Yahoo! News - GOP Vows to Push Gay-Marriage Amendment
WASHINGTON - Bracing for defeat on one of President Bush's campaign-season priorities, Republicans vow that not even a Senate setback will halt their drive to enact a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

The institution of marriage is under fire from extremist groups in Washington, politicians, even judges who have made it clear that they are willing to run over any state law defining marriage," Republican senatorial candidate John Thune says in a radio commercial airing in South Dakota. "They have done it in Massachusetts and they can do it here," adds Thune, who is challenging Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle for his seat.

Yes, the total destruction of Massachusetts was a horrible thing wasn't it? The crying, the wailing, the gnashing of teeth, all those people lined up to get divorced because some people got happiness and legal protection, oh, the terror!

"Thune's ad suggests that some are using this amendment more to protect the Republican majority than to protect marriage," said Dan Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Daschle's campaign.

Senate Democrats advanced a similar argument, saying politics prompted Bush and fellow Republicans to advance the issue to the top of the legislative agenda.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Republicans were trying to "change the subject" of the election away from the war in Iraq and the economy.

Of course they are. They don't have a leg to run on at this point.

"Gay bashing, plain and simple," charged Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

Thank you Frank! About time a Democrat came out and called a spade "a spade".

Republicans protested, sometimes vociferously.

"If you support ... a mother and a father for every child, you are a hater. If you believe that men and women for 5,000 years have bonded together in marriage, you're a gay-basher. Marriage is hate. Marriage is a stain. Marriage is an evil thing. That's what we hear," said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.

Coming this fall on ABC- "Wife Swap"! From FOX- "Trading Spouses"! (I'm not making this up, you can check) I'm sure that we will see some more shows like "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire", the program that tells us it's not about love at all, it's really about the money. You know, real American values. Last week's Newsweek had a cover story on infidelity among married women. Cheating on the overworked, inattentive hubby is the "in" thing to do nowadays it seems

Marriage, as it stands now with it's 53% divorce rate, apparently doesn't need to be protected from the straight folks who seem to take it, well, not so seriously. Perhaps the Pubs should attend to the "beam in their own eye" instead of trying to ban the speck from others.