Paul Ryan slams gay marriage. RR must have gotten to him.

I was waiting for the flop after yesterday's flip. It's always less than a day after Team Romney/Ryan do or say something almost sane that the far right controlling the GOP gets to them, and suddenly Romney/Ryan are to the right of Atila the Hun just in time for the evening news.

Yesterday, Paul Ryan surprised everyone by saying that he didn't think DADT should un-repealed.

So what happens next? A particularly offensive comment from Ryan about marriage equality, clearly to make up for the pro-gayness that he showed yesterday.

Romney and Ryan are so predictable. Just yell in their face and they cave, no matter the issue. Not a very lovable trait in a president. Read the rest of this post...

Paul Ryan: We shouldn't reinstate DADT

Via Towleroad:

"Now that it's done, we should not reverse it. I think that would be a step in the wrong direction because people have already disclosed themselves."

"I think this issue is past us. It's done. And I think we need to move on," he told Florida's WPTV.

Huh.  Perhaps it's time that the Ryan/Romney campaign decide who they want to be when they grow up.  Today they're pro-gay.  Tomorrow they're evangelical firebreathers.  Or as Romney did one day a few weeks ago, he held four different positions on health care reform within one 24 hours period.

This isn't a sign of a kinder and gentler Romney/Ryan campaign.  It's the sign of a campaign that can't figure out what it wants to be, far left, far right, Republican, Democrat.  So each day it flails back and forth, from issue to issue, sometimes taking multiple and contradictory sides of the same issue, only to reverse itself hours later.

Just wait.  The religious right is going to go nuts, then Romney will clarify that what Ryan meant to say was that they were going to study the issue of reinstating DADT after they win.  Just wait. Read the rest of this post...

A ghetto kid, doing what Romney did, would have been booked with assault

An excellent point, by Roger Simon, about Romney's hazing/assault of a gay kid in his youth.

And there is another thing that troubles me even though some dismiss it as trivial. I am still bothered by Romney attacking that gay kid and cutting off his hair with a pair of scissors when they were in prep school.

A ghetto kid does that and he gets booked for assault with a deadly weapon. But what does the son of a governor get? A law degree from Harvard.

Read the rest of this post...

Santorum: "We will never have the elite, smart people on our side"

Failed GOP presidential candidate, former US Senator, and all around gay-hating guy, Rick Santorum told a religious right conference (sponsored by a number of officially-designated "hate groups") that smart people will never support religious right Republicans.

Santorum seems to have missed the irony.

Let's dissect Santorum's statement (which is below).

1. Smart people will never be on your side - but the audience, made up of religious right leaders from around the country, is on your side.  Thus religious right leaders are not "smart people."

2. If you really had the correct policy prescriptions for America, wouldn't you think "smart people" would embrace that?  I mean, do you think "dumb" people are better able to determine the life of a fetus than "smart" people?  Are dumb people better able to analyze the science on global warming and determine whether or not it's a hoax?  On gay rights, are dumb people really more capable at determining whether there's a constitutional right to civil rights for gays?  And finally (but not limited to), health care reform - you really think dumb people are better than smart people and determining its constitutionality, let alone whether health care reform is the best approach, among those available, at helping more Americans get more affordable, and better, health care without hurting the economy, et ?

I'm sorry, but when you have a brain tumor, you don't seek out a dumb doctor.  When the IRS audits you, you don't hire a dumb accountant.  And no one wants a dumb banker, or a dumb lawyer.

It's seems the only time you really want someone dumb is when Rick Santorum and the religious right are stumping for votes.

That ought to tell them something.  But it clearly doesn't.

I'm reminded of a quote from high school (from the poet TS Eliot to be exact), "we had the experience but missed the meaning."

Perhaps they're just too dumb to get the irony.

PS I still can't read stuff like this and not see the word "Jew" hidden between the lines.  Maybe it's just me.

