MN GOP to push anti-gay marriage ammendment hard

[CatholicEdHead]

They seem to be putting most of their bets on the politics of election division. The GOP is sending out thousands of videos pushing for the anti-gay ammendment to DFL state senate districts where they are precieved to be vulnerable. Also expect TV ads (probably along the same line as the MidwestHeros.com ones) in the near future ramping up the pressure.

This shows just how morally bankrupt the GOP is if they can run on nothing but division this cycle (anti-immigration and anti-homosexual). It is nothing but the politics of fear.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/02/27/samesex/

"St. Paul, Minn. — The GOP-produced video showcases four of the top Republican elected officials in Minnesota government. They tell the viewer why they think voters should get to decide if the Minnesota constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, Auditor Pat Anderson and House Speaker Steve Sviggum are each presented by themselves in an office. The Minnesota state flag and other important symbols of government surround them. They take turns talking about family values, and the danger of "activist judges." They also complain about DFLers holding up the vote in the Minnesota Senate, which the Democrats control.
.....

"It's a fear factor," he (Dean Johnson) said. "It's divide and conquer. Our job as legislators is to bring people together to bring this state together. Last year we beat up on the indians then we beat up on the gays. When are we going to get this administration to bring us together in our commonalities?"
........
The pressure to get the ballot will only increase in the coming weeks. An interest group says it will start running statewide ads later this week on the issue."

[Minnesota Raindog]

1. Who would have ever thought...

That Minnesota's top four elected officials of the majority party would prostitute themselves for a cause so blatantly discriminatory. When was the last time the top four Republicans went to such an effort--mailing tens of thousands of videos statewide--for something truly beneficial for Minnesotans? For universal health care? For the environment? For education? Energy independence? Transportation? No, but they'll stand united for bigotry--and writing it into the state's constitution. That's how ugly the Minnesota Republican Party has become. :puke:

This video alone is enough to warrant a clean sweep of those offices this year. Pawlenty, Kiffmeyer, Awada, Sviggum--it's time to get rid of these rat bastards and take back our state.

[Viking12]

2. MN GOP = Hypocritical, Hateful pigs.

While the GOP leadership condemed the Phelp's protests at funerals, they speak at rallies that promote the same hate. What's the difference between the posters at Bachman's anti-gay rally and the Phelps nutjob crew??

[northernsoul]

4. Gee, I hope my cattlecar to the re-education camp isn't too stuffy

Oh wait, our future Overlords of Christ's Love want the death penalty for heretics, too. Well, I guess I'll just hope for a fast and painless execution. See ya at the firing squad!

[indigo32]

5. When were those taken?

thats just shameful

[Minnesota Raindog]

6. Those were from the 2004 Michele Bachmann rally at the capitol

Last year they asked their faithful followers to tone down their signs because they get bad press when their real agenda is revealed so openly.

[indigo32]

7. Yeah, that honesty and openness....

it's a b*tch

[Viking12]

8. They're from the 2004 anti-gay rally at the Capitol.

Pawlenty cries about the Phelps crowd but he is an enabler of their hate as demonstrated by his address to the crowd of the 'faithful' toting these pictures.

[calmblueocean]

3. Does anyone have a link to the video?

I'm waiting for some anonymous benefactor to scan it in and upload it so Pawlenty's and the GOP's bigotry can be exposed. This is just shameful.

[CatholicEdHead]

9. I just saw this on KARE 11, they are calling the DFLers the "Gang of 12"

Kick civility out the window. Here are the attack ads. :puke:

http://www.gangof12.com/

Edit: Here are what they call the "Ringleaders" (Dean Johnson and Don Betzold)

http://www.gangof12.com/ringleaders.htm

"For two consecutive years, Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson (DFL - Willmar) has lead the effort to deny you the right to vote on the marriage amendment. It seems he has used just about every trick in the book to block the bill, including:

*canceling floor session
*manipulating parliamentary procedures
*ignoring floor motions
*characterizing the amendment as a "distraction"
*misleading constituents on the facts
*threatening caucus members who might consider breaking ranks on this issue.

His actions seem unconscionable, especially in light of his leadership positions as Senate Majority Leader, a Lutheran pastor and a General in the National Guard.

