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berto
Post subject: US presidential election '08  PostPosted: Mar 09, 2007 - 11:07 PM



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Is Newt doing a precautionary closet-cleaning (airing out the skeletons) in case he decides to declare?

Quote:
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a religious-right group.

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity. "The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.

"I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept . . . perjury in your highest officials."

[...]

Gingrich has said he is waiting to see how the Republican field shapes up before deciding in the fall whether to run. Reports of extramarital affairs have dogged him for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly.

[...]

"There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them," he said in the interview. "I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I'm... not proud of."

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 11, 2007 - 06:04 AM



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Dems Cancel Nevada Faux News Debate

Quote:
The Democratic Party has officially canceled the debate, thanks to one of the few times FAUX News Chairman Roger Ailes used his mouth for something other than eating. Ailes did his best Dennis Miller impersonation and told a bunch of unfunny right-wing jokes, which the Dems are now using as cover to cancel the debate, rather than admit they F'ed up in the first place and that the pressure from truly radical progressives and MoveOn was too much to bear.

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Kyleovision
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 11, 2007 - 02:05 PM



Joined: Feb 22, 2007
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Quote:
The Democratic Party has officially canceled the debate....


And--oh my, hold the phone-- John Edwards has managed to actually use the word 'gay' in turning down Fox:

Quote:
Fox News has already proven they have no intention of providing "fair and balanced" coverage of any Democrat in this election.

In recent weeks they have run blatant lies about Senator Obama's background. And Fox was only too happy to give Ann Coulter a platform to spew more hate a few days after her bigoted attack on Senator Edwards and the gay community.


Golly. Was that so fucking hard, you hypocritical, 'I'm not there yet'-spewing hillbilly?

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 11, 2007 - 04:17 PM



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"Law & Order" actor Fred Thompson may enter the race

On the issues, he says he:

Quote:
-Is "pro-life," and believes federal judges should overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision as "bad law and bad medical science."

-Opposes gay marriage, but would let states decide whether to allow civil unions. "Marriage is between a man and a woman, and judges shouldn't be allowed to change that."

-Opposes gun control, and praised last week's 2-1 federal appeals decision overturning a long-standing handgun ban. "The court basically said the Constitution means what it says."

-Supports President Bush's decision to increase troops in Iraq. "Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify them. I think we are doing that now," he said. "We've got to give it a chance to work."

-Would pardon former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice now, rather than waiting until all his appeals are exhausted.

Libby is "bearing the political brunt of something that should've never come about," Thompson said, noting that "practically every witness at trial had inconsistent statements."

Thompson said he was not setting a deadline to make a decision and believes he won't be at a disadvantage if he waited until summer. "The lay of the land will be different in a couple of months than it is today, one way or another," he said.


Oh goodie. Another Reagan. Rolling Eyes

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 22, 2007 - 12:24 PM



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John Edwards to quit?

CBC Radio is reporting that Edwards has scheduled a press conference for later today "to discuss the future of his presidential candidacy."

They add that this comes just days after Edwards and his wife went to see a doctor about her health; Ms. Edwards is a survivor of breast cancer.

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Kyleovision
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 22, 2007 - 12:32 PM



Joined: Feb 22, 2007
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Oh my.

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 22, 2007 - 06:44 PM



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Not quitting, it would seem.

Quote:
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - John Edwards said Thursday his wife¹s cancer has returned, but said he will continue his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"The campaign goes on. The campaign goes on strongly," Edwards told reporters, his wife by his side.


*click*

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Kyleovision
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 22, 2007 - 11:14 PM



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Regardless of what he said today, he's done.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 27, 2007 - 07:00 PM



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Bill Richardson's keynote at HRC LA gala: doesn't address DOMA

Quote:
New Mexico Governor and 2008 Dem presidential candidate Bill Richardson was the keynoter at Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles Annual Gala Dinner Saturday night. Let's get to the bottom line:

* He's for a "full domestic partner rights act" bill in New Mexico ("And now, I am fighting for full and equal rights for all domestic partners, including gay and lesbian families."). He also said this:

Quote:
Gay and lesbian families deserve respect. And, if I'm elected president, [I'll wage] a principled stand with you to fight for it. What we don't need [are] constitutional amendments, designed to exclude supportive, devoted couples. We need to extend the rights due to all of us as Americans. For instance, the right to visit a sick or dying partner in the hospital. The right to make necessary legal and financial decisions when a partner can no longer do so. The right to equal employment opportunity and the right to protection from violent prejudice.


