We Need More Of This!

[sugaredwalls]

This is what I'm talking about, letting our elected officials know where their bread is buttered, don't bite the hand that feeds you!

I don't give a shit how many people call Specter a flip-flopper, he's not stupid and wants to keep the office he holds. If we keep putting pressure on our elected officials by lobbying them constantly about gay rights, gay marriage could probably be federally legalized.

I probably wouldn't trust a DINO as far as I could spit but at least this is a start.

October 27, 2009, 12:59 pm
Specter Calls for Repeal of Marriage Act
By Kate Phillips

Updated: First, he spoke on the Senate floor Monday evening and then put out a bulletin on Twitter.

And on Tuesday morning, Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican-turned Democrat who is running for his sixth term in the Senate, posted a short piece on the Huffington Post’s Web site in which he says it’s time to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

The announcement by Senator Specter, a longtime supporter of the marriage act who once said he would consider fortifying it with a constitutional amendment if states did not uphold the act’s intentions, came amid his primary battle for the Democratic nomination against Representative Joe Sestak, who favors its repeal.

Both Mr. Sestak and the Republicans, in the past 12 hours or so, have been quick to point out that Mr. Specter voted for the act in 1996, and later vouched support for it when he faced a tough Republican primary challenge from Pat Toomey, a conservative, in 2004. (Mr. Toomey is running again as a Republican for the Senate seat and is opposed to repealing the marriage act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages.)

But now, Mr. Specter writes:

“Enacted 13 years ago when the idea of same sex marriage was struggling for acceptance, the Act is a relic of a more tradition-bound time and culture.

Connecticut, Iowa, and Massachusetts have already passed laws recognizing same sex marriage and other states are moving in that direction. The states are the proper forum to address this divisive social and moral issue, not the Federal Government with a law that attempts to set one national standard for marriage.

Mr. Sestak released a statement pointing out the shifts in Mr. Specter’s position and highlighting the campaigns by gay and lesbian groups under the L.G.B.T. abbreviation. He said:

“As the longtime Republican Senator carries on his attempt to run away from his 30-year Republican record, this time on his vote to support the Defense of Marriage Act, he should be honest about his votes to oppose equal rights for L.G.B.T. Americans. He actually voted with Republican Senator Rick Santorum to deny equal benefits to legally married L.G.B.T. Americans in the first place. Without Joe Sestak’s leadership in supporting L.G.B.T. rights, the Senator would continue to deny married gay and lesbian couples their right to file joint tax returns, receive spouse benefits under social security, take an unpaid leave to take care of a sick or injured partner, or share retirement benefits like straight couples.

Senator Specter’s willingness to reposition himself just to help himself politically should give pause to Pennsylvanians who are looking for a loyal senator who will put principle over politics for the next generation.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee was quick to call this yet another “flip-flop” by Mr. Specter since he switched parties in April.

Amber Wilkerson Marchand, a spokeswoman for the committee released this statement: “Whether he’s shifting his positions on government-run health care, the right for workers to cast a secret ballot, or now the Defense of Marriage Act, Arlen Specter continues to remind Pennsylvanians that one thing will never change — he will always put his own political preservation before principles.”

But Mr. Specter also offered another reason for his decision in his announcement — by citing the new hate-crimes legislation that includes anti-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians. He also called for the military to abandon its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy banning openly gay members of the military — a position Mr. Sestak, a war veteran, has also long held.

Update: Senator Specter’s office has sought further clarification on his views of a constitutional amendment that would effectively ban gay marriage. In a conference call on Tuesday afternoon, Senator Specter said: “I do not recall ever being in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban state action. I have a record for being very leery of constitutional amendments in a context where there’s not some pressing need. I’m checking further to see if I ever said that, but the reality is it’s a different world with respect to avoiding discrimination based on sexual orientation. And I’ve been on the right side of that issue for a long time - not necessarily on every last semicolon, but generally on the correct side of that issue.”

(He did, however, vote in favor of such an idea in 2006 in the Judiciary Committee, prompting a feud with Senator Russ Feingold, but said at the time that he would oppose it on the Senate floor, where he said he believed the debate belonged.)

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[kbate]

Specter proved already that bribes work for him, when he took the President's offer of campaign money if he switched parties.

He will take money from anyone if it keeps him in power. He is no friend to anyone, as once bought - always bought.

Here's hope that Mr. Specter's political career ends in 2010, no matter who wins in Pa.

***

Still be nice to see the DaDt repealed, but only if replaced with open recruitment/retention.

Also be nice to see Defense of marriage repealed, but that won't affect those of us in states which have already passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.

 

[sugaredwalls]

I guess you can sit back and hope that gay rights happen on their own, while others are out fighting for your rights.

I loathe apathy.

 

[Safe_Bet]

Specter proved already that bribes work for him, when he took the President's offer of campaign money if he switched parties.

He will take money from anyone if it keeps him in power. He is no friend to anyone, as once bought - always bought.

Sounds like buying Specter's vote is a LOT better use of our money that helping Solomese and the HRC attend more white House cocktail parties...

Also be nice to see Defense of marriage repealed, but that won't affect those of us in states which have already passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.

So if you don't get something directly out of it, it's not worth supporting??? It DOMA is overturned it knocks the Federal underpinnings our of any State law or Amendments, thereby allowing them to be challenged as unconstitutional. Isn't that worth working towards?

 

[kbate]

.....

 

[sugaredwalls]

It's not impossible to overturn a state amended constitution banning gay marriage, not if it can be argued that it should of never been a right to be voted on in the first place.

That's how it will be overturned in California.