To the best of our knowledge, the S.C. Republican Party is smarter than to pull something like the Montana state party did recently. For whatever reason, conservatives in Big Sky Country don’t like what gay residents have been doing with their naughty, naughty genitals. It’s worthwhile to note here that the GOP as a whole could be a lot more successful if it quit kowtowing to the small group of bigoted social conservatives who have mastered the art of the squeaky wheel — gays can be just as supportive of free-market ideas and small government as straights — but the Brahmans of the Montana party are OK looking silly.
Even though the Supreme Court struck down sodomy laws years ago (the only legal way to have sex in Virginia used to be between a man and woman in the missionary position), that news doesn’t seem to have made its way west. They want to make “homosexual acts” illegal again, which would in itself be impossible because, as you learned in government class, the Court is the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution. The liberal site Think Progress (an arm of the Center for American Progress) points out the insanity of it all.
Ironically, the platform uses some form of the word “constitutional” at least 10 times and even argues that constitutionality should be decided by the states. But the Montana Supreme Court struck down the State’s sodomy law in 1997 and ruled that it violated the constitutional right to privacy. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court found in Lawrence v. Texas that Texas’ “Homosexual Conduct” law — a measure outlawing oral and anal sex — unconstitutional.
If this had happened in South Carolina, it would be everywhere. East Coast bias doesn’t always work in our favor when trying to divert attention to a group of people acting crazier than we are.
South Carolinians for Responsible Government‘s boy Friday at FITSNews, in between showing off his penchant for T&A jokes that an eight-year-old would find sophomoric, tried to make a recent video taken at an education conference into a joke about Gov. Mark Sanford. The Governor has a history of loving media attention (well, before late June, anyway). But, something says that the impetus for the video had nothing to do with Sanford.
Yes, SCRG staffer Neil Mellen was running the camera. And, check out where it was pointing — the camera was pointed at Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Supt. of Ed. Jim Rex the whole time. Even when Sanford spoke, the camera didn’t move. The expression of irritation on Rex’s face is a dead giveaway. He knew what was happening, even if SCRG’s apologist-in-chief would like to take some hits on his old boss to divert attention.
What Sanford was appearing to do was fire back at his old Devine Street buds in order to defend Rex, a guy he has damn near to nothing in common with when it comes to education policy. It seems to us that Sanford was kind of pissed off at this bush-league maneuver that, while normally seen at rallies and debates, is rarely employed at roundtables like the one taped.
Guess SCRG is starting early with its slash-and-burn election tactics. Now, we’re ready for the misleading direct mail attacks and advertisements (in conjunction with half a dozen other groups comprised of the same people) that usually come with its election-year activities.
