tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990055.post109803305931524722..comments2024-01-26T01:52:53.198-05:00Comments on PolySigh: Mary, Mary IIIPhilip Klinknerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15559722693896372701noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990055.post-1098151815329500232004-10-18T22:10:00.000-04:002004-10-18T22:10:00.000-04:00John Kerry's position on gay marriage is pure poli...John Kerry's position on gay marriage is pure political theater. Answer me this Senator: if you really believe homosexuality is not a choice, how can you possibly support denying these human beings the right to marry?<br /><br />I want desperately to believe that George W. Bush's position is just pure ignorance. As twisted as it sounds, this would further validate my decision to support the guy in November; he has the backbone to stick to a position, even if it's an unpopular one.<br /><br />Solomon Wolfson<br />www.solomonwolfson.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990055.post-1098113654594465792004-10-18T11:34:00.000-04:002004-10-18T11:34:00.000-04:00It's important to remember the context of the orig...It's important to remember the context of the original question - Bush was asked whether homosexuality is a choice. Kerry's answer was:<br /><br /><I>We're all God's children, Bob. And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as.</I><I>I think if you talk to anybody, it's not choice. I've met people who struggled with this for years, people who were in a marriage because they were living a sort of convention, and they struggled with it.</I>I think that from a rhetorical standpoint, the first part of the answer is much stronger than the second part. If Kerry had just said - as he did in the second part there - "if you talk to someone who's gay, they'll tell you it's not a choice", he'd get hit for being too vague, too abstruse, too impersonal (as well as the Alan Keyes response: "it's a choice and she's a sinner for it").<br /><br />By mentioning Mary Cheney, he added a dimension of humanity to his answer. I don't think it was all too calculated - I suspect that the angle of the question ("is it a choice?") caught everyone by surprise, Bush included. I think that Kerry fumbled for the most relevant example he could think of, a prominent gay American who clearly doesn't benefit from being gay, and settled on the Vice President's very mature, very out-of-the-closet, very involved daughter.<br /><br />That seems neither unreasonable nor distasteful. And if the hardcore evangelicals will be turned off voting for Bush because Cheney's daughter is gay, then frankly BC04 deserves the hit - if you count on support from anti-gay bigots, then don't be shocked at that support weakening when you show signs of humanity (i.e. being a good and supportive parent to your gay daughter).<br /><br />Kevin Grinberg<br />http://www.grinberg.ws/blog/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990055.post-1098105256059180032004-10-18T09:14:00.000-04:002004-10-18T09:14:00.000-04:00Yes, dark days, because a) we are in 2004 still co...Yes, dark days, because a) we are in 2004 still considering the question of whether or not homosexuality is a choice, b) invoking the lesbian daughter of the opponent to make the point that it's not a choice (but then opposing equal rights anyway), and c) expressing outrage over the remark to score political points.<br /><br />SolomonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990055.post-1098071533435885642004-10-17T23:52:00.000-04:002004-10-17T23:52:00.000-04:00Look, I'm not suggesting that Kerry had Mary's bes...Look, I'm not suggesting that Kerry had Mary's best interest in mind when he made the remark, but the Republican backlash was very disingenuous.<br /><br />Bottom line is, it's been a dark few days for gays and lesbians in America. Meanwhile in Spain, they're getting married.<br /><br />SolomonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990055.post-1098069722884772352004-10-17T23:22:00.000-04:002004-10-17T23:22:00.000-04:00Well put.
When Lynne Cheney called Kerry's rema...Well put. <br /><br />When Lynne Cheney called Kerry's remarks "tawdry" and "cheap" I immediately flashed back to Dick Cheney thanking John Edwards for his "kind words" during the VP debate. <br /><br />This is manufactured outrage designed to gain political capital, plain and simple. And I regret to say, it comes at Mary's expense.<br /><br />Solomon Wolfson<br />www.solomonwolfson.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com