Rick Santorum at the hate group sponsored Values Voter Summit 2012:

"[T]he media doesn't go along with us. You have to understand that. They don't like conservatism. They like the other side. Not necessarily, I would argue, because they necessarily agree with them -- it's because they can influence the country more. You see, if just a few people make decisions about what this world looks like and what this country looks like, well then you can have people sitting in offices -- the major media outlets and in Hollywood -- they can deal with a small group of people, and influencing them and getting them to jump through the hoops they want them to. It's much harder if all of you collectively build America. It's much harder to influence you. We will never have the media on our side -- ever, in this country. We will never have the elite, smart people on our side, because they believe they should have the power to tell you what to do. So our colleges and our universities, they're not going to be on our side."

Read the rest of this post...

Ann Romney booked for gay-bashing hate-group conference

So much for Mrs. Romney being Mitt's "human" side. Now she's his dehumanizing side.

This is all part of Romney's new embrace of his Mormonism, something he basically hid (in a political sense) up until now.

Romney is trying to convince evangelicals, and voters generally, that he's a Christian too. Except that of late, Romney's version of "Christianity" has only been the wacky-crazy hateful Christianity of wife-beating advocate Pat Robertson and now officially-designated hate groups.

Then again, Mormons know a thing or two about hate and bigotry.  They were openly racist towards blacks until well into the 70s, when their God suddenly changed his mind about finding blacks inferior only after an economic boycott of BYU's sports teams.  Apparently, the racism lingers to today.

The Mormons are also notoriously homophobic, for decades now regularly spending large sums of money in order to oppress gay people and force them to live under Mormon religious edicts.

So it's no surprise in principle that Mrs. Romney, as a member of a faith that treats blacks as inferior, and hates gays, is attending a conference sponsored by three officially designated hate groups.

Though this definitely marks a turning point where Mrs. Romney is no longer the kinder-and-gentler Mitt.  If she's going to attend gay-bashing hate group conferences, then she's as much of a hate-monger and hate-enabler as her ever-flip-flopping and confused husband. Read the rest of this post...

Romney campaigner Pat Robertson tells man to beat his wife

Mitt Romney spent Saturday campaigning with religious right extremist Pat Robertson.  Romney was using Robertson to "prove" that he's a "real" Christian.

Which is ironic, since most would question Robertson's claim to speak for Christianity.  (It also makes you wonder what Mitt Romney thinks a real Christian is - if he thinks Pat Robertson is God's messenger.)  Here's Mitt and Pat together at an event this weekend.




Yesterday, fresh off of campaigning with Mitt Romney just 48 hours before, Pat Robertson told a caller to his TV show to beat his wife. Via Right Wing Watch:

For example, today on the 700 Club’s “Bring It On” segment where viewers ask Robertson questions, one man wondered how he should go about repairing his marriage with a wife who “insults” him and once tried to attack him.

“Well, you could become a Muslim and you could beat her,” Robertson responded. “This man’s got to stand up to her and he can’t let her get away with this stuff,” Robertson continued, “I don’t think we condone wife-beating these days but something has got to be done.”

He later said the woman is a “rebellious child” and pondered if she has psychological problems. Robertson told the viewer that since he “can’t divorce her according to the Scripture, so I say: move to Saudi Arabia.”

Robertson's network has now censored the broadcast, but fortunately Right Wing Watch got it first:



It's not clearly if Mitt Romney is just as confused about Christianity as Robertson, or whether he's simply pandering to extremists again, in a desperate effort to save his floundering presidential run.

Either way, it's time for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to issue a statement about wife-beating. Are they for it or against it? Read the rest of this post...

Romney campaigning with homophobic nut Pat Robertson today

Is there no depth to how low Mitt Romney will stoop in order to be President?

Pat Robertson isn't just an old religious right leader.  He's a hateful nut.  A sampling of what kind of hate and quackery Mitt Romney is now embracing in his desperate quest for the presidency:

Haitian ambassador responds to Pat Robertson's remarks today about Haiti paying a price for making a pact with the devil

Then there was the time that Pat said that God gave Ariel Sharon his stroke as punishment.

