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The Spectacle Blog
Let’s get this straight: Joe Biden’s latest gaffe forces Barack Obama to “come out” in favor of gay marriage, something he might have done anyway, but not as soon. The media jumps into the frenzy, hoping to make people believe that the 2012 elections are about families with “two mommies” rather than families with zero jobs.
As if that’s not bad enough, barely hours after Obama flip-flops on the issue — just in time for a big Hollywood fundraiser where megamillionaires no doubt think that gay marriage is on the top of everyone else’s mind as well — the Obama campaign releases the bombshell that Mitt Romney was a prankster in high school.
Seriously, they are trying to make the case that Romney, who may have been involved in a 1965 prank in which a male student’s long hair was cut, was (and therefore still is) anti-gay.
Remember, Romney was in high school almost 50 years ago. Even when I was in high school, a little more than 25 years ago, the issue of someone’s sexual preference was far less thought of than it is today, not least because people of all ages stayed “in the closet” far longer and more completely than they do today.
I offer no judgment on people who want to keep such things private; the point is that the idea that the victim of a high school prank would have been “presumed homosexual” in the early 1960s just because of long hair borders on the ridiculous. Fox News reports that the sister of the person whose hair was cut, who died several years ago, has no knowledge of the event ever happening; she believes that the man “would be furious” about the story were he alive today.
That said, even if presumed homosexuality were a factor in a high school prank, what part of “high school” and “nearly fifty years ago” do Democrats think will make this an issue for the electorate?
A note on hypocrisy: Barack Obama, who supports federal domination of every aspect of human life, argues that the issue of marriage should be left to the states. Indeed it should be left to the states, but hearing that argument from Obama who clearly does not believe in federalism should invite great skepticism as it shows Obama yet again trying to have it both ways with the politics of the issue.
Similarly, Mitt Romney who, as a Republican, tends to favor federalism has said he is for a “national standard” defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Either you believe in federalism or you don’t, and Romney’s hypocrisy on this issue is little better than Obama’s.
Every one of these politicians should get their policies and their thoughts out of other people’s bedrooms. The issue should indeed be left to the states, and the states should allow any two people to make any contract they want to that does not harm others. The state should get out of the marriage business and leave it to religious institutions. And gays would do themselves a favor by discussing the issue in terms of anything other than the word “marriage” which, as many people have said, does indeed have millennia of specific meaning to most cultures within the human race. That meaning may change over time, but it will be a process, not an event. Votes on “gay marriage” across the nation prove that, even as public opinion drifts toward equal treatment of gay and straight relationships.
The big news of the past few days is not Obama’s view on marriage, nor is it Romney’s high school shenanigans. It is that politicians of both parties remain uncomfortable and inept on the issue — which is the most likely outcome whenever government gets involved in an issue in which it has no business.
In the short term, Barack Obama is probably getting the better of the discussion. In the long term, few people will cast votes based on this issue, especially as unemployment remains high, economic growth remains weak, and Democrats remain without a plan to improve anything that people actually care about.
Finally, I wonder when anyone in the “mainstream” media will mention that we now know more about Mitt Romney’s record in high school than we know about Barack Obama’s record in college or graduate school.
View all comments (66) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Ross Kaminsky
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Bob| 5.11.12 @ 9:46AM
Romney flippity flops every minute of his waking life. His lies have piled up so much they have filled the BYU library. The Democrats won't destroy Romney neither will the right wing GOPukes, they won't have to. Romney will do the job himself. A smell a rat and his name is "Willard".
Calvin| 5.11.12 @ 11:23AM
The big O won't be able to get off his incompetent hook. Even Clinton says he is incompetent. He is for free contraception and gay marriage. I wish we could get him interested in a government that is economically spiraling out of control. Not only do progressives have an unending list of expensive ideas but culturally they attack the base of future workers. His goof ball supporters who support wind energy, solar energy, unbelievably expensive high speed rail and a myriad of imitations of the failed European experiment need to use their addition and subtraction skills to come to the conclusion that progressivism is unsustainable. In reality they are merely paying off their unproductive friends with tax payer money and all their "good" intentions are phony. I wouldn't look to these clowns to figure this out but they are only about 20% of the country.
