NYT: White House Again Backs Amendment on Marriage

[DeepModem Mom]

White House Again Backs Amendment on Marriage
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

Published: January 17, 2005


WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 - The White House sought on Sunday to reassure conservatives that President Bush would work hard on behalf of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, backtracking from remarks Mr. Bush made in an interview suggesting that he would not press the Senate to vote on the amendment this year.

In an interview with The Washington Post published on Sunday, Mr. Bush said many senators did not see the need for the amendment as long as the law known as the Defense of Marriage Act was in place. Because many senators are waiting to see if that legislation can withstand a constitutional challenge, "nothing will happen" for now with the proposed amendment, Mr. Bush said....

***

Mr. Bush's stated support for an amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman was a rallying cry for many social conservatives in the presidential campaign.

Along with ballot initiatives in several states barring same-sex marriage, it helped increase turnout among voters who backed him.

In interviews on Sunday on television news programs, Dan Bartlett, Mr. Bush's counselor, said Mr. Bush was referring in The Post interview only to the reality of legislative vote counting and was not suggesting that his support for the amendment had diminished....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/17/politics/17bush.html

[Journeyman]

1. My, my, my . . . I guess he didn't learn words have meaning . . .

I guess we're all supposed to kick dirt, sing "golly gee whiz" in unison, and give him another Mulligan for his mouth. . .

[aquart]

2. They're going to keep us fighting the idiocies

So we're too tired to react on the criminalities.

[robcon]

3. Just more pandering by Bush.

His support for the FMA and the assault weapons ban was just pandering to the far right wing of the Repubs. No spine.

[Julius Civitatus]

13. He is FLIP-FLOPPING again!

He just won't stop flip-flopping, changing his opinion whichever way the wind blows.

[NYC]

4. Was it Friday he said "no", and Sunday he said "yes"?

I guess what he says depends on who he thinks is listening.

A man of conviction. (I hope he becomes a man of many convictions.)

[Cooley Hurd]

5. He says whatever pops into his brain at any given time...

He does it constantly. He has no control over it - much like Turrett's Syndrome, but in his case is caused by massive brain damage brought on by alcohol and cocaine abuse.

[thinkingwoman]

6. yes, in fact, it *could* be called...

a flip flop.

[catgirl]

7. It was just a tactic to get votes

and it worked. He got all the votes from the bigots
in this country. Boy, Georgie flip flops on his deep
"religious" convictions.

[BrotherBuzz]

27. Logic?

16 Jan 05 White House transcript....

The Post: Do you plan to expend any political capital to aggressively lobby senators for a gay marriage amendment?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I think that the situation in the last session -- well, first of all, I do believe it's necessary; many in the Senate didn't, because they believe DOMA will -- is in place, but -- they know DOMA is in place, and they're waiting to see whether or not DOMA will withstand a constitutional challenge.

The Post: Do you plan on trying to -- using the White House, using the bully pulpit, and trying to --

THE PRESIDENT: The point is, is that senators have made it clear that so long as DOMA is deemed constitutional, nothing will happen. I'd take their admonition seriously.

The Post: But until that changes, you want it?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, until that changes, nothing will happen in the Senate. Do you see what I'm saying?

The Post: Right.

THE PRESIDENT: The logic.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12570-2005Jan15.html

......


I see the lastest White House flip-flop and nothing but an act of pandering to the fraudulent fundamentalist christan base.....

[benny05]

8. They called John Kerry Flipper

But Bush doesn't swim does he?

[Ian David]

9. He and Cheney both also said...

"People should be able to enter into any legal agreement they want."

Doesn't that mean he should also push a bill for mandating federal civil unions?

Or as the fundies call it, "counterfeit marriage?"

[JusticeForAll]

19. Enter into any legal agreement they want

I am so glad you brought that campaign snippet up... I just realized what a NOTHING of a statement it makes, especially when you make certain agreements ILLEGAL.

[Ms_Mary]

10. Backtrack, sidetrack, misspeak, mislead, in this admin it's all the same.

[Supersedeas]

16. appeasing the radical wing is easier said than done.

[LynnTheDem]

11. The very first HATE AMMENDMENT in the USC! Go bush go!!!

Go to HELL you sick MFer!

[kysrsoze]

20. I can't wait to see a Constitutional Amendment to deny freedom

That will be the signal of the end of all our freedoms

[TahitiNut]

22. It would convert the Constitution from being a definition of Government ..

... and strictly LIMITING the powers of Government, to a document which would be a vehicle for LIMITING human rights. The "Bill of Rights" would become the "Bill of Limits" and the 9th Amendment would be moot.

It's an abomination.

[KittyWampus]

12. Simple Solution:Churches Only Do Marriages & States Only Do Civil Unions

Seperation of Church and State.

So freaking simple but will Democrats EVER get a clue.

[Walt Starr]

14. Let's see, first he flipped, then he flopped, then he flipped again and..

during the election he did a triple axle belly flop and just a couple of days agio he did another flip and now this is a flop.

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. Isn't divorce an even bigger threat

to the institution of marriage?

I am sure that among the religious right for every couple who breaks up because now they can marry someone of the same sex, that there are 1000's if not millions more who break up because they can remarry someone else of the opposite sex.

[leesa]

17. Yet another Bush Flip-Flop. Every day he does it and the fools in the

Republican Party never notice.

[TexasLawyer]

18. Big Issues

I'm glad that Congress can focus its limited energies on the big issues like gay people getting married. They can't let themselves get distracted by trivialities like poverty, healthcare, a broken electoral system, a sinking economy, rampant outsourcing of U.S. jobs, the subversion of democracy, or the criminal activities of our glorious leaders.

[TahitiNut]

24. Yup. Love between two adults is certainly a Top Threat to our nation.

God forbid that the "pursuit of happiness" ever gets in the way of our National Destiny!

[Name removed]

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[TahitiNut]

26. The lunatics are running the asylum.

:shrug:

It answers the age-old question of "What happens when the insane people outnumber the sane people?"

[Catfight]

21. Bush must be desperate for likability, he's back to gay bashing.

Too bad he can't catch Osma as much as he catches wild ideas that lead nowhere but waste lots of money and time. BUSH, The BORING waste of time President!

[Name removed]

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