Republican Bigots

Knowing that their big issue -- foreign policy and security -- has gone down the toilet in the bloody sands of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Republican Party has decided to "change the subject" in the words of one senior organizer. They will try to change the subject to that of the Federal Marriage Amendment, the first attempt to exclude a segment of the population through the Constitution. They believe, as Paul Weyrich says in this New York Times report:

""Ninety-nine percent of the president's base will unite behind him if he pushed the amendment. It will cause Mr. Kerry no end of problems."

Not a bad political ploy, I guess, in the heat of a campaign. However, of more interest to me is the way the far right-wing is planning to use this issue to purge the Republican Party of gays and lesbians.

"As for the gay Republicans whose votes Mr. Bush might then lose, Mr. Weyrich wrote, "Good riddance."

As for gay or gay-friendly Republican legislators:

"Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian lobbying group, said, "Social conservatives are looking at this issue so we know who needs to be educated on this issue or removed if that is possible."

Scary McCarthyist stuff.

I suspect the public in November will find it a whole lot easier to just remove Republicans of all sexual orientations.