Howard Fineman appeared Friday on MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' along with R. Clarke Cooper of the Log Cabin Republicans. They both discussed President Obama's recent decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. Also at issue was Speaker of the House John Boehner's announcement that he planned to have the House argue for the law's constitutionality.
Fineman explained, "when this decision by the President not to fight for the law came out a couple days ago, there was thundering silence from the Republican leadership, I think it's fair to say." Expanding on his observation, Fineman said, "it's clear to me that the Republican leadership would rather stay away from this thing altogether because they do want to focus on other things."
When Matthews brought up the issue of public support for DOMA and same-sex marriage, Fineman stated, "the polls show that among independent voters it's a closely divided issue."
WATCH (via MSNBC):
Defense of Marriage Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Obama administration will no longer defend DOMA - Political ...
PostPartisan - Breaking News: Obama action against DOMA coming
10 Takeaways From Obama's DOMA Reversal - Andrew Cohen - Politics ...
Cooper was not trying to evade the question. His answer was self-evident from what he had said prior. What Copper was doing is answering the question in a way that would allow him to use his political talking points ammunition. Nothing wrong with that! Fineman was not persuasive . . . even though wind bag Chris should have allowed him more time to speak.
Second what the President is doing may be constitutionally permissive and politically astute but it is unwise. He should have defended it before the Supreme Court and let the court decide. The constitutionality of an Act does not rest on the opinion of the President.
Having said so I agree with the repeal of DOMA.
The Attorney General in his letter concluded that even though the Second Circuit has not ruled on the standard, the President and he considers that the standard is heightened scrutiny (rather than mere rational basis) because of the history of dicrimination.
This requires a leap that the court has not yet had a chance to make.
The United States could make and have made reasonable arguments in defense of DOMA under the rational basis test. Because reasonable arguments exist under the rational basis test and the Second Circuit could decide that rational basis applies, reason for not defending DOMA does not hold.
The AG and the President has made a political and expedient calculation that could backfire on liberals in the coming years..
Funny how they always seem to want to jump in when it comes to our bedrooms!
With these purchased politicians it is anything to mis-direct and distract while they continue to rape America for their Corporate Collective entity's welfare.
The Oil Barons just got another bribe to pump US Taxpayer dollars back into their pockets.
"A poll conducted by Pew Research Center indicates that gay marriage is becoming more widely accepted among independent voters. An 8 percent point increase in approval since 2009, this is a small win for human rights and supporters of gay marriage."
BTW, Pew's headline for this poll is: "Gay Marriage Poll: More Independent Voters Shows Support"
Here's the link:
http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979115346
The Republicans know this. Gay bashing will cost them votes, which is why Boehner is trying to avoid an ugly floor fight on the DOMA issue.
I have known a few same sex couples where the one with the most money held all the power, when they split, the poorer partner was simply thrown under the bus. A pre-nup would have helped.
The Executive branch is walking all over the legislative branch. It is stepping on the toes of the legislators and daring them to complain.
The Republicans know they are correct legally but don't want this to turn into a political issue.
GOP issue- 30%= overwhelming mandate from the people!
I think more people need to take that approach and not get caught up in waiting for some suits in Washington to give the "green light." WHo cares? Why even give them the satisfaction? Live your life.
Would you have said the same to an interracial couple fighting for the right to marry? Hey, kids, don't worry that it's not legal and that you won't be able to visit each other in the hospital or be as financially stable as same-race couples, you don't get the 1138 rights and benefits that come with marriage. Your kids won't enjoy those benefits that affect them either, and they'll know that other kids do. But, hey, as long as it's a cool party, it's all good. Just chillax.
And, you know, women should have just dressed up, shown up to the voting booths and submitted pretty little pieces of paper, maybe pink ones with roses on them, instead of worrying about when thought and expending all that energy fighting. It's just like voting, right? They shouldn't have given men the satisfaction of seeing them fight for their right to vote.
Yeah, you don't know if the couple's marriage was legal. If it was in the US, even if it was legal at the state level, there is no federal recognition. So what you saw was a couple making the best of a bad situation. You are telling them to enjoy the discrimination.
All Americans should experience the profound humiliation of witnessing their countrymen vote on their lives.
This entire debate is a travesty and a betrayal of what this nation is SUPPOSED TO BE about.