who asked Cheney the gay marriage question?

[Cocoa]

Has any reporter talked to that person, asked why he/she asked it, and looked into whether that person had any contact with the Bush campaign?

That might help us with the obvious question about whether this thing was staged.

[yolatengo]

1. Karl Rove?

It's classic mis-direction.

"Well, *I'M* not for that mean-spirited, nasty legislation, and hey,
I'm known as a ogre! Can't you suburbanite GOP-lites who don't
like how we're beholden to the Religious Right see that even *I'M*
compassionately conservative!? I kinda love my gay daughter!"

"Now, it's just too bad that our Uniter Not Divider, Straight Shootin'
Dubya has made his quick, decisive, correct, er, I mean, maybe flawed
but certainly NOT flip-flopping mind up. Hey, I tried. There are LOTS
of conservatives who don't think this should be an amendment! The
GOP is, above all else, Compassionately Conservative. Vote Bush!".

"Just because we're pushing this homophobic, anti-freedom,
unconstitutional (which is why we need to amend it!) bullshit
everywhere, it's in our PLATFORM, talk radio is hammering it
non-stop, Rick Santorum is on a crusade about it and the leader
of the party supports it, don't you worry; we'll sorta kinda apologize
for passing this bigotry AFTER you dumbass, socially liberal,
fiscally conservative, middle-class suburbanites who hate the
entire current GOP platform EXCEPT tax cuts and vouchers vote
for us instead of faggot-lover Kerry (oops, that just slipped out!)
in November!"

thanks,

Dick Cheney

[Inland]

2. Geez, how could it be staged? Cheney just adopted Kerry's position

Do you think that Bush/Cheney is going to win any votes with "I'm not a total gay hating asshole except when my job calls for it?" That he only takes a position because Bush takes it? Its a disaster for pubbie hate machine, and moreover, has hung 48 pubbie senators out to dry for voting for the const. amendment on Bush's request. They don't get to say that Bush is their boss.

[Cocoa]

3. it allows the media to portray Cheney as a cuddly grampa

incredibly, the media is playing along, all the way.

[Inland]

4. And that changes a vote how? Cheney is a decent human unless Bush isn't?

Cheney won't have the law declare his own daughter a permanent pariah, unless Bush wants it to? That might be soft and cuddly for a dick like Cheney, but can you imagine one vote that will be changed FOR Cheney for this? I sure can't.

Rather, it illustrates just how amoral and unprincipled the republicans stands are: Cheney doesn't want gays treated unfairly, his daughter is one, Bush's daughters are straight, so he doesn't care. Compare Kerry, who manages to do what is fair for Cheney's daughter. How can an independent not be more attracted to that, now that Cheney has flipped?

[Cocoa]

5. absolutely

there are absolutely voters that are turned off by the reality of the republican meanness agenda. That's why their 1992 convention hurt them.

This whole convention is about softening their edges, covering up that real agenda. And yes, it's about votes, lots of them.