Senator Don Betzold (DFL - Fridley) has also played a major role in stonewalling the marriage amendment bill. As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee where the bill must be initially approved, it seems Senator Betzold has worked hard at keeping Senator Bachmann's marriage amendment bill off the floor of the Senate. In fact, Senator Betzold has gone so far as to introduce a "fake" marriage amendment bill. In contrast to the amendments passed in 19 other states, Betzold's bill fails to even define marriage, let alone protect it. It appears Senator Betzold and his allies wants to preserve their ability to someday force gay marriage upon Minnesotans."

:puke: :puke:

[Minnesota Raindog]

10. WTF don't these people get about the legislative process?

Hundreds of bills get "blocked" every session. Why is theirs any different? If a bill has merit, it gets heard and voted out of the appropriate committees and eventually gets a floor vote. If it doesn't, it either doesn't get a hearing or dies in committee. That's how our system of government works.

Evidently, that's not good enough for these zealots. They want to jump to the front of the line, making up the rules as they go along, and avoid the scrutiny and debate of committee hearings. And if they don't get their way, they call it "blocking" the bill with "tricks" to "deny you the right" to vote on it. They refuse to believe their ugly little bill has no merit.

How vacant these peoples' lives must be if the notion of gay marriage threatens to ruin their own. Imagine what might be accomplished with the energy and money expended on this race to the bottom.

[katinmn]

13. DFL is fighting back: Action Alert

Dear DFLer,

Today Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage unleashed an attack on twelve of our strongest DFL Senators for their refusal to cater to the divisive wedge-issue tactics of the GOP election year agenda.

Two radio ads were released this morning that suggest that by not passing a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, legislators are setting the stage for legalized gay marriage and ultimately polygamy. This absurd and insulting ad does a disservice to all Minnesotans by promoting election year divisive politics by the right-wing, which are bereft of any ideas to serve the common good. Writing discrimination into our very constitution violates the inherent dignity that every human being possesses.

The right-wing ad campaign includes a call to action to flood the offices of the following senators with phone calls spreading their message of fear and divisiveness:

Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson (SD13)

Senator Don Betzold (SD51)

Senator LeRoy Stumpf (SD01)

Senator Tom Saxhaug (SD03)

Senator Keith Langseth (SD09)

Senator Dallas Sams (SD11)

Senator Paul Koering (SD12)

Senator Jim Vickerman (SD22)

Senator Dan Sparks (SD27)

Senator Steve Murphy (SD28)

Senator Sheila Kiscaden (SD30)

Senator Leo Foley (SD47)

Please help these great leaders to fight this smear campaign. We’d love to tell you to call the offices of Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage, but that phone number is unlisted.

Instead, call Representative Steve Sviggum and tell him to denounce these vicious and divisive tactics. And let him know that when a front group is purporting to further his agenda, Minnesotans appreciate the opportunity to join the dialogue. We want to know who the Minnesota Citizens are – and how to let them know what we think.

Call Representative Steve Sviggum at [phone]

Call Representative Dan Severson, Chief Author of the Defense of Marriage constitutional amendment, at 1-800-920-9984. It’s toll free!

Please also take the time to write letters to the editors of your local papers on behalf of your DFL representatives – the ones working for the issues that matter most to all of us, like education, transportation, jobs, health care and the environment. The most successful letters are around 150 words long, and written from the heart.

Thanks very much for your support,

Donna Cassutt
Associate Chair, Minnesota DFL Party

[Minnesota Raindog]

14. Why aren't they telling folks to call Michele Bachmann?

The attack ads go after 12 state senators, but the DFL IGNORES the senate author of the hate amendment. Michele Bachmann is THE leading Minnesota politician behind this ugly measure, yet she isn't even mentioned in the DFL's call to action. WTF is that all about? Are they afraid to take on Michele in her high heels and pearls?

Call Bachmann at 651-296-4351. Or e-mail at [e-mail].

[katinmn]

15. Good point. I will relay that to Donna

:thumbsup:

[katinmn]

16. She's in the hospital.

:nopity:

[Minnesota Raindog]

18. So what? She's still in the Senate and pushing hate!

[katinmn]

19. Hey, I'm with you!

People can still leave messages at her office, and that of the co-sponsors.'

