Steve Schmidt To Call On GOP To Back Gay Marriage

CNN:

Steve Schmidt, a key architect of John McCain's presidential campaign, is making his first public return to Washington a bold one.

Schmidt will use a speech Friday to Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group, to urge conservative Republicans to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage, CNN has learned.

Read the whole story: CNN

Comments

[glaze]

05:17 PM on 04/17/2009

In a non-answer to a follow-up question, Schmidt would not confirm or deny that a secret GOP committee had been formed to investigate the possible use of fire in modern society.

[HC4BO]

04:44 PM on 04/17/2009

That will be the day ...

Can't wait for the GOP to embrace Gay Marriage ...

IF Bloomberg can do it, why not Pat Buchanan ... ?

[WilliePilgrim]

04:29 PM on 04/17/2009

If this issue were to be discussed rationally and honestly, it shouldn't even be about gay rights, it should be about secular rights. The unfair treatment in regards to civil and domestic parterships and contracts is addressable only as a civil matter and it's been shamefully long overdue.
Some might think it's criminal the way churches discriminate..and I agree but if anyone is unhappy with their church, they are free to find another or makeup one of their own. Getting rid of the tax exemptions for churches would make it even less of a matter who wanted to form their own religion or what they wish to say from the free and protectes space of their own pulpit.
Tax exemptions aren't free and by that I mean we all bear the burden of them, some of us get a benefit, but those who qualify for exempt status do actually agree to shut up when in the pulpit regarding public issues, like electoral politics..though they dance nervously around it...or they are threatened with losing their exempt status...some freedom, eh? If you'd like to PO every poorly performing elected leader, dump the IRS and move to a consumption based tax, thereby making the flow of money for government spending incumbent on their regulating a healthy, thriving, fair and innovative marketplace for everyone small and large.

[demigod]

03:11 PM on 04/17/2009

Nothing to worry about here - the Republican Party will NEVER go for this. Gay rights is nothing more than an extension of Equal Rights, which the Republican Party still does not support. They do not support Women's rights, they do not support Workers' rights - they only support corporate rich peoples' rights. Didn't you see the Republican Convention ? Nothing but angry, militant white men and stupid white women arguing against their own acess to equal pay and reproductive choices. Same with separation of Church and State - that is purely an attempt to keep religion out of politics so all religions - and the non-religious, are treated equally, Republicans do NOT believe in that.

[OceanSize]

03:06 PM on 04/17/2009

Homosexuality is completely natural if you put it into an evolutionary context: it is evolution's response to overpopulation. Nature always finds a way to achieve balance, and our current mortality rates are completely out of balance with the natural world. We are expanding faster than the planet can support us. Genes that aren't particularly conducive to rapid, voluminous reproduction (like homosexuality) are quickly eliminated from the gene pool when a species is struggling for survival, but that hardly describes homo sapiens any more. Even the infirm are reproducing at record rates thanks to technology. Consider homosexuality-genes as nature's brilliant circuit-breaker for when reproductive rates reach irresponsible levels.

If you hate homosexuals, my advice to you is stop squeezing out so many puppies. I support American's right to have as many puppies as they can, just as long as they're prepared for the consequences: the more children you have, the more likely you'll be a parent of a homosexual.

[monicaangela]

03:10 PM on 04/17/2009

Interesting thoughts !!

[NamelessGenXer]

05:29 PM on 04/17/2009

Right you are! Too bad the fundie freakshow.. er... I mean... the GOP doesn't believe in evolution either.

[tokenconservative]

03:06 PM on 04/17/2009

1) Steve Schmidt is the same guy who perfected the Atwater brand of politics - I'm sure that the Huffington Post ought to be touting around his political opinion as though it's credible news.
2) Plouffe was the dude who railed against universal health care; should a campaign strategists' views dictate political policy?

[MirrorImage]

03:03 PM on 04/17/2009

Unfortunately, with the Republican Party being hijacked back in the 80's by the Christian Right - the Repub's will never accept the "gay marriage" or "civil unions" because their view is ---- "In God's Eye's it is a Sin for the same-sex to be together."

There you have it - unless someone can change their mind about the bible (and all of its fables), the Christian Right ( I mean the Republican Party) will never accept this!!

I say, freedom of choice, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was meant for everyone in this Country, not just those who believe in a higher power or god !

