moderates

Defending Marriage: What Comes Next?

Calvin Freiburger conservatism, Constitution, constitutional amenments, gay marriage, GOP, homosexuality, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, judicial activism, marriage, moderates, Republican Party, RINOs, social issues

With another judge attacking marriage in California, the next question is where we go from here. Higher courts will review the decision, of course, but whatever they decide, you can be sure the legal challenges to state marriage definitions will keep coming. It’s difficult to see how true marriage and the will of the people can be secure without a constitutional amendment of some sort, whether it’s an outright national definition of marriage or a man-woman union or simply language revoking the judiciary’s right to address the matter.

How plausible is either scenario? More so than you might think. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 41 states currently preserve marriage legislatively, and 30 have put it directly in their constitutions. So public support is already a good chunk of the way to the 38-state threshold that would be necessary to ratify an amendment to the Constitution, and an increased perception that the courts won’t let the people make their own decisions (which may be fueled not only by this, but also by the feds suing Arizona and potential copycats, as well as legal battles over individual healthcare mandates) could be enough to push them the rest of the way.

Ironically, the biggest wild card I see is the likelihood of the Republican establishment running away from the issue out of perceived political expediency. We can always count on the GOP to pull defeat from the jaws of victory…

Daily Caller vs. Journolist: Guess Which Side David Frum Is On?

Calvin Freiburger Andrew Sullivan, Daily Caller, David Frum, dishonesty, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Journolist, Left, liberalism, mainstream media, moderates, propaganda, resercons, RINOs, Sarah Palin, Trig Palin, Trig Trutherism

David Scum thinks it’s somehow significant that one of the Daily Caller’s own reporters was a member of Journolist for a while, because it shows that the group wasn’t the left-wing monolith it’s supposedly been made out to be.

But 1.) the piece has Sam Stein quoting Gautham Nagesh as saying it was, on balance, a collection of predominantly left-of-center figures, and 2.) just how many people on there thought what really isn’t the story. The scandal is that certain journalists have been caught conspiring to kill coverage of political scandals, slander people as racists, speculating about using government to shut down media outlets, and enjoying the heart attacks of political opponents.

Not that we should expect Scum to care. Any excuse to present himself as the Last Principled “Conservative” in America TM is good enough to run with. He routinely allows his website to run badly-sourced, inflammatory misquotes, ugly and ill-founded insinuations of racism, and condemnations of pro-lifers generally for a crime committed by one. Scum’s faux zeal for responsibility doesn’t apply to Trig Trutherism crusaders, either. The real scandal is that this fraud still finds anyone willing to pretend he’s anything more than the miserable creature he is.

Does Nikki Haley Want Affirmative Action for Political Parties?

Calvin Freiburger conservatism, Democrats, GOP, moderates, Nikki Haley, Republican Party, RINOs, stupidity

One of the Right’s latest rising stars is Nikki Haley, Republican candidate for governor of South Carolina. There’s certainly a lot to like about her, but before getting their hopes up too high, her fans should note something she recently said on “Hannity”:

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/eyeblast.swf?v=XdZu2GaGeu

I don’t want a House full of Republicans, I don’t want a House full of Democrats. It’s the mix that makes it work.

The Founding Fathers did discuss the importance of moderation and counterbalancing forces in government, to keep radical changes from being implemented too easily, but I don’t think quotas for each party is quite what they had in mind, especially when one of those parties doesn’t simply disagree on certain policies, but stands directly opposed to the core principles upon which America was founded.

If the war against radical Islam must be won, then we shouldn’t “want” anyone in office who stands for defeat. If unborn babies have a right to life, then we shouldn’t “want” anyone in office who stands for their murder. If Americans have a right to choose what to do with their own money, bear arms to protect themselves, or any number of other things, then we shouldn’t “want” anyone in office who would thwart those rights.

Besides, the Republican Party is so divided on both principle and strategy that they hardly need Democrats to keep them on their toes. Nikki Haley may turn out to be a great governor, but that’s one status quo we shouldn’t expect her to upend.