[dodger501]

11. And they will know who you are, too

Check this out:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/28/the-minnesota-gops-stealth-attack-on-privacy/

"This week the Minnesota Republican Party is distributing a new CD about a proposed state marriage amendment. Along with flashy graphics, the CD asks people their views on controversial issues such as abortion, gun control, illegal immigration, and so on.

The problem – the CD sends your answers back to headquarters, filed by name, address, and political views. No mention of that in the terms of use. No privacy policy at all. The story concludes: “So if you run the CD in your personal computer, by the end of it, the Minnesota GOP will not only know what you think on particular issues, but also who you are.”

Sneaky bastards. I hope this blows up in their faces.

[Mister Ed]

12. Maybe the whole thing CAN be turned against them

They tried getting people riled up about immigrants, and barely elicited a yawn from the public.

They're airing massively-financed pro-war ads, and I don't see any sign that the public is buying it.

Now they think they they can flog gay marriage to an election victory, because their polls tell them a majority of the voters are uptight about gays getting married. But I don't need any poll to tell me that a majority of the people are disgusted by the sort of cruelty and hatred that is the true heart and soul of their movement.

Why should we let them script the debate and frame the issue? What if we could keep the focus on their cruelty and hatred? What if we could keep the spotlight on the funeral picketers, and the hateful scum pictured in post #2 above? Those pictures are worth a thousand words apiece, and there must be lots more of them.

Why let the glib and photogenic Ms. Bachmann be the face of their movement? If we can strip away their veneer and show their true face, the public will be disgusted. From the cities to the farms to the iron range, people will be disgusted. And they will register their disgust in the polling booth.

[Odin2005]

17. WTF happened to the moderate Republicans?

Arnie Carlson voted for Kerry, for crying out loud. The lunatics have taken over the MN GOP.
:puke:

[Dickster]

20. Push back

[CatholicEdHead]

21. We all knew the Strib's Kersten would weigh in on this soon

as she is part of that group. :puke: She is saying we are all "Scared" to not put it to vote. Let the tyranny of the majority rule in her eyes. :puke:

http://www.startribune.com/191/story/279305.html

"
......The marriage amendment is unnecessary. Opponents note that Minnesota already has a law limiting marriage to one man and one woman. But in states such as Iowa and Maryland, similar laws are under legal assault. Activist state courts can throw out a Defense of Marriage law like Minnesota's as discriminatory, unless it is backed up by a similar provision in the state constitution.

The marriage amendment is divisive. What delicious irony! Same-sex-marriage supporters themselves created the rancorous dispute they now lament, by relentlessly promoting a radical social experiment that is essentially unique in human history. Besides, when a dispute is over principle -- the Civil War, the struggle for women's suffrage, or the nature of marriage, our most fundamental social institution -- divisiveness is a price worth paying.

The amendment is discriminatory, a product of unfounded fear and hatred of gays. The Muslim faith permits a man to marry four wives. I oppose redefining marriage in America to allow polygamy. This doesn't mean I "hate" or "fear" Muslims, or wish to discriminate against them. It merely means I believe one man-one woman marriage is best for American society and families.

The marriage amendment is a cynical political wedge issue, a distraction from issues that people really care about, like schools and housing. What could be more vital than marriage, a universal social institution that connects fathers and mothers to their children, and thereby perpetuates the social order?
........."

[CatholicEdHead]

22. Here is some background on the two top organizers

of the "grass roots" organizations behind this mess.

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/374455.html

"Until a few years ago, Chuck Darrell and Jeff Davis were obscurely successful salesmen from the St. Paul suburbs. But they have emerged this spring as two of the most potent and prominent public voices in Minnesota's marriage amendment debate.

Darrell and Davis are spokesmen and organizers for two groups committed to placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would ban same-sex marriage and its legal equivalent. Both were instrumental in pressing the case against Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson concerning his comments about conversations he allegedly had with state Supreme Court justices.

Both men were reluctant to be profiled, citing concerns for their families' privacy. But they agreed to talk to the Star Tribune about why they have devoted themselves to this cause, on the condition that some personal details, such as the cities where they live, not be published.
..........."

[Minnesota Raindog]

23. That should tell you something

The fear for their families expressed by these two maggots should tell you something about the ugly message they're peddling. I thought Bachmann said this was a uniting issue, not a dividing issue. What are Chuck and Jeff afraid of?

[Demrock6]

24. Good point!