The Weekly Ying and Yang

By Deb Equality Della Piana on February 13, 2012 • ( 4 )

Oh, it’s been a banner week for sure, and I’ve got plenty to say. There’s (mostly) good news on marriage equality. We had CPAC. And she’s baaaaack (yes, Ann Coulter). So, without further bullshit, let’s begin.

The Spin Doctor is in

Oh, those generally low-intelligence conservatives can spin more shit than a centrifuge, and wait until you hear the latest! Keith Ablow, a forensic psychiatrist known more for his contributions to Fox News than his contribution to humanity, has written an article that suggests that Newt Gingrich’s infidelities just might make him the best choice for president. For those of you who don’t know Ablow, he basically spent several months making a major news issue out of Chaz Bono appearing on Dancing With The Stars. (I know, that’s critical stuff there. But personally, I don’t even know why that lame show is on television.) Ablow’s issue with Chaz was that as a transgendered person, he may make children reconsider their own gender if they’re exposed to him on television. Yeah, okay, Keith. And some school actually gave this clown a degree.

Anyway, Ablow apparently doesn’t have an issue with America’s children having a three-times married, serial cheater as the leader of the free world. (You guessed it, I’m talking about Newtie.) In fact, in an article on foxnews.com, this asshat suggests that Newt’s infidelity may make him a damned fine president. Why? Well, Ablow has determined that Newt’s brutal honesty in dealing with his first two wives is a good thing. Says Ablow, “I can only hope Mr. Gingrich will be as direct and unsparing with the Congress, the American people, and our allies.”

Funny that this article hit the Internet the day after Marianne Gingrich dumped on Newt, saying he doesn’t have the moral character to be president.

Here’s my issue with all this conservative double speak. Ablow is an asshat of the highest magnitude to condemn someone like Chaz Bono for something that is more a medical condition (gender identity) than anything else, while defending Newt Gingrich whose issues are more character issues than anything else. Let’s get real here, I don’t give a shit who Newt Gingrich sleeps with. He can go find himself a llama for all I care. However, I find it hypocritical when Gingrich goes out there and gives stump speeches about so-called ‘family values.’ And I find it infuriating when he calls same-sex marriage a pagan way of life, and spends his time dumping on the LGBT community.

And for shit’s sake, Newt, don’t go out there and tell the media that your infidelity doesn’t matter because it sure mattered when Bill Clinton had his little Oval Office indiscretion, didn’t it? In fact, you were one of the most vocal leaders of the impeachment charge, you two-faced little troll.

Here’s why Newt Gingrich shouldn’t be president: He’s stupid. He has no ideas. He has no plans. He’s a racist. He’s a bigot. He’s ignorant. Given all those shortcomings, I don’t think his infidelity means a whole hell of a lot.

And as for Keith Ablow, he belongs on Fox with the rest of the fools. Any guy who would author a book with Glenn Beck — the nitwit of the century — can’t be taken all that seriously.

WTF is GOProud thinking?

What comes to mind when you hear the name Ann Coulter? Here’s what comes to my mind: That little voodoo doll I have in my desk drawer with her name on it. I’m a political junkie of the highest order. I spend a lot of time reading, learning about people on both sides of the aisle, and listening to both sides. I can honestly say that I haven’t met anyone quite as ignorant as Ann Coulter. Yet, GOProud has made Ann Coulter, one of the most nasty and homophobic people in America, the honorary chair of its advisory committee. If that isn’t enough, GOProud has given her the title of ‘Gay Icon.’

Now, I know I titled this little tidbit “WTF is GOProud thinking?” but after going to their site, I understand more. When you go to the site, the opening salvo is:

Any of the remaining GOP presidential candidates would be a dramatic improvement over President Barack Obama.

Okay, first off I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Gay and Republican together in the same person is an oxymoron. It just doesn’t make any sense. The GOP works to keep us second class citizens at every turn. Listen, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) banned GOProud because the Christian right was furious that they might be in attendance. However, the Christians had no problem with white supremacists being present. (We’ll get to this in the next post.) How much more degraded do these so-called ‘conservative gays and lesbians’ want to be before they wake up and realize that the GOP is not an ally.