Or the time God told Pat that he might just send a tsunami to America.

Or the time Robertson said it's better to just divorce a spouse with Alzheimer's.

Or the time Robertson said that Episcopalians, Methodists and Presbyterians are tied to the anti-Christ.

Then there's all of this:

Robertson is opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage.[15][16] He has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

Many of Robertson's views mirror those of fellow evangelical pastor/activist Jerry Falwell, who made frequent appearances on The 700 Club. He agreed with Falwell when Falwell stated that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People For the American Way."

On the June 8, 1998 edition of his show, Robertson denounced Orlando, Florida and Disney World for allowing a privately sponsored "Gay Days" weekend. Robertson stated that the acceptance of homosexuality could result in hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist bombings and "possibly a meteor."[20] The resulting outcry prompted Robertson to return to the topic on June 24, where he quoted the Book of Revelation to support his claims. The first hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season,[21] Hurricane Bonnie, actually turned away from Florida and instead damaged the rest of the east coast. The area hardest hit by the hurricane was the Hampton Roads region,[22] which includes Virginia Beach,[23] where the Robertson's The 700 Club originates.[24] While other hurricanes did hit Florida,[21] none of them hit Disney World.

While discussing the Mark Foley scandal on the October 5, 2006 broadcast of the show, Robertson condemned Foley saying he "does what gay people do".

There's much more, just Google it.

But seriously, how desperately does Mitt Romney want this job that he has utterly sold his soul to the devil in order to get it? Is there anyone Mitt Romney won't pander to, any extremist or extreme position he won't embrace, in order to win in November? Is there point at which this man's better angels, if he still has any, will step in and say 'enough'? Read the rest of this post...

Text of President Obama's keynote address to the Democratic Convention

President Obama’s Remarks to the 2012 Democratic National Convention
 
CHICAGO -- Tonight, in his remarks to the Democratic National Convention, President Obama asked the country to rally around a set of concrete goals to move the country forward toward an economy that grows from the middle out, not the top down. This roadmap --  a real, achievable plan that will create jobs, expand opportunity, and strengthen the middle class -- will deliver concrete results in the key areas of manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit. Read more about the President’s roadmap HERE.
 
Below are President Obama’s remarks as prepared for delivery --
 
Michelle, I love you. The other night, I think the entire country saw just how lucky I am. Malia and Sasha, you make me so proud…but don’t get any ideas, you’re still going to class tomorrow.  And Joe Biden, thank you for being the best Vice President I could ever hope for. 
 
Madam Chairwoman, delegates, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.
 
The first time I addressed this convention in 2004, I was a younger man; a Senate candidate from Illinois who spoke about hope – not blind optimism or wishful thinking, but hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; that dogged faith in the future which has pushed this nation forward, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long. 
 
Eight years later, that hope has been tested – by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by political gridlock that’s left us wondering whether it’s still possible to tackle the challenges of our time.   
 
I know that campaigns can seem small, and even silly.  Trivial things become big distractions.  Serious issues become sound bites.  And the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising.  If you’re sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me – so am I. 
 
But when all is said and done – when you pick up that ballot to vote – you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation.  Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and peace – decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come.     
 
On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties. 
 
It will be a choice between two different paths for America. 
 
A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.
 
Ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known; the values my grandfather defended as a soldier in Patton’s Army; the values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was gone.  
 
They knew they were part of something larger – a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression; a nation where the most innovative businesses turned out the world’s best products, and everyone shared in the pride and success – from the corner office to the factory floor.  My grandparents were given the chance to go to college, buy their first home, and fulfill the basic bargain at the heart of America’s story:  the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules – from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, DC. 
 
I ran for President because I saw that basic bargain slipping away.  I began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move overseas.  And by 2008, we had seen nearly a decade in which families struggled with costs that kept rising but paychecks that didn’t; racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition; to put gas in the car or food on the table.  And when the house of cards collapsed in the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their life savings – a tragedy from which we are still fighting to recover.   
 