One in six of the big O's money bundlers are homosexuals and this explains these recent shenanigans. Money will be raised and votes will be lost. North Carolina went to Obama last time. 60-40 hardly supports the inevitable thesis or that it is a short term good thing for Obama. Somebody that lives in Boulder and vacations in Santa Fe can be forgiven for being clueless about what America is like. Certainly there is diversity in the United States but Ross is overexposed to the 20%. Hanging around the clinically delusional is a bad way to understand your country.
Cpm| 5.11.12 @ 12:15PM
So Obama doesn't change his mind? Oh that's right, he 'evolves'. Constantly.
A.C.| 5.11.12 @ 10:03AM
I would like to read some newspaper interviews of Barack Obama's high school drug dealers. Did he just meet them in the boy's room, or did he hang out with them? What do they remember about his friends?
Albert Constantine Jr.| 5.11.12 @ 10:20AM
What a horrible assignment that would be to a journalist, to have to go to Hawaii and interview 50 year olds who smoked weed or sold coke to the current POTUS. Every publication worth its byline had stringers posted to Wasila, Alaska in 2008 to dig up dirt on Sarah Palin, but none can find anyone who wants to fly to Honolulu and mingle with old dope dealers and users.
Mike 3/505| 5.11.12 @ 10:09AM
Ross,
You must a really got rested up on vacation...You've come out w/both six-shooters blazin'
Regards,
Mike
Ross Kaminsky | 5.11.12 @ 10:32AM
Thanks for the morning laugh, Mike!
Indy| 5.11.12 @ 10:16AM
The Washington Post has become Pravda
Why no reports on POTUS and his inconsistencies in his own storyline? His own words and writings, easy work for a journalist...
http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....n-history/
Greg| 5.11.12 @ 10:34AM
Ok. Fine. Romney was an asshole. Newt and Santorum could have told people that.
Now,lets investigate Obama's drug history and the gay rumors.
Paul McGrath| 5.11.12 @ 11:13AM
Assuming that what they said about Romney was true--and it probably is--so what? He was a typical American male behaving as typical males at that age have behaved since the beginning of time. Rough-housing, wrestling, fighting--on the athletic field and off--and, yes, occasionally teasing those who were unwilling or afraid to stand up to it: this is what boys do. Or they certainly did in 1965 and when I was growing up in the seventies.
Bo Darville| 5.11.12 @ 3:02PM
Gay rumors?????
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 10:59AM
Bo: Chicago Gay Bathhouse Obama rumors. I want to know if he was getting his knob polished by other men while married to the Wookie.
Bob Miller| 5.11.12 @ 10:38AM
The greatest current explosion of bullying is that of Obama & friends against millions of Americans. He's tried to bully the Supreme Court and Netanyahu , too.
9thID| 5.11.12 @ 10:57AM
Libertine atheists and Voluntaryists like Kaminsky will have to come to grips with the fact that just like the issue of slavery had to "Federalized", so too will the foundational issues of traditional marriage and Life, which form the core of our Judeo-Christian heritage. Just as Dredd Scott was overturned, so too will Roe v. Wade, and as opinions towards Life change in our favor, we are well on that path now.
Leaving marriage up to the states will as Scalia said open the door to bestiality, polygamy, pedophilia, and the rest of the Libertine Pandora's Box of depravity. One can only imagine the utter chaos that will result when every state has its own hodgepodge of marriage laws and when anyone wants to move to a new state, or even travel across state lines, won't necessarily have their "status" recognized. My state has already seen gay couples who moved here not have their marriage recognized and when they wanted a divorce and a child custody battle ensued, the result was the Goldstein/Kaminsky anarchy.