I don't know WTF this means since he's also on the record standing by his original vote for the federal DOMA in 1996. There was no mention of marriage equality or civil unions in the speech.

* He's for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ("And I just want to say something about 'Don't ask, Don't Tell," it's got to go. It's got to go. If I'm elected president, I will end this disastrous, disrespectful policy of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'")

* He's committed to proactively dealing with HIV/AIDS.

Quote:
[T]he AIDS commission that is appointed and disappointed and is not active will be a priority in my administration and the AIDS commission chairman will be the Vice President of the United States.


Note it well... Bill Richardson voted FOR DOMA in 1996.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 28, 2007 - 01:55 AM



Joined: Sep 06, 2006
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Naughty, naughty...

Someone putting John McCain's MySpace page together used a template which is freely available -- providing its designer is given credit. They also quite carelessly overlooked the fact that some of the images they were using were hosted on the designer's server -- something you really don't want to be doing (unless the idea of some third party having absolute control over your images doesn't give you pause).

Quote:
Davidson decided to play a small prank on the campaign this morning as retribution. Since he’s in control of some of the images on the site, he replaced one that shows contact information with a statement:

Quote:
Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage…particularly marriage between two passionate females.


I suppose there's no point in pondering whether someone who can't manage a simple MySpace page ought to be involved in government in any capacity.

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 29, 2007 - 09:31 AM



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*snerk*

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Mar 29, 2007 - 11:56 PM



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ATL Malcontent, on suggestions that Obama is all style and no substance:

Quote:
Rudy: 9/11. Did I mention 9/11?

Hillary: I was born a poor black child

Obama: I come from a place called Hope

McCain: I'm not a maverick, at least not today

Romney: I'm not a liberal, no matter what my record says

Richardson: I'm not Hillary

Edwards: I sure got a purty mouth!

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Apr 05, 2007 - 10:38 AM



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Romney Renews Call For Federal Amendment On Gay Marriage

Quote:
(Manchester, New Hampshire) Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has introduced the issue of a federal amendment to ban same-sex marriage into his campaign.

The former Massachusetts governor tells the Manchester Union newspaper that moves underfoot to repeal a 1913 law he used to block out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from marrying in Massachusetts show the need for an amendment.

...

Romney said that if the old law is repealed it is likely that a same-sex couple from outside Massachusetts will go to the state, get married, and then try to have the courts in their home state validate the marriage. "And that's going to go to the (U.S.) Supreme Court," he told the paper.

"At that stage, the Supreme Court could say it's not valid, it's null and void," Romney said. "But to me the most sure way to preserve the traditional marriage is by having a federal amendment."


Mr. Romney's grasp of the law is a little shaky here. While it's certainly possible that the Supreme Court could rule in the way Mr. Romney suggests (many things are possible), it's extremely unlikely. A ruling in this manner would play havoc with many decades of stare decisis on the petty covenants clause of the US Constitution. People routinely get married in one state and have those marriages accepted unquestioned in other states.

It's not a matter of one state having more stringent marriage laws than another... a state that requires an HIV test before issuing a marriage license does not require such tests of people who have married in states where such tests are not among the requirements for a marriage. Nor would a person receive a bill if they got married in a jurisdiction that charged a fee of $50 for a marriage license but resided in a jurisdiction that would charge $200 for the same license. A completed marriage contract is a completed marriage contract.

Mr. Romney is right about one thing -- it would require a constitutional amendment to accomplish his aims in this regard.

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Apr 11, 2007 - 10:29 AM



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The Gays love Edwards!

(or is it just this nebulous "gay leadership" that supposedly does?)

