Just when you think they GOP could not stoop any lower in how it treats gays and lesbians, they do it again. The Republican National Committee confessed that it was behind a mailing sent out in West Virginia and Arkansas that stated if the "liberals" took power, the Bible would be banned and gay men would be allowed to marry.
In a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tries to play dumb to the whole affair:
Q Scott, the RNC sent out letters to voters in two states saying that liberals want to ban the Bible. Does that include John Kerry, in President Bush's view?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know -- I haven't seen what they sent out, so you might want to talk to the RNC.
Q It's all over the wires and in the paper.
MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen what they sent out. I like to know more about what it says than just going by what's in the news accounts.
Q You haven't seen the stories?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I saw the stories, but I don't know what it says.
Q But does he think that John Kerry wants to ban the Bible?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think you need to address questions to the RNC about the flyers that they put out. I don't know what they put out.
Q But on principle, does the President think John Kerry wants --
MR. McCLELLAN: That's an end around to try to talk about what the RNC put out. I don't know exactly what they put out.
Q Could we ask you about that later in the day, after you've had a chance to look at it?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- refer those questions to the RNC. You know what the President's views are. He stated them very clearly.
Q Does the President think Democrats want to ban the Bible?
MR. McCLELLAN: That was an end around to talk about this RNC -- what the RNC put out.
Q It's a direct question.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, you're asking in the context of what the RNC put out.
Q The question --
MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen what the RNC put out. And the President has never made such an assertion, so you know that that's not something he has made an assertion about. You know what the President's view are.
Okay what are the President's views? I mean, this is the guy that supported the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment, has allowed his adminstration to rollback worker protections for gays in the government and said nothing as the GOP Platform committee wrote the most anti-gay platform ever.
The White House can look innocent in this, but they are not. They stood by while the RNC produced this filth.
The official GOP has made it clearly known that they are no longer the party of freedom and equality. That was the hallmark of the party from its inception, through Lincoln and until very recently. Now it has become the party of bigotry and intolerance.
This is a big deal, because it didn't come from an independent political group. It came from the Republican party, one of two major parties in our nation. The GOP is now officially saying that they are against gays, no longer using their lackeys to do their work.
For me, the fight for equality in the GOP is now more important than ever. We can't have one major party that is against gays. Voters will not always vote for Democrats and we have to make sure that when the GOP is chosen, that it is a tolerant party and not one that seems ready to send gays and lesbians like myself to the gallows.
Posted by Dennis at September 25, 2004 11:00 PMHello i am a liberal Democrat in my heart, but a moderate in my political views for obvioius reasons. My feeling is that if a political contender can crack the base of the republican party, they can win. Like in 1992 Pero's ideas brought over alot of Republicans, I would like to try to come up with a new message that would bring the moderate republicans over. Your party is going far right and you know it, I do not know a lot about the Republican Party, but i figure there are 3 main parts. First, the taxation republicans, who main concern is taxation, most of these people are very moderate in their views, but taxation is their main conceren. Second is the Religious right, which is just stupid, they vote pro-life, but they support a candidate who is pro-war, pro-death penalty, so i figure that is not a part that i can lure over. Finally is the south white male with racism and the NRA all over him, again that is a lost cause. What policy would be good to try to bring the taxation republicans over, flat tax, two tax fair tax system. One more thing, how can you ba a black male and vote republican, remember back in 60's during civil rights, Nixon said i support states rights, that meant no civil rights for you, and the party has never changed, the south was democrat until civil rights, now its republican, and its not for taxation reasons.
Posted by: Dane Ziemba at September 29, 2004 11:33 AMThose damn liberals. Conspiring to BAN the Bible, my God! That's disgusting.
I wouldn't be surprised if the conspiracy is even more widespread than the RNC knows. The Greens are part of this too I bet - and the Nader supporters.
What I really want to know though - is if liberal Republicans have been sucked into this conspiracy.
If they have, we may as well kiss this country goodbye.
Posted by: dorsano at September 26, 2004 12:20 AM