Bush woos Right with campaign to defend marriage

[T_i_B]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-964321,00.html

PRESIDENT BUSH looks set to make happy marriage an election campaign theme in an attempt to placate his troublesome Right flank as it rails against same-sex unions.

Federal and state spending on promoting healthy, heterosexual relationships would total $1.5 billion (£830 million) over five years under Mr Bush’s leadership, the White House said yesterday, burnishing “compassionate conservative” credentials.

The gradual acceptance in some states of same-sex unions has provoked conservatives, who are campaigning for a constitutional amendment to defend marriage as a heterosexual institution.

But at least one group of conservatives scorned the initiative. Concerned Women for America told its 500,000 members that the proposal was “no substitute for a principled defence of marriage in the face of relentless legal attacks by homosexual activists”.

[lebkuchen]

1. Military marriages are being destroyed. Spouses never see each other

How can he possible defend marriages while he's destroying them?

[cthrumatrix]

20. Breaking - Bush against divorce -so all divorced people don't vote for him

[JasonDeter]

2. Ok, this is what I was talking about here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1016530&mesg_id=1016530

[saltpoint]

3. $1.5 billion is not NEARLY enough!

Why, if same-sex marriages were sanctioned, then heterosexual marriages would be destroyed! Eliminated! Heterosexual married couples would not even be able to have sex! At all! And it would be the fault of gays and lesbians.

(Yes, I'm kidding.)

Seriously, the Democrats could make a VERY strong case that marriage should evolve from true love, and that the love is itself enough. True love should be worth a lot more money alone.

The Democrats could make another strong case that until there is comprehensive, affordable health care and dramatically improved education in this country, Bush can collect Mars rocks with his own private money and not on the public dole.

[izzie]

4. Hard subject but I am betting GOP will lap it up

The Sinners taking over the running of the country is really making me ill. It is hard to get something like that through every state.

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. Not ALL of them...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1057887/posts

[cleofus1]

5. defending marriage?

Such a nebulous goal? How exactly does he do that? Outlaw divorce?


http://www.650keni.com/ortega.html

[LosinIt]

6. Why doesn't he worry about his own marriage...

and we will each worry about ours as it should be, in private. This is asinine.

[ellie]

8. Yes, let's defend

heterosexual marriage, making the world safe for Brittney Spears to get married and divorced in a day! Way to go!

[rustydog]

9. If he wants to defend the sanctity of mariage...he'll outlaw divorce?

what else puts more women and children into poverty and brings to the news front stories of dead-beat dads.

hell, these christians took a vow to Gawd Almighty that they would stay together in HOLY Matrimony until death do they part...so if one were to truly advocate an initiative to save marriage, a no divorce clause would have to be prominent.

[T_i_B]

15. I found it quite odd...

..that the article made no mention of divorce. It was all about the gay issue, which is one hell of a logic gap even for a Murdoch rag like the UK Times.

[leesa]

10. I think even whacky conservatives will find this too expensive

in a bad economy. Bad idea.

[LeftHander]

11. $100 to get married

For Women on welfare....lets see...smacked upside the head by and abusive drunk spouce....$100 dollars for food and clothes for the kids...whats a couple whacks...

This was on NPR this morning...

[cthrumatrix]

12. next is "bush defends God"....dem are agnostic

[theHandpuppet]

13. Let's see....

The United States has, by far, the largest church-going population of western nations... yet also one of the highest divorce rates and teen pregnancy rates.

Solution? Blame those homosexuals for the failed marriages of its heterosexual, church-going majority.

Yeah, right. That makes sense..... NOT. What idiotic logic.

[beaconess]

14. Maybe he should focus his attention on Neil

and leave the rest of us alone. The last thing we need are instructions on marriage and fidelity from the Bush family.

[Bandit]

16. How is Marriage being attacked?

This is something I don't understand. Nobody is threatening anyone's marriage. People just want to be "married" also. Have equal rights not special rights that homophobes relish in. It is these Homophobes that want "Special Rights" which apply only to them and not to All Americans

[maxsolomon]

17. best way to defend it is to mothball it.

make "civil unions" the gov't std. & save marriage for religious ceremony, where it originated & belongs.

the democratic candidate shouldn't touch this subject with a 10 foot pole. they can only lose votes by doing so. the best & only answer is "this is not a real issue. we have more important things to do. americans are dying".

[Deege]

18. I don't know about anyone else

I heard The Shrub's speech on NPR and thought it was really creepy that in this puffed up diatribe about marriage he didn't even mention his wife. Not that the rarely seen or heard First Lady seems to mind her invisibility.

[loudnclear]

19. Most of the RW politicians are divorcees....Including the great "Ronnie"

Will these hypocrites ever stop?

[Th1onein]

21. I think he's going to lose votes on this

Even right-wingers don't want the government messing with marriage. Oops! All except the Christian fundies -- these guys would crawl right into bed between spouses, in order to show 'em how to have the "right" kind of sex. Remind me sometime to tell you about the Jehovah's Witnesses view of oral sex. Nevermind......