Quote:
Democrat John Edwards is touting prominent gay supporters who have signed on to his presidential campaign, including a former adviser to President Clinton.

Businessman David Mixner is one of 25 people listed on a news release that the Edwards campaign distributed Tuesday, along with a statement from the candidate saying he is honored to have the backing of so many respected gay leaders.

[...]

Edwards is making a push for gay support in the competitive Democratic presidential primary. In February, he came out in support of legislation that would end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prevents people who are openly gay from serving in the military.

[as have Obama and Ms. Clinton]

[...]

"Don't ask, don't tell" created a rift between President Clinton and Mixner, who raised millions for him among gay and lesbian voters but was later arrested in front of the White House in a protest of the policy. The two later said they patched up their differences and agreed to disagree on the administration's policy.


.... from the same link:

Congressional Black Caucus' proposed presidential debate on Faux Gnus to be boycotted by top Dems

Quote:
A group affiliated with the Congressional Black Caucus vowed Tuesday to stick with its plan to co-sponsor a presidential debate with Fox News even though top Democrats have said they will not participate.

"We have extended invitations to all presidential candidates to participate, and we are hopeful that they will accept our invitation," the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute said in a statement.

The CBC Institute's alliance with Fox prompted an outcry from liberal activists who complained the cable news network is biased against Democrats and is racially insensitive in its coverage of black issues.

On Monday, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton joined John Edwards in saying they would skip the debate.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Apr 12, 2007 - 10:51 PM



Joined: Sep 06, 2006
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'berto wrote:
The Gays love Edwards!

(or is it just this nebulous "gay leadership" that supposedly does?)


"Nebulous" is definitely the word to put to it, ESPECIALLY since it's being coupled with the words "gay leadership."

Who IS this gay leadership anyway? Are they the major alphabet soup groups like HRC, NGLTF, GLAAD? Are they the also-ran alphabet soupies like IGLHRC? Or would this so-called "leadership" be those gay and lesbian people who, from time to time, accomplish something of value but always manage to be comparatively unrecognized whenever a top 50 list is made of them?

Often it's a mixture of the three. You can judge for yourself which is the case in this instance. Mr. Edwards DID publish the list.

Quote:
The following LGBT leaders endorsed Edwards for President:

* Skip Paul, Corporate Executive
* Darren Star, TV Producer
* Julie Johnson, Human Rights Campaign Public Policy Committee Co-Chair
* Eric Stern, Former National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director; Former Democratic National Committee LGBT Outreach Director
* David Mixner, Former Bill Clinton for President Adviser; LGBT activist, fundraiser, author www.davidmixner.com
* Dennis Erdman, TV Producer/ Director
* Mary Snider, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Executive Committee Member
* David Tseng, Kerry-Edwards 2004 National LGBT Advisory Committee Co-Chair; Former Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National Executive Director
* David Mariner, Former Out for Howard Dean Co-Chair; Founder, www.outfordemocracy.org
* James Duff, TV Producer
* Ramon Gardenhire, National Stonewall Democrats Black Caucus Co-Chair; Former DNC LGBT Deputy Outreach Director
* Scott Benson, Majority Leader Minneapolis City Council
* Shane Larson, AFL-CIO Pride @ Work National Executive Board Member; Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)-Communications Workers of America (CWA) Government Affairs Director
* Scott Wiener, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Member; San Francisco Democratic Party Chair* (for identification purposes only)
* Jeff Gardner, Garden State Equality Vice Chair; New Jersey for Democracy Co-Chair
* Lynne Wiggins, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) National Leadership Council Member; Former Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors Member
* Ken Keechl, Broward County Commissioner; Former Dolphin Democrats President
* Linda Elliott, Human Rights Committee Board of Directors Member
* Dave Garrity, Former Democratic National Committee Member
* Mark Periello, Former Human Rights Campaign staff member; Democratic strategist
* Ron Ginsburg, LGBT Community Activist; business owner
* Randall Kelly, LGBT Community Activist; attorney
* Stephanie Kornegay, LGBT Community Activist; business owner
* Robert D. Horvath, Mautner Project Board of Directors Member
* Patrick J. Lyden, LGBT Community Activist; Homeland Security Advisor


Now, is it reasonable to call these people "leaders"? Presumably, leaders are those who lead, and this status is best judged by those who are led.

