CNN: McCain says gay marriage ban "Unrepublican"

[ronabop]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona broke forcefully with President Bush and the Senate GOP leadership Tuesday evening over the issue of same-sex marriage, taking to the Senate floor to call a constitutional amendment to prohibit the practice unnecessary -- and un-Republican.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/14/mccain.marriage/

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. Ha hah... At least John is a pain in the ass to EVERYONE!

You go John!

[rpannier]

2. Lotta good points...

McCain must just eat away at the neocons.

[Hoping4Change]

31. So is Shrubco going to continue using McCain's

endorsement as a TV ad?

[Swamp Rat]

44. That was my first thought too.

So, Bush&Co spend tons of money on this TV ad, then McCain says something that could divide the Republican party. Hmm... McCain is maneuvering himself into a position that may play out at the RNC convention.

[Hoping4Change]

45. Ain't it all so interesting? Looks like McCain is a

consummate politican. Maybe Rove should be very nervous.

[dumpster_baby]

3. this could be very important

I was under the impression that the gay marriage thing was going to be a big GOP deal.

What does this mean? That Mccain is an idiot? That he has had a stroke? Is he retiring? Something weird here...a power-hungry old man like that doing something like this...weird....

[Retrograde]

38. that he remembers what conservative really means?

"I was under the impression that the gay marriage thing was going to be a big GOP deal.

What does this mean? That Mccain is an idiot? That he has had a stroke? Is he retiring? Something weird here...a power-hungry old man like that doing something like this...weird...."

Once upon a time - before the word got co-opted - conservatives were actually for smaller and less intrusive government. You know - like not telling the states how to run their internal affairs, keeping laws out of people's private lives, and in general NOT acting like Big Brother.

[SoulDiva]

4. *shock*

*twitch* Non homophobic republicans *twitch* Cannot compute.... :wow:

[KareBear]

5. Saying that doesn't poove he isn't homophobic

Just that his state values states rights over national government dictation.

[Leilani]

14. He did the eulogy for Mark Bingham

sure does not sound homophobic to me...

[havocmom]

32. AZ has sent Congressman Kolbe to DC over and over even after

he came out of the closet. McCain knows not all Zonies are as dim as Senator Kyl is! The GOP at the national level made a lot of foolish assumptions about this issue. Much of their base knows the nation is better served by the Congress dealing with real problems instead of these silly attention getting issues.

[ronabop]

9. John Kyle is from AZ too...

AZ republicans are like GA democrats. They're off all of the normal maps. (Is it the heat? Humidity? Lack thereof?)

I like to think of AZ republicans as democrats who don't care about gays, bibles, or religious arguments, just let us have our guns, decent fiscal management, and sane governance. I disagree with McCain on abortion, but he's pretty sane in a lot of ways.

I moved to GA a year ago... I think I'll go back. Maybe we can trade Zell Miller for John McCain.

-Bop

[trumad]

6. You're right McCain

Now go back out on the stump for George Walker Bush and tell everyone how much moral clarity he has....

[leesa]

11. Really McCain wouldn't know morality if it bit him in the ass.

[truthspeaker]

7. Theoretically, the GOP stands for small government and individual liberty

Obviously in practice this has been completely thrown out, but McCain has this thing about sticking to his principles. Some of them are principles I vehemently disagree with, but on personal liberty I'm usually on his side. Other Republicans believe in the freedom to own guns but nothing else.

[robbedvoter]

8. The Republican way is to kill them, not just refuse them marriage

Thanks for clarifying it.

[liberalmuse]

10. Someone needs to have a talk with McCain...

He's thinking of the party of Lincoln, but that party is dead. The gay marriage ban IS Republican. So is bigotry, greed, facism, sexism, pre-emptive warmongering, torture, lying and oppression. I'm sure I missed some things.

[Longhorn]

12. While I admire McCain going against his party,

a "states right" argument is what was used against the passage of civil rights.

A constitutional ban in gay marriage is wrong because a ban on gay marriage is wrong. If there is an amendment, it should go the other way -- giving equal rights to homosexuals!

[Coventina]

13. Looks like McCain is saying "no thanks"

to a possible VP slot in case of something happening to Crashcart.

(I posted this in the other thread also, just trying to cover all the bases! :P)

[dusty64]

15. Once in awhile I

kinda like this guy. He is daring to say what SO many wishywashy Dems are unfortunately afraid to and stand up to these hateful fascists.

[Beetwasher]

16. Now, Who STILL Thinks He'll Replace Cheney?

Anyone?

[playahata1]

17. I do not get this man at all.

One minute, he is a gung-ho/close-ranks/follow-party-discipline/wing-nut Republican. The next minute, he's calling Bushco and other Republicans on their bullshit policies. Whose side is he on, really?

[ronabop]

18. Whose side?

His own.

That's what makes him so fun to follow.

-Bop

[Hoping4Change]

34. Will the rupukes now slam him as a flip-flopper?

i respect the guy in so far as he goes to the beat of his own drum (even though I don't agree with that drum).

[msmcghee]

19. Perhaps they could keep the voting open . .

. . until November 3.

[skippysmom]

20. Sad to say, John

But being anti gay marriage has become quite Republican.

I guess he's back to pissing off the Bush junta...heh heh.

[Frances]

22. Guilliani and Arnold

are prime time speakers at the convention and they are both pro choice and pro gay. The Repubs are trying to have it both ways--throw red meat to their ignorant base AND show "moderates" in prime time. Of course, we all know how badly Guilliani treated his last wife and how Arnold groped every female who came near him.

