The hard right's heads exploded with the decision ruling Prop 8 unconstitutional. One Free Republic post decried how our culture has become a sewer. Others moaned why vote anymore.
And Pat Buchanan said gay marriage was unnatural. And Newt said that the decision ignored the wishes of millions of people.
In the last few days, we've been treated to some nice reminders about our better angels. Judge Susan Bolton striking down the most egregious portions of the Arizona immigration law. Mayor Bloomberg speaking at Governor's Island with a full array of religious leaders giving us a little history lesson on religious tolerance in Manhattan. In defending the construction of the alleged mosque near the site of the Twin Towers, he reminded the audience that the early leaders of New Amsterdam denied Jews permission to build a synagogue and that early Quakers were forced to leave the area after they were denied the right to worship. Aside from the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish community backed the decision to allow the construction of the cultural center in large numbers so much so that the Muslim community has been spending the last days thanking individual Jewish leaders.
Before we hear that Obama is allowing The Gay to infiltrate our government and banning the worship of Cheezits, it's useful to point out who the three judges who have ruled for gay marriage have been. The Boston judge who ruled that DOMA, the federal ban against gay marriage, was unconstitutional is Judge Joseph Tauro,a Nixon appointee. The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court who penned the opinion upholding gay marriage in that state was Judge Mark Cady, a Republican appointed by Governor Branstad. And last night's hero, Judge Vaughn Walker was first appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan and elevated by George H.W. Bush. And, of course, the lead lawyer in the courtroom was America's most famous conservative attorney, Ted Olson, former Solicitor General of the Reagan Administration and the man who made George W. Bush president at the Supreme Court.
Apparently these remnants of the old Republican Party appreciate that the GOP's greatest achievement and legacy to the nation was the 14th Amendment. This has been so woven into the tapestry of our culture that we need to be reminded from time to time that you can not vote away someone's fundamental human rights. That's why it is stunning to see three sitting Republican Senators ask for hearings on the 14th Amendment as it applies to birthright citizenship. Even Alan Keyes, who has for years ventured off into our political fringes, appeared as the voice of reason yesterday objecting to any re-examination of the 14th Amendment.
Rights by plebiscite can lead to dangerous things like a vote on torture, which would have passed in the George W. Bush Administration, or on depriving illegal immigrants due process, which would pass in the most Republican areas of the country today. As Vaughn Walker wrote yesterday,you can not deprive people of their rights because of dislike, prejudice, or religious superstition.
It's now a race to the Supreme Court between the Massachusetts DOMA case and the California Prop 8 case. I would urge everyone to read Judge Vaughn Walker's Findings of Fact in the final opinion. He presided over a trial and during that trial the anti-gay side had ample opportunity to raise all their objections and evidence to the harm gay marriage would do to the institution of marriage, to the state, to the culture. Evaluating all the witnesses and their expertise, Vaughn Walker wrote out 80 Findings of Fact, which cumulatively demolished the anti-gay position in very measured, cool prose. His analysis of the quality of the anti-gay witnesses was more unrestrained and contemptuous.
The Findings of Fact provide a little guide to how to argue this issue to the layperson. But for the future appeals, it provides a bedrock of the case, which will be extremely difficult to overturn. The 9th Circuit Court--the next stop--will have to pay Walker due deference on the Findings of Fact and will only be able to adjust the Findings of Law. Legal experts believe that the 9th Circuit will fast track a decision, thereby setting the stage for the Supreme Court. For this, Judge Vaughn Walker already has peppered his decision with references to cases decided by Judge Kennedy.
The early bet is that a Supreme Court decision would be 5-4 in favor of gay marriage as the case has been argued so far. The deciding vote would be Kennedy, who has already penned decisions affirming rights of gays. But since this is the Roberts court, anything can happen. They could bring back slavery after the Citizens United fiasco, where foreign corporations gained more rights than average American citizens.
Public Policy Polling today came out with a poll that even surprised them. In the 27 Senate races they are monitoring for the 2010 midterms,24 of these races show moderates abandoning Republicans in greater numbers than they did McCain in 2008. Perhaps, the strategy of obstructionism is being perceived for what it is--an attempt to stop anything that might benefit average Americans.
Tan Man Boehner railed against the Jobs Bill because it favored those special interests groups-- those policemen and teachers. I'm sure he's just annoyed Nancy Pelosi called the House back next week to vote on the bill. He wants to relax and catch up on his golf. But House Republicans came out with their new jobs bill of their own--cut the corporate tax rate in half. At the same time, they have strenuously opposed cutting taxes for small businesses. Doesn't anyone feel some real "special interests" are at work here.
Ezra Klein appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show the other night to say that the Republicans have shrewdly backed the Democrats into a corner on the tax issue. I disagree. The Democrats are going to push forward in September their plan to raise the taxes on the top 1% and enshrine tax cuts for the rest of America. Republicans will have to publically defend the tax cuts for the upper brackets rather than get away with the scare tactics of massive tax increases across the board. If Republicans filibuster, then they would seal a tax increase for the entire country. Something I'm sure Democrats will point out everyday. And if Democrats cave, then they can say they sacrificed for the middle class and the Republicans will still be saddled with backing the very rich.
For the mid-terms, the Democrats would be well-advised to adopt a simple slogan such as "Who is working for you?" Make the choice plain and dramatic. Democrats this year are inheriting an atmosphere of total distrust of government. People forget that one other legacy of the Bush-Cheney years was the total collapse both here and abroad in faith in our federal government. Despite all the achievements of the Obama Administration and the House this past year,there is enough disinformation out there that arguing precise policy positions seems reactive. This is what the Republicans are banking on. But instead, every day the American public is treated to the negative behavior of Republicans in Congress. Whose on your side? That question is easier to answer than the pros and cons of a new Consumer Agency.
Senator Debbie Stabenow has introduced bill S3706 in the Senate to rectify the situation with the 99ers. This admits it will be almost impossible to pass. But it can serve as an organizing point for the unemployed, who are beginning to become more active.
It is rumored that Elena Kagan will be confirmed today. We've had another week of smears by some Republican Senators. So the radical, pacifist, sharia law-loving, homophile will get to take her seat in the fall session. She's probably receive in my view approximately the same vote total she got when she was confirmed as Solicitor General.
And, yeah, A-Rod hit his 600th. Next up he'll surpass Sammy Sosa this year.
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