# Bush to make homophobia a centerpiece of his campaign **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 14, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386 "2004-01-14T16:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![coffeecam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc8723/32.png) [@coffeecam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecam)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/61 "2004-01-15T04:59:39Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > But Republicans used to be for smaller government. This has changed as the neocons and the Neanderthal Religious Right took over. As I said elsewhere, Barry Goldwater’s ashes are spinning in their urn. Eh Barry has only himself to blame for his post existance urn rotation. He’s the one who began this wing of the republican party when he ran against LBJ and took the nomination. (lets run to the right, and bring in the anti-civil rights fringe… :wally ) Ike however, now he’s staying up nights plotting who to haunt. Cameron ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/62 "2004-01-15T05:02:25Z")
> [@coffeecam](#): > > Eh Barry has only himself to blame for his post existance urn rotation. He’s the one who began this wing of the republican party when he ran against LBJ and took the nomination. (lets run to the right, and bring in the anti-civil rights fringe… :wally ) > > Ike however, now he’s staying up nights plotting who to haunt. > > Cameron The law of unintended consequences. Goldwater bore no love for the New Right in his latter years. Or, as he put it himself, “Every good Christian should boot Falwell right in the ass.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![coffeecam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc8723/32.png) [@coffeecam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecam)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/63 "2004-01-15T15:31:44Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The law of unintended consequences. Goldwater bore no love for the New Right in his latter years. > > Or, as he put it himself, “Every good Christian should boot Falwell right in the ass.” 😃 Really, that is interesting. Another entry in the politician who idn’t as easy to peg as I’d have figured list. C ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/64 "2004-01-15T15:45:51Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Recently my wife had a child. At the hospital we were literally forced to watch this video about shaken baby syndrome. It seems some numb nuts don’t know that violently shaking infants will damage them, and they require education. Excuse the hijack but did the video mention throwing children in the air and catching them? I did this with both my sons when they were little because they loved it. I was horrified to find out later that it can result in shaken baby syndrome. I have since mentioned it to several new fathers (mothers don’t seem to do it) and none of them have known. ---
**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/65 "2004-01-15T17:11:27Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > If you honestly believe that this is **any** thing but pandering to the radical right base at the expense of gay people then you’re so fucked in the head that you’re beyond the pale. Word. I may be a socialist, leftist SOB, but I can understand why DtC pisses people off so much. A one trick pony whose trick I happen to like. BUT… can anyone really disagree with Otto’s statement? I mean, really, you **would** have to be fucked in the head not to realize it. It’s like disputing the fact that pro-life is the same as anti-abortion, and pro-family is anti-gay. I’d also argue that the “radical right”, as you put it Otto, is a major misnomer. Sadly, in America as in many places, there’s nothing radical about hatemongering and bigotry in the name of Family Values. ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/66 "2004-01-15T18:09:43Z")
**jayjay** : Sure that’s not goatlove and fear of blimps? Anyway, as I posted before, Barry’s wife founded Planned Parenthood in Arizona. I believe (and **Sofa King** might be able to confirm this) he was also active in promoting the rights of Native Americans. Definitely not an easy one to peg. But he was definitely a Republican through-and-through. Closest thing that party has to him these days is McCain, who’s also from Arizona, now that I think of it. Must be something in the air. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/67 "2004-01-15T18:46:44Z")
$1,500,000,000 for marriage training this year. $1,000,000,000 additional for NASA. Something’s not adding up. I’ll vote for Bush, though, if he’ll spot me the $4,000 or $5,000 it takes to land myself a mail-order bride from Russia. elmwood (38th birthday, still cute, still financially secure, still a fun guy, still single) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/68 "2004-01-15T19:37:58Z")