But I digress. This little tidbit is actually about the fact that GOProud chose dog-faced Ann Coulter as its Gay Icon. That’s rich. I can usually find one redeeming quality about a person, but Ann Coulter has absolutely no redeeming qualities. None. Zero. Zilch. This is a woman who is not only incredibly nasty, but incredibly ignorant and stupid. She’s a believer in ‘praying the gay away.’ She has made other derogatory comments to and/or about the LGBT community (among others), like:

”If Gore had been elected president, right now he would just be finding that last lesbian quadriplegic for the Special Forces team.”
”Marriage is not a civil right. You’re not black.”
”I was going to have a few comments about John Edwards but you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot.”

In closing, just let me say that the members of GOProud must actually be indulging in self-loathing to (a) be Republicans, and (b) choose Ann Coulter for this position. This choice is an insult to the rest of the LGBT community.

The GOP and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC): Are these the kinds of leaders we really want?

The CPAC Conference took place over this past weekend. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the conference, it’s basically a place where the right-wing conservatives can go and whine with like whiners. You know, those who cry and weep about how horrible Barack Obama is. (Yes, John Boehner is a speaker.) Speaking of the speakers, we have the cream of the GOP crop…Newtie, Mitt, and Rick. Then we have a whole supporting cast of low-intellectuals, like the vicious Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Phyllis Schalfly. Oh, let’s not forget Ralph Reed (Faith & Freedom Coalition), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), and the ever-spawning Michelle Duggar. The title they use for her is “Star” and her organization is “19 Kids and Counting.” She can be seen ad nauseum on the vast wasteland of American reality television. (I’m pretty sure that’s how she and her husband can afford to have 19 kids and counting.)

That these asshats are there is not surprising, but you might not know that — while GOProud has been banned from the proceedings (because it is a ‘gay’ group) — white supremacists have not. Yes, it doesn’t appear on the actual events schedule (I’m not surprised by this), but somewhere after speeches by Mitch McConnell and Michele Bachmann, there was a panel discussion called “The Failure of Multiculturalism: How the pursuit of diversity is weakening the American Identity.” The panel leader was Peter Brimelow, an immigrant from Britain, who founded and heads the White Nationalist web site VDARE.com.

The site is named after Virginia Dare, alleged to be the first English child to be born in the new world. Brimelow frequently publishes the works of anti-Semitic and racist writers. He feeds right into the conservative American paranoia, lamenting the loss of America’s white majority, blaming immigrants for the country’s socio-economic woes, and has urged the GOP to give up on the immigrant vote and focus on the white vote.

This is the GOP, the party that touts American Exceptionalism. Give me a break. Is consorting with white supremacists representative of American exceptionalism? Are these the kinds of leaders we want? Senators, congressmen and presidential contenders who consort with white supremacists? (Although I’m sure neither Gingrich, nor Romney, nor Santorum will breathe a word of it.) It’s a disgrace. There’s no room for these people in American public service.

A big week for marriage equality

The past week was a pretty big one for same-sex marriage in America. On February 7, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found California’s Prop 8, which has stripped marriage equality from same-sex couples, unconstitutional. The Mayors for the Freedom to Marry have applauded this ruling, stating:

“As Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, we know how important marriage is to our neighborhoods, our cities, and our nation. When committed couples are able to pledge their love to one another and share in the responsibilities and protections of marriage, our communities flourish and our cities are more competitive. Today’s decision by the 9th Circuit reaffirms that the American Dream is possible for everyone and brings us one step closer to ending marriage discrimination once and for all. We look forward to a day when all of our citizens will be able to share fairly and equally in the freedom to marry.”

On February 8, the Washington House (55-43) joined the State Senate in passing marriage equality. The passage of HB 2516 makes Washington the seventh state to extend marriage inclusion to same-sex couples. Governor Chris Gregoire, instrumental in helping this legislation to pass, has vowed to sign the legislation into law. It should be noted that opponents of HB 2516 have until June 6 to turn in necessary signatures to require a referendum be put on the November ballot. If they are successful, the law will not take effect until after the election. You can expect that same-sex marriage opponents will give it their best, so Governor Gregoire will have to push back the right-wing onslaught.

Another state on the fast track to marriage equality is New Jersey. The State Senate will vote on Monday, while the State Assembly will vote on Thursday.

That’s it for now. Sorry this didn’t post on the weekend, but have a great week!