House leadership does some housekeeping

The ultimate symbol of homophobic baffoonery, Arlon Lindner of Rogers, has officially been defeated. Even sweeter was the fact that it was the Republican Party itself that did him in. They chose to endorse Joyce Pepin instead, forcing Lindner to run as an independent.

The man was such an idiot that the Republican Party could no longer tolerate his nonsense.

As the Star Tribune reports:

The loss was traced in part to his penchant for provocative and sometimes offensive remarks that led some House members to call for his censure. Lindner had, in the last few years, called the Dalai Lama the leader of a "cult" and said Buddhism was "incompatible with Christian principles." He also questioned the extent to which gays and lesbians were persecuted by the Nazis and said that gay rights might eventually lead to an African-like AIDS epidemic in the United States.

Lindner blamed the loss of his endorsement partly on Peppin's husband, Greg Peppin, the executive assistant to the House speaker, saying that House leadership "can fix it to where you look bad in your own district."

Arlon, buddy, you certainly did not need the House leadership to accomplish that. You did quite a fine job yourself.

HRC Reaction

HRC President Cheryl Jacques made released a statement about yesterday's election results that gave me some hope.

“Exit polling showed strong support for equal rights and civil unions. No elected official can reverse the American people’s support for equality. On the floor of Congress, efforts to divide and discriminate only backfired. We will fight harder than ever for equality. The American people are united against discrimination and the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community will work to lead the fight.

“HRC’s record investment in campaigns this year secured a 92 percent success rate in returns. Senators-elect Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Representatives-elect Melissa Bean, D-Ill., and Gwen Moore, D-Wis., will make great additions to our allies on Capitol Hill. Longtime friends of equality like Dennis Moore, D-Kan., Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Rob Simmons, R-Conn., all fought difficult challenges and won. It is with the support of these members of Congress and the hundreds of others on our side that we will continue our work on behalf of millions of Americans.

"No elected official can reverse the American people’s support for equality," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques. "To win at the ballot box, we must also keep winning at the water cooler."

On the road to tolerance

Many of Senator Kerry's supporters have found a scapegoat for Ohio and the election loss to President Bush. That goat is gay marriage. It may not be a widely discussed opinion, and it certainly will not be a public discussion- but I can guarantee that almost all Democratic communications specialists are blaming gay marriage. I heard it when I worked for the Minnesota DFL during the campaign and I am sure the election results have only strengthened that opinion.

I have two major problems with this issue being used as a scapegoat.

The first would be the natural tendency for the issue to morph from "gay marriage" to "gay activism". There are major differences between the two. You can't blame the gay community for the dirty gay baiting the Republicans chose to use. As Michael at AmericaBlog wrote on gay marriage:

Gays and lesbians did not push the issue forward and did not press Kerry to be more forthright. It gained national prominence because of court rulings and the natural desire of U.S. citizens to claim their basic civil rights. The Bush campaign played on hate and bigotry -- constantly making gay slurs about Kerry and Edwards, passing out fliers in some states that lied and said Kerry would allow gay marriage and ban the Bible, going back on his word and pushing a Constitutional Amendment that for the first time would take away basic civil rights of Americans rather than bringing new people to the table and the list goes on. Gays didn't lose Kerry the election. But hatred and bigotry against gay Americans certainly helped Bush win.

My second reason is far simpler- those Bush voters really didn't share Kerry's values. They don't share my values. And we don't need them.

If they want a candidate who will help write discrimination into the constitution... they chose the right man. People who voted for Bush are content in supporting the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. They are content with the government intruding into peoples personal lives. They are content with the mixing of state and religion.

Ohio has had massive job loss, and yet in some of the counties that were worst off... they still voted for Bush. Apparently for these voters and others around the country, the only thing worse than losing a job, taking a pay cut, or losing your benefits is... gay marriage/abortion/etc.

If only I could believe this to be a sarcastic exaggeration, but alas... it is true.
From Andrew Sullivan:

The single most important issue for Republican voters, according to exit polls, was not the war on terror or Iraq or the economy. It was "moral values."

It is my belief that in the near future these attitudes will change; at least in reqards to same-sex equality. I am part of a generation that believes sexuality is not a morality issue, but instead one of biology. And while we may have a difficult road with this President... every Presidential election is a step towards a more tolerant future.