I listen perhaps too much to CSpan radio, and I’ve heard some extraordinary claims from candidate’s representatives and supporters/questioners at candidate forums regarding immigration. The head of Duncan Hunter’s campaign in Iowa stated something along the lines that 1 in 5 illegal immigrants was a murderer or rapist. I’m not sure I could find the audio of that broadcast to prove it. Although the discussion is occasionally broadened to all illegal immigration, it seems to always return to keeping Mexicans from crossing the souther border. But anyway if you don’t perceive this discussion as Mexican bashing I won’t try to convince you.
My question is why is there no Gay Bashing this time?
Any thoughts?
It’s not time yet. The gay-bashing will begin after the Conventions. It’s a Republican ploy against Democrats, and the Republicans, despite debate rhetoric, are still running against each other at the moment.
Actually, I should say the gay-bashing will begin after both parties have a clear candidate break free of their respective packs. That should be well before the Conventions for the Democrats. Harder to say for the Republicans. That whole field looks like a rat king…
Isn’t it normally the Republicans who engage in the gay bashing? The 'pubes have had a rough few years not coming across as a bunch of hypocritical closet homos. They’re just waiting for a Democrat to get a blowjob so they can gain the moral high ground again.
The benefit of the rhetoric during the 2004 was to get anti-gay marriage amendments on the ballot in as many states as possible. It ended up increasing the turnout of socially conservative voters who are believed to skew Republican. In most states the measures passed, so they can’t be used to energize and mobilize the base.
Well, Ron Paul is kowtowing to the religious right by refusing to take a “stand” on evolution (no word yet on where he stands as regards gravity). As far as I’m concerned, that’s on the same slope; giving credence to the same people who think god hates fags.
IMHO the main reason is that the GOP now has a much bigger fish to fry - getting rid of Huckabee. Anything along the gay bashing line from other candidates makes Huckabee seem more reasonable and mainstream.
Huckabee doesn’t do it because he’s branding himself as the “nice, reasonable” Repub so that he’s separated from the rest of the mean, war-loving, nutsy others (well, except for Paul who is being ignored by all the other candidates).
Well, an out of state group has got an Oregon federal judge to freeze a law that would have gotten me domestic partner benefits, using the argument that signatures on the petitions to block the law were equal to votes. Therefore, I am feeling bashed, both by the ruling and by the inevitable anti-gay rhetoric that pops up in response.
I tend to take issue with the idea that being morally opposed to gay marriage is somehow “gay bashing”.
I don’t wish to hijack and start a debate about gay marriage, but certainly a person can have a well thought out opinion against X without being accused of “bashing people, a part of whom wish to engage in X”…
Y’know what? You can be morally opposed to anything you want to, and nobody else has the right to make you change your mind. But when you start trying to put that moral belief into legal practice to perpetuate second-class citizenship, then you’re doing something that the people you’re throwing the lid down on have the right to oppose.
Go believe whatever the hell you want. Just don’t force ME to also act as if I believe it.
Does anyone happen to know how Mexicans generally vote? Republican, Democrat? I really do think the Republicans see Mexicans as a safer target then going after gays and reminding everyone about all the recent Republican boy-twiddler/airport restroom scandals, etc.
Yes, I know, but that’s why we haven’t seen any anti-gay rhetoric this election. Without the chance of using it to get the base to the polls next election they’ve discarded that strategy. Most Republican politicians aren’t really anti-gay, they’re pro getting elected, and they know their constituency.