This Libertine anti-Federalism/Voluntaryism smacks of a return to something even worse than the chaos of the Articles of Confederation, which forced the Founders to draft the Constitution. Kamisnky's Voluntaryist Libertine humanism along with that of his progressive cousins will be cause of our next civil war. Should they choose that option, we will defend our oaths to the Constitution...
Richard Ryan| 5.11.12 @ 11:18AM
I think Santorum made a good point when he spoke of social/cultural issues being directly connected to our economic mess. After all, conservative economic policies don't help 4th generation welfare dependents who have never even seen a traditional family. Regardless of how you feel about gay marriage, though, the fact that it is headline news when our country is steamrolling into a Greece debt situation is absurd. Soon we won't have the luxury to talk about these "side issues" because our nation will be teetering on the edge of chaos. Our citizens are spoiled, there is no simpler way to say it. They will not tolerate "austerity" any more than the Greeks. That means upheaval and violence.
9thID| 5.11.12 @ 12:40PM
Well, we got here by the Libertine Establishment types in both parties suffocating "these side issues" that are at the core of our moral decay and thus fiscal/entitlement cliff. Treating the symptoms and not the disease is the Liber-al/Liber-tarian/RINO method that has brought us to the brink of disaster. To paraphrase Adams, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people...it is unsuitable to govern any others".
The only real difference between a 2nd term under Obama & Romney is like the difference between driving a car off the cliff with your eyes open, or eyes shut... I will not be a party to either of those "options".
If you are not preparing for what is sure to come under either an Obama or Mitt RomneyCare presidency, then you can only blame yourselves...
Richard Ryan| 5.11.12 @ 12:51PM
I think the only difference in our way of thinking is this: I think Republican control of both houses plus Romney can save this country. That does not mean he's my favorite candidate (far from it) or I'm happy with Republicans generally. GOP and Romney need to get some backbone and they can do it.
Romney = McCain| 5.11.12 @ 2:00PM
Hi Richard. The best thing we all can & should do is put our trust & faith in God, not The GOP to turn this country around. God can & will do what Republicans have no intention of doing. Republicans want power & their next opportunity to grow the Federal Government. Political power always comes first before God, the nation, & the people no matter which party has majority control. The last time Republicans had the Presidency & both Houses of Congress how much did things really change? They both operate the same way with the only difference being the smug arrogance of liberal Democrats like Obama, Reid, & Pelosi & the cowering desire to be liked by the media, the left & Democrats by spineless "leaders" like Boehner, Cantor, & McConnell. The only battling Establishment Republicans do is against the conservatives in the party who threaten their being liked by their foes & force them to keep the promises they made when they campaigned for election or re-election. Why would anyone put their faith & trust in Republicans before The Almighty God? God NEVER breaks a promise. God doesn't fill our heads with platitudes & empty promises He has no intention of keeping. God also doesn't have to be re-elected. He is sovereignly in control & real change wiil only come through Him. Put your faith & trust in the God of the universe, not in Republicans. You'll be free of worry & disappointment. Take it from someone who used to put the GOP before GOD.
Clint| 5.11.12 @ 10:30PM
" In keeping with his views on federalism, Congressman Ron Paul supports the Marriage Protection Act. This legislation ensures federal courts will not undermine any state laws regulating marriage by forcing a state to recognize same-sex marriage licenses issued in another state. The Marriage Protection Act thus ensures that the authority to regulate marriage remains with individual states and communities, as the drafters of the Constitution intended."
Oldefarte| 5.12.12 @ 2:02PM
No DA you and Father Ron are incorrect! The authority of marriage comes from the NATURAL LAW, and MAN'S LAW only derives its authority from same. Carpola, as a double-wide PRACTICING '''''''CATHOLIC'''''', you sure don't know EXCREMENT about fundamental Catholicism, do you? Oh and additionally, contemplate the following while you're scratching your navel in wonderment over same:
'......Newsmax Christians Must Vote for Mitt Romney Friday, May 11, 2012 09:27 AMBy: Cynthia Dunbar Newt Gingrich’s exit from the Republican presidential primary last Wednesday left voters with clear battle lines. Americans are confronted with the choice between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
With that in mind, I find it inconceivable that any evangelical could still act as though there is any choice left about which candidate to support.
