost a year before 9/11 and HE failed to protect and defend the U.S., and he has used 9/11 and the perpetual "war on terror" to gain "political capital." Bush and the GOP have weakened the U.S. military, and have aided the growth of terrorism world wide. Terrorism has INCREASED in Iraq since the illegal U.S. invasion and occupation. Bush is a LIAR. He has used the military and U.S. troops and they have paid the price for his incompetence.

Mission Accomplished.