Now, our friends at the Republican convention were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn’t have much to say about how they’d make it right.  They want your vote, but they don’t want you to know their plan.  And that’s because all they have to offer is the same prescription they’ve had for the last thirty years:
 
“Have a surplus? Try a tax cut.” 
 
“Deficit too high? Try another.”
 
“Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!”
 
Now, I’ve cut taxes for those who need it – middle-class families and small businesses.  But I don’t believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay down our deficit.  I don’t believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China.  After all that we’ve been through, I don’t believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home.  We’ve been there, we’ve tried that, and we’re not going back.   We’re moving forward. 
 
I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy.  I never have.  You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear.  You elected me to tell you the truth.  And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades.  It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one.  And by the way – those of us who carry on his party’s legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington. 
 
But know this, America:  Our problems can be solved.  Our challenges can be met.  The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.  I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country – goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation.   That’s what we can do in the next four years, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States. 
 
We can choose a future where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs.  After a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed, we’re getting back to basics, and doing what America has always done best:
 
We’re making things again. 
 
I’ve met workers in Detroit and Toledo who feared they’d never build another American car.  Today, they can’t build them fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that’s back on top of the world.   
 
I’ve worked with business leaders who are bringing jobs back to America – not because our workers make less pay, but because we make better products.  Because we work harder and smarter than anyone else.   
 
I’ve signed trade agreements that are helping our companies sell more goods to millions of new customers – goods that are stamped with three proud words:  Made in America. 
 
After a decade of decline, this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years.  And now you have a choice:  we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of America.  We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years.  You can make that happen.  You can choose that future. 
 
You can choose the path where we control more of our own energy.  After thirty years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas.   We’ve doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries.  In the last year alone, we cut oil imports by one million barrels a day – more than any administration in recent history.  And today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades.
 
Now you have a choice – between a strategy that reverses this progress, or one that builds on it.  We’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years, and we’ll open more.  But unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers.  
 
We’re offering a better path – a future where we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal; where farmers and scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and trucks; where construction workers build homes and factories that waste less energy; where we develop a hundred year supply of natural gas that’s right beneath our feet.  If you choose this path, we can cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone. 
 
And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet – because climate change is not a hoax.  More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke.  They’re a threat to our children’s future.  And in this election, you can do something about it. 
 
You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have.  Education was the gateway to opportunity for me.  It was the gateway for Michelle.  And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life. 
 
For the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning.  Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading.  Millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders.
 
And now you have a choice – we can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school.  No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don’t have the money.  No company should have to look for workers in China because they couldn’t find any with the right skills here at home. 
 
Government has a role in this.  But teachers must inspire; principals must lead; parents must instill a thirst for learning, and students, you’ve got to do the work.  And together, I promise you – we can out-educate and out-compete any country on Earth.  Help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers in the next ten years, and improve early childhood education.  Help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job.  Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years.  We can meet that goal together.  You can choose that future for America. 
 
In a world of new threats and new challenges, you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven.  Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq.  We did.  I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11.  We have.  We’ve blunted the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over.  A new tower rises above the New York skyline, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead.
 
Tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who still serve in harm’s way.  We are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected.  We will never forget you.  And so long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known.  When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you’ve served us – because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home. 
 
Around the world, we’ve strengthened old alliances and forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.  We’ve reasserted our power across the Pacific and stood up to China on behalf of our workers.  From Burma to Libya to South Sudan, we have advanced the rights and dignity of all human beings – men and women; Christians and Muslims and Jews.      
 
But for all the progress we’ve made, challenges remain.  Terrorist plots must be disrupted.  Europe’s crisis must be contained.  Our commitment to Israel’s security must not waver, and neither must our pursuit of peace.  The Iranian government must face a world that stays united against its nuclear ambitions.  The historic change sweeping across the Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of extremists, but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same rights that we celebrate today. 
 
So now we face a choice.  My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy, but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.
 