As a seasoned political activist who has fought in the trenches against impossible odds for righteous public policy, I am saddened by the division within our alleged “Christian” ranks.
Jesus taught that a house divided cannot stand (Mark 3:25). If we, as the corporate body of Christ, are going to be effective in the culture war in which we find ourselves, we must be shrewd as serpents (Matthew 10:16).In this election year, we find ourselves with only three realistic courses of action:Don’t vote; Vote for Obama; or Vote for Romney. However, as Christians, we cannot with good conscience abstain from voting. After all, Christ has called us to take the gospel as a testimony to the nations (Matthew 24:14). It is critical to note that he specifically said it is to be a testimony to “nations” and not merely “people.” This means we are mandated to not only evangelize the individual people, but also to apply the gospel to every aspect of our nation, including its government. Additionally, Christ called us to be salt and light to a lost and dying world (Matthew 5:13-16). Consequently, these admonitions don’t afford us the luxury of simply “sitting this one out.”
I have heard it characterized by some as though the American people are once again faced with a choice between the lesser of two evils. However, I do not find this to be an accurate assessment.
I would like to suggest that evil is not an entity; it is an absence. As cold can only be defined as the absence of heat, and darkness the absence of light, then, likewise, evil is the absence of Christ.
Consequently, our political choice is not between two evils; rather it is between which man’s policies align more closely with the teachings of Christ than the other man’s. When you judge the fruit of each candidate’s policies according to their political adherence to the word of God, which we know to be Christ himself (John 1:1), then our course of action becomes imminently clear.It is crucial that we, as the corporate body of Christ, act cohesively in supporting the clear tenets of scripture in order that we may sway the course of our nation into its calling as a city set on a hill, a beacon of hope to the nations.
This was the understanding, vision, and effectiveness behind the Founding Fathers of our nation. For evangelicals, this election, like every election, is so much more than mere partisan politics. It is about choosing the candidate who most closely aligns his policies with what Benjamin Franklin referred to as the “primitive principles of Christianity” or what C.S. Lewis spoke of as “mere Christianity.” Only when nations align with the most basic teachings of the Bible concerning the appropriate authority, function, and policy of civil government can righteousness be established. After all, we know that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to all people (Proverbs 14:34). Sin, promulgated through governmental public policy, is allowed to exist only when God’s people are either ignorant of the standards for civil government established in God’s word or refuse to speak up and hold our governing authorities accountable to those standards.
Cynthia Dunbar I fear Christians today may be guilty of both. Unfortunately, to make either mistake is a sin and causes a blight upon our land. The righteous and biblical principles of the sanctity of life, the sanctity of family and marriage, and the uncompromising support for the nation of Israel unquestionably must be upheld! In every election, the person who most closely aligns with these positions is the person who must receive the unanimous support of devout, Bible-believing Christians. Admittedly, while neither candidate perfectly aligns with these positions, as no candidate ever does, there is still an obvious demarcation. This demarcation is so obvious that I shouldn’t even need to say which candidate Bible-believing Christians must support. However, just to make sure there is absolutely no confusion, there remains only one option if Christians are going to vote according to scripture and not politics, and that option is Mitt Romney.........'
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 4:30PM
Paul has ended his campaign, no longer going to campaign in states that have not yet held their primaries. Instead, he's going to weasel and scumbag his way to additional delegates.
Ida-Lou Pino| 5.12.12 @ 12:41PM
"Leaving marriage up to the states will as Scalia said open the door to bestiality, polygamy, pedophilia, and the rest of the Libertine Pandora's Box of depravity. "
I agree. There are now 17 states with bestiality amendments on the ballot ... and 9 others with pedophilia legislation in the works. We all must unite to defeat these horrors!!!!
SHEESH!