While most pundits are all a-quiver over David Mixner's appearance on the list, something that jumps out at me is how very many current or former functionaries of HRC have turned up. You may recall that HRC, which has not endorsed ANYONE yet, is widely believed to be entirely in the pocket of that candidate who shares initials with them. This list is a clear indication that support for Clinton is far from unanimous.

In the case of Mr. Mixner's endorsement we have some very clear commentary explaining the position.

Quote:
Let me be very clear. I am disappointed that none of the major candidates support full marriage equality. I deeply believe that our nation has arrived at a place where it is politically possible for a national campaign to be successful and support marriage equality for the LGBT community. It remains my hope that the major candidates may still come around on this issue and follow the courage of other national leaders such as Senator Russ Feingold.

Lorri Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, recently suggested that members of the LGBT community should not endorse any of the major presidential candidates because of their failure to support such a fundamental right for our community. I honestly considered her point.

But today, my politics are driven by my fierce desire to see an end to the war in Iraq. I am reminded daily of our struggle to end the war in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago. The parallels are striking and surreal. And I feel that I must do everything I can to elect a president who understands and shares this world view.


For what it's worth, I join Ms Jean (and Mr. Kramer) in 'suggesting' that members of the GLBT community not endorse any of the major presidential candidates. I am pleased that Mr. Mixner at least considered this possibility. I'm also pleased that Mr. Mixner has the honesty to state that his support for Edwards has everything to do with war and very little to do with what is good for the gay people. If Edwards were as honest, he'd strike David Mixner from this list of "LGBT leaders" who endorse him. Mr. Mixner is an anti-war activist who endorses Edwards... he has abandoned anything resembling 'gay leadership' this time around in favor of "hope that the major candidates may still come around." He is free to do so, and I am free to decline to follow his lead.

I suspect that were we to have similarly open discussion of the true positions of the endorsers we would find similar rationales. I suspect we would find that this is by no means a list of "gay leaders" but is, instead, a list of anti-war activists who happen to be gay (and strangely hopeful that the candidates will come around at some point).

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Apr 29, 2007 - 05:26 PM



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This is so pathetic. In a re-printed AP story about Obama and Clinton blasting Bush-Cheney about the war, the folks over at 365 spotted the short phrase

Quote:
The New York senator also promised to "treat all Americans with dignity and equality no matter who you are and who you love." The pledge was clear bow to California's politically active and influential gay community.


and felt that was sufficient to headline the story "Dems Court War Foes, Gays In Calif."...

Pfffftttt!!!!! Rolling Eyes She didn't even SAY the word gay! And Obama (apparently) never said anything that could be construed to be about queers at ALL. Some folks seem willing to accept even the smallest crumb that the Democrats will throw them. That's the recipe for getting ignored and screwed over yet again. Jebus, what the fuck is WRONG with some people's kids?

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Apr 29, 2007 - 09:09 PM



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They think 'crumbs' is all they can get, and they imagine that having the crumbs is better than not having even the crumbs. What's wrong with them? They know in their hearts that those crumbs are more (much more) than they are worth. They must. Otherwise they would be really very angry, and that's one thing "some people's kids" are not is angry.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: May 24, 2007 - 09:02 PM



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Former Aide Takes Shots at Edwards

Quote:
Robert Shrum, the veteran Democratic strategist who worked on John Edwards's 1998 Senate campaign in North Carolina, does not remember his onetime client very fondly.

In his new memoir, "No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner," Shrum recalls asking Edwards at the outset of that campaign, "What is your position, Mr. Edwards, on gay rights?"

"I'm not comfortable around those people," Edwards replied, according to Shrum. He writes that the candidate's wife, Elizabeth, told him: "John, you know that's wrong."

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: May 24, 2007 - 09:45 PM



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I guess this explains why he's "not there yet"...

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: May 24, 2007 - 09:54 PM



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It would go a long way toward explaining that position, yes.

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