Oklahoma Lawmaker Traces the Recession to Gay Marriage

Author: Dylan Ris  |  Category: Gay Rights, Republicans

Gay FirestormWhen an Oklahoma politician seeks to establish him or herself as the state’s most obnoxious, hate-mongering bigot, the task is formidable.  After all, the state’s U.S. Senators, James “God, Guns, & Gays” Inhofe and Tom “Lesbian Bathroom Orgy” Coburn are so homophobic, that out-hating them would appear to be an almost impossible task.

Until now.  Clear the decks for Republican State Rep. Sally Kern, who has just issued the “Oklahoma Citizen’s Proclamation for Morality” aka “blame the recession on the gays”.  Here’s an excerpt

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery;

If you read on, you can also witness Kern ranting about the need for even more religion intertwined into our government.  Her argument largely consists of putting phrases like “HOLY BIBLE” in all caps.

It should be noted that Kern spewed similar noise 15 months ago when she told a citizens’ group

“Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it’s the death knell of this country.”

That particular speech also listed Islam (the entire religion) as a national threat, and it got Kern into trouble — although less so for her bigotry than for the fact that she directly plagiarized Mike Huckabee, who told GQ Magazine, “there’s never been a civilization that has rewritten what marriage and family means and survived.”

Long story short, Kern may be overmatched by her home state’s resident bigots, but there’s plenty of room for her in the Big Tent of Huckabee’s national GOP.  (Assuming Huckabee himself isn’t under that tent at the same time — both figuratively and literally.)

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Attempting to Rip Gays, Michael Steele Backs Into Endorsement of Single-Payer Healthcare

Author: Dylan Ris  |  Category: Gay Rights, Republicans

After a year of economists blathering that wage disparities, cheap foreign labor, and a worldwide recession were to blame for the demise of America’s small businesses, RNC Chairman Michael Steele has finally cut through all the intellectual elitism and identified the real culprit:

Gay marriage.

Republicans can reach a broader base by recasting gay marriage as an issue that could dent pocketbooks as small businesses spend more on health care and other benefits, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Saturday…

“Now all of a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for,” Steele told Republicans at the state convention in traditionally conservative Georgia. “So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money.”

You’ve gotta hand it to Steele. Nothing says big tent party quite like “you just cost me money.”

Politics Daily’s Tommy Christopher was all over this story when it broke, and points out that gay marriages wouldn’t be the only ones that “just cost Steele money.” By the chairman’s logic, straight marriages already do!

You see, Steele appears to be referring to the healthcare costs that businesses are obligated to subsidize for their employees under our current system. A pro-business solution to this problem would be eliminating all employer burdens in the healthcare system and switch to single-payer care as many of our western allies have already done.

Unfortunately single-payer health care seems like a pipe dream at this stage, due to vociferous opposition by interest groups like the Swift Boat Veterans for Moneyed Hospital CEOs and some guy named Michael Steele, who had this to say while running for U.S. Senate in 2006:

Who pays for universal health insurance? Who pays for socialized medicine? I don’t need government dictating to me when I go to the doctor, which doctor I go to, how much is going to be paid for my health care. That’s not the America I want to live in.

No, the America that this 2006 Senate candidate wants to live in is one where small businesses are obligated to subsidize healthcare costs for their employees and their spouses. Sounds like he has some issues to work out with the guy who addressed the Georgia Republicans on Saturday.

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