Kaminsky is correct. Private contracts are none of the gummint's business ... unless there's a dispute among the parties which should be resolved in a court room.
Government's key role is with birth certificates. The adults responsible for the procreation must be identified and held responsible for guarding the child's civil rights until he/she is old enough to understand and guard them himself.
And ... speaking of birth certificates .................
Martin Owens | 5.11.12 @ 11:10AM
I hope The Obama likes what he gets from that pronouncement, ' cause it's sure gonna cost him.
The whole premise of " rallying his base" is silly- mean to say George Clooney & co. will vote Republican if not satisfied ? But meantime, he has thrown down the gauntlet to the pro-family and evangelical wing, in terms that cannot possibly be mistaken, ignored, or explained away. They will mobilize for Romney because, in their eyes, there's no other choice.
Occam's Tool| 5.11.12 @ 11:32AM
Romney was BYU's valedictorian of his class. I wonder where the future Harvard Law student ranked at Pepperdine and Columbia? Funny how we don't know that about Obama. Or his SATs or ACTs.
trinacria| 5.11.12 @ 3:37PM
Seems clear that this is a case of "we know by virtue of the fact that we don't know". Given Obama's pathologic lack of humility, does anyone believe for a moment that his academic achievements wouldn't be trumpeted from the highest hills if they were anywhere near as impressive as Mr. Romney's?
JmsA| 5.12.12 @ 12:33AM
He actually "attended" Occidental College before Columbia.
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 11:00AM
Sorry: Occidental, not Pepperdine. I stand corrected.
Oldefarte| 5.12.12 @ 2:05PM
I've got a nickle that says he was a member in good standing among the Students For a Democratic Society [SDS]!!!!!!!
glenny| 5.11.12 @ 11:32AM
Obama fundraising with "millionaires and billionaires" ??????
I thought only Republicans did that. At least that's what the MSM tell us.
glenny
NLP| 5.11.12 @ 12:05PM
"In the long term, few people will cast votes based on this issue"
this is so very wrong, and no conservative worth their salt would say it. granted, most DC conservatives seem to be essentially low-tax liberals, but still.
9thID| 5.11.12 @ 12:53PM
I believe your analysis is correct. A sleeping giant has been awoken by Obama, but true Conservatives (social/fiscal/national security), including Evangelicals, will NOT necessarily vote for Romney either. Getting the vote out in swing states will be pivotal.
This "lesser of two EVILS" scenario that killed conservative enthusiasm with RINO McCain will be further dampened by leftist Mormon In Name Only Mitt Romney. Short of a major event happening to knock Comrade Barry down, RomneyCare cannot win. Even if he did, it would only delay the inevitable by a few months. Much lies in getting true Conservatives elected to the House and Senate...
Ross Kaminsky | 5.11.12 @ 1:09PM
those who will vote based on this issue would already be voting, and already committed to their side. The question is whether the issue will have any resonance with independents.
NLP| 5.11.12 @ 3:07PM
well yes and no. obviously if Obama hadn't made this announcement, groups like the Human Rights Campaign would still be supporting him. but there's still some factors in play:
a) the evangelical vote, which might not be so hot on Romney, could swing more in his direction
b) Obama gets more money from homosexual marriage supporters who didn't like his evasiveness on the issue
c) Obama gets less support from the black community. granted they were always gonna vote for him 90+%, but black pastors might not be so enthusiastic about pushing people to vote for him now, and small margins can make a difference in certain states.
also, even with people (unsurprisingly) placing the economy as #1 of their concerns, if you don't think the GOP base is hardcore about this issue you're not paying attention.
Ross Kaminsky | 5.11.12 @ 3:17PM
It's not that I think the GOP base doesn't care about this. It's that I think they're voting for Romney anyway, and are already quite motivated to vote despite misgivings about Romney -- misgivings which I share, though for other reasons.