You guys are so cute with this notion of a completely unprecedented desire to further traditional marriage. > [@That notorious homophobe Clinton](#): > > During his [1994 State of the Union address](http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed070203a.cfm) , President Clinton announced, > “The American people have got to want to change from within if we’re > going to bring back work and family and community. \*\*We cannot renew our > country when, within a decade, more than half of the children will be > born into families where there has been no marriage.” \*\* > [@Clinton's evil henchman in the plot to marginalize gays](#): > > [In 1994,](http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/CFSForum/front.htm#Foreword), when I led “Family Re-Union 3: The Role of Men in Children’s > Lives” in Nashville, Tennessee, little did I realize the great > outpouring of time, talent and commitment that soon would be dedicated > to the issue of fatherhood. Program practitioners, community leaders, > local, state and federal policy makers, and the public and private > research community have taken very seriously research findings that the > well-being of children is enhanced by the presence of caring and > involved fathers and that father absence can have lasting detrimental > effects on children’s lives. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/69 "2004-01-15T19:57:13Z")
Goldwater was a true conservative, who believed that private meant private and shouldn’t be a concern of government. Check out [this](http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissues/features/main/gl980529.htm) column from the Advocate. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/70 "2004-01-15T20:09:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You guys are so cute with this notion of a completely unprecedented desire to further traditional marriage. What do you mean by “further” it? The best way to further it would be to offer the option to _all_ citizens rather than capariciously discriminating based on archaic and ignorant religious beliefs. Clinton was wrong too, btw. He was wrong to sign DOMA and he was wrong to let conservatives intimidate him into the worthless compromise that is “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” He should have just said, “I’m the fucking CIC. The ban on homosexuals is lifted, and that’s the end of it. Anyone who doesn’t like it can line up behind the interns to blow me.” Instead he let himself get cowed by biogots. If there’s a difference between Clinton and Bush, though, I think it’s that Clinton’s policy were based on political pragmatism while Bush really thinks that queers go to Hell. ---
**Author:** ![Rodrigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Rodrigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodrigo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/71 "2004-01-16T03:52:28Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Wouldn’t this be an extremely strong argument in favor of giving homosexual marriages (male ones, anyway) full legal recognition? The fact that NOt having a dad is bad cannot be used to say that two dads are good or better. * * * For an atheist/agnostic **Diogenes** really sounds like a fundamentalist with a gospel to spread and an it’s-my-way-or-you-go-to-hell attitude that is suprising. I know he’s much more intelligent than he’s showing to be it this thread, but if he thinks that believing that marriage is between a man a and a woman is an idea fit only for religious fanatics or morons, is really sad. ## If marriage is just two (or more) people living together and feeling happy I see no reason for the government to issue marriage licenses, if the only point is inheritance, hospital visitation and insurance, a nice PRIVATE contract could (or should) suffice. Is Bush not allowed to think queers go to Hell (I don’t know if he does)l? Isn’t America the land of freedom and the freaking first ammendment? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/72 "2004-01-16T04:06:55Z")
> [@Rodrigo](#): > > The fact that NOt having a dad is bad cannot be used to say that two dads are good or better. Why not? Actually, I think the argument is that two parents are better than one. It makes no difference what the sexes are. > [@](#): > > For an atheist/agnostic **Diogenes** really sounds like a fundamentalist with a gospel to spread and an it’s-my-way-or-you-go-to-hell attitude that is suprising. I know he’s much more intelligent than he’s showing to be it this thread, but if he thinks that believing that marriage is between a man a and a woman is an idea fit only for religious fanatics or morons, is really sad. Give me one _non_-moronic reason for excluding same-sex couples from the benefits of marriage. > [@](#): > > If marriage is just two (or more) people living together and feeling happy I see no reason for the government to issue marriage licenses, if the only point is inheritance, hospital visitation and insurance, a nice PRIVATE contract could (or should) suffice. You forgot about tax benefits. Why should heterosexuals get special rights. > [@](#): > > Is Bush not allowed to think queers go to Hell (I don’t know if he does)l? Isn’t America the land of freedom and the freaking first ammendment? If all he did was think it (and he is on record as stating that homosexuals are “sinners”) then it would simply make him a moron, and that would be his right. The fact that he wants to alter the US Constitution to reflect his own bigotry and ignorance takes it past a simple first amendment right to believe in stupid things and makes it an assault on the civil rights of others. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/73 "2004-01-16T04:17:19Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Excuse the hijack but did the video mention throwing children in the air and catching them? No. This was about infants. I assume that tossing newborns is verboten, though. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/74 "2004-01-16T04:34:32Z")