[AGarcia]

03:01 PM on 04/17/2009

This makes sense to me. When I read that bars in the San Francisco's famous gay-friendly Castro district were excluding African-American patrons from entering certain bars & nightclubs it seemed to me a sign of a deeper truth about homosexuals. Many are professional white males who perceive themselves to be of a higher social and economic caste. Some are "closeted", homophobic homosexuals who are self-delusional believing they can and moreover DESERVE to be treated better than other minority groups and covet the status of being as "American as apple pie". The LGBT community apparently favors independence over unity with other grassroots organizations that support issues considered not to effect their own cause. The answer is always the same "you aren't reaching out to us, so we won't reach out to you". I would not be surprised if a right-wing extremist organization came from that community.

[monicaangela]

03:08 PM on 04/17/2009

There are extremist in every section of life, this just goes to prove that just because someone is homosexual, doesn't make them intelligent, or tolerant, beyond their own personal cause. They are no different than anyone else, they have the same strengths and weaknesses, their only difference is se xua l preference, beyond that, some of them are just as ra cist, and snobbish as the rest of americans who feel they are elitist. That comes from the way this country began, and the expectation of white privilege which has definietly run its course. 0 ;-)

[DinSea]

02:54 PM on 04/17/2009

Why aren't we hearing more about *CIVIL UNIONS* ?? That's the answer.
It gives everyone their proper benefits.
It circumvents controversy.
What's the problem?

[echo]

03:00 PM on 04/17/2009

The problem is that civil unions amount to a "separate but equal" status.

Gay people are sitting in the back of the bus no longer!

[LexKitten]

03:02 PM on 04/17/2009

the problem is that it does not give everyone their proper benefits and does not circumvent controversy.

[BobSF94117]

02:51 PM on 04/17/2009

Ooooooo... how brave! Speaking before the Log Cabinettes! What fortitude! What, dare I say, CHANGE!

y a w n

Brave would be appearing before the LCR and advocating for the inheritance tax.

[lovethesinner]

02:50 PM on 04/17/2009

Democrats are conceding on GUNS and Republicans are having to give up on GAYS. But...

Schmidt: "... denying marriage" denies "liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". (?) (with all those people showing up for Christmas with homemade FLAME THROWERS and ASSAULT WEAPONS you could have fooled me)

Seriously, I applaud Steve for standing up to his party on an issue that is close to his heart. (Isn't his sister a vocal supporter of gay marriage?) He is correct to point out that this is a CIVIL RIGHTS issue, and even if he's only arguing for the political and personal profit, he's doing a better job than Gavin Newsome.

[Caolas]

03:23 PM on 04/17/2009

His sister is a lesbian.

[Westof405]

02:50 PM on 04/17/2009

Republicans, as they do on all issues, try to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of us. Marriage is one of the intersections between civil law and religion. Marriages are performed either in a civil ceremony or in a church and the state (meaning the government) recognizes both as long as the person performing the ceremony is licensed by the state in which the service is performed.

If you are opposed to gay marriage, don't marry another person of the same sex, don't allow them in your church, but keep your opposition confined to your religion and don't try to impose your beliefs on anyone else. Why the GOP finds this so hard to undertand is a mystery. The party of individual rights only believes in rights for themselves and the right to impose their "values" on everyone else. That is more like a dictatorship than anything President Obama is doing to help the economy.

[glaze]

02:50 PM on 04/17/2009

These wingnutty mental hermits- a little slow on the uptake, aren't they?

[BarakCarpathia]

02:47 PM on 04/17/2009

Stop calling McCain part of the GOP.
He is a poser.

[OceanSize]

02:45 PM on 04/17/2009

NOOOOOOO!!! I was really starting to enjoy watching the Republicans move farther and farther away from relevance. They might actually attract some moderates now. Boo!

[JohnJames]

02:48 PM on 04/17/2009

Obviously you have no idea what it's been like for gay Americans being the national punching bag these past thirty or so years.

[OceanSize]

04:22 PM on 04/17/2009

JohnJames: I realize that sarcasm is oftentimes hard to recognize with the written word. The fact is I am incredibly sensitive to the plight of homosexuals in this country. I was writing impassioned papers on this subject as early as high school in AP English and Psychology classes in the 80's, despite my heterosexuality. It is something I am very passionate about. My point was simply that I have recently been so happy to see rational thought win out over religious paranoia with this latest election, and to see Democrats finally winning some battles for a change. I am not ready for the pendulum to swing back to the Republicans yet.