Ida-Lou Pino| 5.12.12 @ 12:47PM
I couldn't possibly have been more lukewarm about Mittens ... but the vicious leftist attack machine has me so fired up right now that I'm ready to mount the ramparts and fight to the death for that otherwise RINO. And I think lots of other free market right-wingers like us are starting to feel exactly the same way.
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 11:11AM
Ida, what a wonderful director you were---Obama is a nightmare of tragic proportions. Mittens, at his worst, is a garden variety schlub.
NLP| 5.11.12 @ 3:10PM
also anyone who sees marriage as a private decision with no broader resonance -- therefore implicitly supporting our current revolving-door marriage system -- is not a conservative in any sense, i don't care how much anti-Obama red meat you toss out.
Ross Kaminsky | 5.11.12 @ 4:35PM
NLP:
1) Having broader resonance is not sufficient to justify federal involvement.
2) I am not a conservative. I am a libertarian, and have never claimed otherwise.
NLP| 5.11.12 @ 6:05PM
so you want the federal govt., and the state in general, out of marriage. ok. so how do we resolve child custody disputes? property disputes? who gets what? will it be regulated at all, or can someone exit their marriage at any time, even moreso than now? this is a complete copout.
and libertarians are worse than liberals. Kirk pwned y'all in the Reagan era
Ross Kaminsky | 5.11.12 @ 6:50PM
through contract and law, just like disputes that arise outside of marriage.
it is none of the government's business to say who can exit a marriage and under what circumstances.
please show me, Mr. holier-than-thou conservative, where the Constitution authorizes such government involvement.
NLP| 5.11.12 @ 7:22PM
without government enforcement? that'll work.
so you support the revolving-door meaningless marriage regime. at least you're honest.
and spare me the Founding Fathers BS -- they would've probably been appalled by the current permissive divorce laws. but keep takin' that "if it's not in the Consitution!" tack like it's the end-all. sounds exactly like the "if it's not in the Bible it's A-OK!" liberals.
Oldefarte| 5.12.12 @ 2:14PM
Man's law in general terms derives its authority from the Natural Law [but sadly does not always follow same], and if the former deviates from the latter it is unjust. Of course since man was born with FREE WILL, he can follow any course he chooses, but the final judgement will be rendered upon his death!!!!!!!
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 11:18AM
Ross:
The Framers of the Constitution didn't think anyone would be that, um, "pilpullish" to need to be shown that the Government has an interest in the preservation of proper family ties and appropriate relations between men and women.
"Preamble
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and SECURE THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Something about our posterity, I believe, Ross. Please cite an example of homosexual long term relationship, polygamy, or sharia contracted marriage among the founding fathers. In short, like a frog wouldn't recognize "fly pate" (finely chopped fly on a plate) as food, the Founders would not be following this argument. It would strike them as juvenilia.
9thID| 5.12.12 @ 10:36AM
If atheist/secular humanist Kaminsky and his ilk had their way, they would roll back ALL constitutional amendments beyond the Bill of Rights, and then move for Rothbardian/Paulinian Voluntaryism, aka Zero Government. This is what Reagan referred to as "tyranny by individuals" in his quote on Libertarianism. These guys are NOT Federalists, but as neo-anarchists are truly more dangerous than their Libertine cousins, the Progressives.
At least Kaminsky came out of the closet and admits that he is not a Conservative, which is more than Ron Paul, Jack, and Clint will admit. I am surprised that Kamiboy didn't take his family up to PorcFest for vacation, but he probably met with Gary Johnson this time around.
These Thomas Paine Voluntaryists hate our Founding and Judeo-Christian heritage, and seek its demise. Fortunately, most Americans still reject Liber-al collectivism, and the flipside of that ugly coin of Libertinism, namely, Liber-tarian anarchism...
Ross Kaminsky | 5.12.12 @ 12:53PM
Lovely tin-foil hat talking points, but clearly you have no idea what you're talking about regarding me or regarding libertarianism. (Actually, I consider myself an Objectivist rather than a libertarian, but libertarian is easier for most people to understand, and it's only modestly different, in my view. I know hard-core Randians might object to that characterization.)