[bleedingedge]

27. Arnold is pro gay?

I thought he had pretty clearly stated his opposition to gay marriage? Am I misunremembering that? Maybe not an opposition to gay people in general, but I could swear he specifically said he was against gay marriage.

And I don't think saying "I'm OK with gay people" is the same as "I agree with gay marriage". I've personally run into people who hold both thoughts simultaneously and see neither as conflicted with the other.

This is the rare case where there are three clearly defined sides: anti-gay (aka "Kill The Fags For Jesus"), pro-gay and not-anti-gay (let 'em do what they want as long as they stay marginalized).

[Momgonepostal]

35. I think Arnold is on record as saying,

"Gay marriage should be between a man and a woman."

That's funnier than 99 percent of what Bush says. :-)

[NewJerseyDem]

40. I think he said he has no problem with gay marriage

He had said he opposed gay marriage when he was in the campaign and on Sean Hannity's show. However, he later said on the Tonight Show that he would have no problem if the courts or the people chose to permit same-sex marriage, he just didn't like that Gavin Newsom was doing it despite the law in California. So, that position seems more liberal than most Democratic politicians.

[goclark]

21. I want to be President says John McCain

I think this ego man believes that GW will go nuts in a few days and the party will beg him to be their candidate. He believes that he will be their only choice.

Am I way off? I think he has an ego bigger than GW.

[Mike Daniels]

36. Sh*t. I have no doubt that McCain would have cleaned Gore's clock

to the point where Florida wouldn't have mattered.

I have no doubt that McCain would clean Kerry's or any Dems clock outside of Clark's perhaps in a general election.

If the Repubs were smart they'd ditch Bush, put up McCain and dare the fundies to stay home on election day. Given that the electorate is pretty much 50-50 and Kerry is so "eehh" to the general public, McCain could probably win without the fundy support.

Look over at FR and you'll see the FReeps would love to ditch McCain as much as people over here would love to cut Miller loose.

[tom_paine]

23. But then, it's not like the Busheviks are Republicans or anything

They are Totalitarians, plain and simple.

[Justitia]

24. He surprised me on The View yesterday....

I'm not a fan of McCain, when DUers were tossing around the McCain as VP debate I thought my head would explode;

BUT - I was pleasantly shocked by something he did on The View -

The subject of postponing the elections was being discussed and of course, the Spanish Elections (and how they were influenced by terrorism - arrrghhh!) came up. This makes me nuts!!! That is NOT what happened (why they threw their Bush-loving PM out).

McCain stopped them right there and said that the result was NOT about caving in to terrorism, it WAS about how the Spanish felt their gov't LIED to them (and also because the war was unpopular).

I was like, wow! can't believe he set them straight on that.

Anyway, credit where credit is due.

[qazplm]

26. McCain is one of those guys who is

a. a team player when he has to be
b. his own man when he feels he has to be

I dont necessarily have a problem with either position, heck I wish ol Zell was a team player at least once!

McCain is a conservative in many ways, and he wouldnt make a good democrat, but he is someone you can say this guy most of the time is just voting the way he thinks and believes, and it's hard not to have respect for someone like that.

[Parche]

25. amendment

More like UnHuman

[The_Casual_Observer]

28. Too bad he is wrong about almost everything else he advocates

Including chimps reelection. McCain is a dangerous asshole.

[geek tragedy]

29. That bill was very Republican--McCain is the one

who is unRepublican.

[Generator]

30. Can I extrapolate here?

Therefore, Bush, & his current Republican followers are UnAmerican-and as some are waking up to NOT EVEN REALLY REPUBLICAN.

The popular name is neo-con, but really that's a fancy modern term for neo-fascist.

Well done, I couldn't agree more Mr. McCain. Now when are you endorsing Kerry again?

[Geo55]

33. He sure is a Repulsican wild card sometimes......

might even be one that you can reason with.....well I can dream.

[Disturbed]

37. A gay man and gay woman ?

Uh, Mr. Gropenator: It's ok for them to get married?

[leesa]

39. This will torque out all the Fundie Republicans

They will probably have massive identity crises....but, but, but aren't we the party of intolerance and hate???? Jesus told us so.

[TaleWgnDg]

42. am still laughing, leesa . . .

sad, though, that it's so damn true !! :shrug:

[TaleWgnDg]

41. tis no surprise that McCain remains outspoken about religious zealots!

After all, it's an unbroken continuum. McCain has always been outspoken about not involving religion or its tenets into our laws.

Do you recall, e.g., when the Fundies jumped all over him during the y2k presidential primary in . . . where was it? North Carolina? South Carolina? He's never been the Fundies favorite! McCain didn't flinch then and he didn't flinch yesterday when he stated: "What evidence do we have that states are incapable of further exercising an authority they have exercised successfully for over 200 years? . . . We will have to wait a little longer to see if Armageddon has arrived." ttp://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/14/mccain.marriage/index.html

I think he had his tongue in his cheek when saying that!

All of which is not to say that McCain remains a mixed-bag -- part libertarian, part old time conservative, and part fed up with religion-into-law zealots . . . And outspoken about it all. On top of all of that he is a firm Republican. It's in his bones. As such McCain will campaign for Bush. He sees no problem in doing so. GeorgeW may see a problem, however.

Just remember that McCain is a Republican, period.


:kick: :kick: :kick:

[burrowowl]

43. Welcome to DU, TaleWgnDg!

:hi:

You are so right:

"Just remember that McCain is a Republican, period."
I might add a very social conservative one, meaning to hell with the working class.