Bush thinks homosexual marriage is a bad idea. Now he has admitted that the straights are fucking it up,too. Marriage. So much for the sanctity of it… ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/75 "2004-01-16T07:03:34Z")
**Shodan** , you may have noticed that Clinto didn’t try and devote one and a half billion dollars to making the religious right happy with his stance on marriage. Oh, and you may want to rethink your tactic of “Hey, Clinton did something roughly similar! You can’t dis Bush for doing something moronic when Clinton did it too!” You see, besides it being really old, it assumes that everybody marches in lockstep with a political party, and never criticizes the party they’ve allied themselves with, or anyone associated with it. A new concept perhaps, but one with which you may wish to become familiar, if you don’t want to be legally insane by the end of George W. Bush’s reign. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/76 "2004-01-16T07:16:36Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Aren’t Republicans supposed be for _less_ government? I think that depends on whether they think they can manage to achieve _total_ government. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/77 "2004-01-16T07:21:30Z")
Hell, **Geez** , that line’s good enough to steal! ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/78 "2004-01-16T07:30:40Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Well, no, I really don’t, especially when the major reason for sealing them temporarily is to prevent the RNC attack squads from combing through them in search of information to twist and misrepresent. Now I don’t particularly care for Dean’s stated reasons beyond that one (he has said that he sealed the records to protect the privacy of constituents, especially gay and lesbian people who wrote during the civil unions debate and who may not be otherwise open; reasonable as far as it goes but ultimately lacking) but he has stated that he will work with the judge hearing the case to open the records in determining which should be opened. Contrast that with, say, Cheney’s ferocious battle to keep sealed the records of his energy policy meetings. And marvel at the straight faces of the RNC attack squads who in one breath defend Cheney’s “executive privilege” and with the next excoriate Dean for exercising his. I am aware of all this, and if it comes down to it I would certainly vote for Dean over Bush. It’s just that I see this whole ugly election year as choosing the least evil. Dean has no business sealing records of what he did in office. If he wants to try to deflect Republican attacks let him do it some other way. It also really doesn’t help that he shoots his mouth off all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/79 "2004-01-16T07:53:06Z")
> [@Rodrigo](#): > > The #1 predictor of “failure” in life, e.g. drug use, crime, family violence is not having a dad home, shouldn’t the government promote dads being home? Bullshit! My dad was home, but as far as I was concerned he might as well not have been. He had no real interest in being a dad. When he got home from work supporting his “stable” family, all he wanted to do was crap out in front of the TV set and wait util Mom had dinner on the table. We did eat dinner together with the TV off, but that was not an altogether pleasant experience. Dad’s idea of parenting was criticism and name-calling. A government program promoting his being home would not have helped. Maybe if they had encouraged golf a little earlier in his life. Long and short, IMO the government should mind its own fucking business when it comes to Americans’ personal lives. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386/80 "2004-01-16T14:23:35Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I think this program is utter bunk, but I doubt it’s “code” for anti-gay sentiment. It’s pretty clearly targetted at reducing single parent households. Bush has clearly stated he’s against gay marriage. He doesn’t need code words for that. I also disagree with the opinion that he’s talking in code. He really _does_ think gay relationships are unhealthy. Pretty straightforward to me. But I do think it is an underhanded attempt to marginalize anyone who isn’t married, as another poster mentioned. Join the club or you don’t count. But we won’t let _some_ of you join the club, just to reinforce our opinion that “YOU DON’T COUNT”. He’s a bad man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-make-homophobia-a-centerpiece-of-his-campaign/224386.md?page=5)