9thID| 5.12.12 @ 3:01PM
I'll take tinfoil over your idealistic depravity any day. Objectivist is Libertine-speak for atheist/secular humanist. Anti-Constitutional all the same. The TAS Editor is out talking about Comrade Barry being a "stealth Socialist", but why he brought an avowed non-conservative and stealth anarchist like Kaminsky onboard is troubling...
NLP| 5.11.12 @ 6:05PM
so you want the federal govt., and the state in general, out of marriage. ok. so how do we resolve child custody disputes? property disputes? who gets what? will it be regulated at all, or can someone exit their marriage at any time, even moreso than now? this is a complete copout.
and libertarians are worse than liberals. Kirk pwned y'all in the Reagan era
Ida-Lou Pino| 5.12.12 @ 12:51PM
See my post above.
The government's role lies with birth certificates ... that is ... identifying the two adults whose sexual activity produced the offspring. It's the government's role to oversee that these sexual partners zealously guard the civil rights of their offspring ... and to step in if they don't.
None of the above has anything to do with government approval or disapproval of marriage or other private contractual arrangements.
Got it? Good ... I'm glad I cleared that up.
Wayne| 5.11.12 @ 12:41PM
I never cared much for Romney or any of the other R candidates, but after reading about Romney's pranks it seems like he was a normal boy in 1965 not the stuffed shirt person I thought he was. I was going to vote for him because we have no other choice, but now I will vote for him enthusiastically!
crazy| 5.11.12 @ 1:05PM
Who are the bigger bullies? The Romney gang who forcibly cut their classmate's hair or the anti-Romney gang who have outed a dead man to use as big gay club to beat Romney with?
Oldefarte| 5.11.12 @ 1:28PM
He's getting 'the better of the discussion'? Give me a break! Want a DISCUSSION on what is truly important in life [but has sadly been swept under the political rug]. try this:
http://youtu.be/mV6Dn8qMzig
Ross Kaminsky | 5.11.12 @ 3:42PM
OF,
I didn't say he was getting the better of every discussion. I mean that the first few hours of this tempest in a teapot are helping him, but like most of their gambits, like the "war on women", I don't think it's a long-run winner for Obama.
And to the extent that the Washington Post story gets skewered, the backfire might be bigger and faster, along the lines of Hillary Rosen's insults of Ann Romney.
Oldefarte| 5.12.12 @ 2:19PM
Ros s, It might temporarily help him with the Hollywood crowd [say recently at Clooney's house], but again, WHAT ELSE IS NEW? IMHO, I think that Obama, Biden and Duncan literally PUT SIX FEET IN '''''IT''''''with their combined proclamations, but we'll see in November!!!!!!
JmsA| 5.12.12 @ 12:31AM
Damn, there goes the hippie vote!
Pediatric Occupational Therapy | 5.12.12 @ 7:54AM
Whoa! Obama's changing constantly. I can't Imagine what will happen to America. Truly, God Bless America
spoofproof| 5.12.12 @ 9:03AM
FTA: ...not least because people of all ages stayed "in the closet" far longer and more completely than they do today.
Do not fail to consider thousands of so-called teachers teaching little boys that they might be little girls and teaching little girls how to fit a condom on a cucumber. The commies and the swish-men are working overtime to kill the Soul of the children.
john dubose| 5.12.12 @ 11:57AM
Romney may have been a jerk in high school. Better that than than a wus. When he wins, the country will be better off.
Simon Templar| 5.12.12 @ 1:26PM
"Every one of these politicians should get their policies and their thoughts out of other people's bedrooms."
Really, I wish they would. Then maybe they would stop pandering to 1 percent of the pervert population and stop using government at any level to promote political and cultural agendas that attack and destroy the fundamental conservative foundations of society. Yeah, stop making laws and granting new rights and legitimacy to special interest groups that do not give a rats ass about anything but their political and personal agendas and insist on getting what they want despite that FACT that the MAJORITY would like things to remain as they are and their institutions preserved and not changed at the whim of any tiny minority that screams I am being discriminated. What next Ross, special legal rights for polygamist and social support and acceptance by government enforced legitimization and protection. How about marrying your dog? Perhaps , your sister? Sisterphobia, anyone?
