GOP Congressman: Republican party should rebuild on 'sanctity of marriage'

Here we go, people. The marriage amendment wins for the bible-beaters in 2008 has convinced the dim bulb wingnuts in the Republican party that the way to remake its tattered image is to focus on social conservatism -- womb control and same-sex marriage.

The Republican brand is still alive and well, Rep. Mike Pence said on Fox News Sunday.

When asked by Chris Wallace what "conservative solutions" the GOP would bring to their current minority-party status, Pence said social issues like "the sanctity of marriage" will remain the backbone of the Republican platform.

"You build those conservative solutions, Chris, on the same time-honored principles of limited government, a belief in free markets, in the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage," Pence said.

The Indiana representative cited the ballot measures against gay marriage that passed on Election Day as evidence of the continuing presence of conservative values.

"There were three state referendums on marriage ... all three carried. The vitality of the conservative movement around the country is very real," said Pence.

The full transcript is here.

I hate to break it to them, but this defeat is not going to stop progress on the LGBT rights front, they are on the wrong side of history. We will emerge from this debacle re-energized to fight religion being used to remove the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples. We do, however, need to do a post-mortem on what can avoid repeating mistakes that made it possible for these amendments to pass.

Speaking of the whole amendment debacle, those of you in Massachusetts who think they are immune to an attack, the fundies are training their scopes on you. Read below the fold. The Boston Herald:

“We’re much encouraged by the results in California, and there’s no doubt in our minds, had we been on the ballot Tuesday, our measure would have won,” said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which opposes gay marriage.

Whether the group will launch a signature drive next year, Mineau said, remains to be seen.

“We have to survey the political landscape,” he said, noting that Massachusetts is the only state that requires a citizen’s petition for an amendment to the state constitution to be approved twice by the Legislature, which it refused to do last year.

If the group does decide to start a petition drive next year, Mineau said, “. . . we will have assistance from around the country because Massachusetts and Connecticut remain ground zero in the battle for the definition of marriage. They’re the only states that have same-sex marriages by court decree. Neither state has allowed citizens to vote on the definition of marriage.”

Now Massachusetts doesn't have the proposition model that California has, and there is legislative and legal support for marriage equality. The serious problem here, even if Massachusetts can beat this effort away, is that these Dominionists are going to be on the outs with the new administration, so they will be able to focus on the CA win and try to drain our collective coffers, state by state.

Quite frankly I think fundies will turn to states where the ground is more fertile, like my state, NC, the last state in the South that doesn't have an amendment. It would surely pass if it made it to the ballot. Our Dem-led general assembly will be under great pressure not to keep one bottled up in committee till it dies, as has been the case several times.

It would be an easy task, given the amount these goons can raise for propaganda to flood the airwaves, to lean on our moderate state legislators (who want no part of an amendment debate on the floor) with scare tactics to get phones ringing off the hook from voters who aren't paying much attention to the issue, given the economy and other priorities here. They may be scared into voting yes on a hate bill rather than risk being booted if they represent a more conservative district.

I wonder if my state could count on the kind of support we've seen for any of the states that had measures on the ballot this time around. I have no doubt the NC Family Policy Council is salivating at the thought of Mormon and Dobson money flowing in.

What do you think? Do we need a 50-state strategy, if so, who would lead it, and what model would be effective enough to combat church-funded bigotry and propaganda?