Or are you just saying the only citizens that have a right to utilize government to in act new laws and grant new rights and structure their cultural institutions are perverts and leftist with agendas?
The hell with what the rest of us want, think or say. This has nothing to due with government in anyone's bedroom.
It has everything to do with a political agenda within the form of a cultural war to destroy that which stands in the way of complete statism. You do not have a clue what you are talking about or writing about.
Ross, you do not get it and you will never get it.
Go make some money on Wall street and leave the thinking about politics, culture and how to deal with the Left to the rest of us.
9thID| 5.12.12 @ 3:06PM
If TAS wants to continue to bill itself as "conservative", it would be better off if Liberal-tarian Kaminsky could be relegated to joining Goldstein in doing obits and sports writing...
Simon Templar| 5.12.12 @ 1:40PM
"Votes on "gay marriage" across the nation prove that, even as public opinion drifts toward equal treatment of gay and straight relationships."
Oh and by the way once again you are full of shit, to be blunt. The shift has been overwhelming and loudly, NO! What is it now, 32 states that are upholding marriage between a man and a woman? The only place it has been supported is by GOVERNMENT COURTS overturning the legislation voted on by the MAJORITY AND WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
The only shift is that which has been brought about by political intimidation and brainwashing of the youth by public school teachers and educational institutions controlled by the Left Liberal wing.
The only thing in their favor are damn liberal polls that are obviously suspect. I stand corrected. Forgot to include "libertarian" idiots like yourself promoting it.
Simon Templar| 5.12.12 @ 1:54PM
One more point that seems to escape you. This has nothing to do with guvmint in people bedrooms, desire for equal treatment, discrimination, or anything else that the Left touts.
It about using the guvmint to legitimize and force complete acceptance of a deviant behavior of which the majority does not approve.
Nothing is stoping these perverts from living together, having anal sex, no one is breaking down doors, no guvment police checking bedrooms, no one stopping them from forming civil partnerships, business and legal contracts, leaving their estate to each other, or any other binding agreement between two people.
9thID| 5.12.12 @ 3:10PM
ST, don't be mean to Kamiboy! You are like a pyromaniac burning the entire field of his and Goldstein's Liber-al/Liber-tarian strawmen!
Oldefarte| 5.12.12 @ 2:26PM
Well if he would have instead put 'RED HOT' salve in his jock-strap, no doubt their high school would have won all of their track events!!!!
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 11:23AM
Kaminsky is a good guy. I just disagree with him here, folks.
The government has an inherent interest in making sure that the next generation of citizens are being raised in reasonably fit homes. This is best done by laws that support and perpetuate monogamous, heterosexual marriages. I say that last sentence as a psychiatrist who works with poverty stricken indigenous peoples, and has done so in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. That's all.
somnolence| 5.14.12 @ 2:38PM
"If all the hippies cut off all their hair, I don't care, I don't care": Jimi Hendrix from If Six Was Nine from 1967. Never mind the man's family said it never happened, never mind if it did it was a juvenile prank, never mind that Romney himself had fairly long hair in 1965, the year of the mod in Britain, one year removed from the U.S. British Invasion, having nothing to do if one was "gay", which was rarely brought out of closet then. Is there any evidence the guy was "gay"? No, I didn't think so. Suppose Romney started a daily barrage with no let up over Obama not releasing his school transcripts, and revived the BC issue? In light of this crap he would be fully justified in doing so, and I dare say that his material against Obama holds up in court better. Anyone really want it?
Occam's Tool| 5.14.12 @ 4:29PM
I would be asking about his college transcripts if I was Romney. Hell, ask about his HLS transcripts, as I bet Romney's were much better.