After all, you don’t call Russia our number one enemy – and not al Qaeda – unless you’re still stuck in a Cold War time warp.  You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.  My opponent said it was “tragic” to end the war in Iraq, and he won’t tell us how he’ll end the war in Afghanistan.  I have, and I will.  And while my opponent would spend more money on military hardware that our Joint Chiefs don’t even want, I’ll use the money we’re no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work – rebuilding roads and bridges; schools and runways.  After two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it’s time to do some nation-building right here at home.
 
You can choose a future where we reduce our deficit without wrecking our middle class.  Independent analysis shows that my plan would cut our deficits by $4 trillion.  Last summer, I worked with Republicans in Congress to cut $1 trillion in spending – because those of us who believe government can be a force for good should work harder than anyone to reform it, so that it’s leaner, more efficient, and more responsive to the American people. 
 
I want to reform the tax code so that it’s simple, fair, and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250,000 – the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was president; the same rate we had when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, and a lot of millionaires to boot. 
 
Now, I’m still eager to reach an agreement based on the principles of my bipartisan debt commission.  No party has a monopoly on wisdom.  No democracy works without compromise.  But when Governor Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy – well, you do the math.  I refuse to go along with that.  And as long as I’m President, I never will. 
 
I refuse to ask middle class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut.  I refuse to ask students to pay more for college; or kick children out of Head Start programs, or eliminate health insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, elderly, or disabled – all so those with the most can pay less. 
 
And I will never turn Medicare into a voucher.  No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.  They should retire with the care and dignity they have earned.  Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care – not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more.  And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it – not by turning it over to Wall Street.  
 
This is the choice we now face.  This is what the election comes down to.  Over and over, we have been told by our opponents that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way; that since government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing.  If you can’t afford health insurance, hope that you don’t get sick.  If a company releases toxic pollution into the air your children breathe, well, that’s just the price of progress.  If you can’t afford to start a business or go to college, take my opponent’s advice and “borrow money from your parents.” 
 
You know what?  That’s not who we are.  That’s not what this country’s about.  As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights – rights that no man or government can take away.  We insist on personal responsibility and we celebrate individual initiative.  We’re not entitled to success.  We have to earn it.  We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk-takers who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system – the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known. 
 
But we also believe in something called citizenship – a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations. 
 
We believe that when a CEO pays his autoworkers enough to buy the cars that they build, the whole company does better. 
 
We believe that when a family can no longer be tricked into signing a mortgage they can’t afford, that family is protected, but so is the value of other people’s homes, and so is the entire economy. 
 
We believe that a little girl who’s offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the founder of the next Google, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the President of the United States – and it’s in our power to give her that chance. 
 
We know that churches and charities can often make more of a difference than a poverty program alone.  We don’t want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we don’t want bailouts for banks that break the rules.  We don’t think government can solve all our problems.  But we don’t think that government is the source of all our problems – any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles. 
 
Because we understand that this democracy is ours. 
 
We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense. 
 
As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us.  It’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. 
 
So you see, the election four years ago wasn’t about me.  It was about you.  My fellow citizens – you were the change. 
 
You’re the reason there’s a little girl with a heart disorder in Phoenix who’ll get the surgery she needs because an insurance company can’t limit her coverage.  You did that. 
 
You’re the reason a young man in Colorado who never thought he’d be able to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is about to get that chance.  You made that possible. 
 
You’re the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she’s ever called home; why selfless soldiers won’t be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love; why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely: “Welcome home.” 
 
If you turn away now – if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible…well, change will not happen.  If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election and those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control health care choices that women should make for themselves. 
 
Only you can make sure that doesn’t happen.  Only you have the power to move us forward. 
 
I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention.  The times have changed – and so have I.
 
I’m no longer just a candidate.  I’m the President.  I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn’t return.  I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs.  If the critics are right that I’ve made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them.  And while I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.”  
 
But as I stand here tonight, I have never been more hopeful about America.  Not because I think I have all the answers.  Not because I’m naïve about the magnitude of our challenges. 
 
I’m hopeful because of you. 
 
The young woman I met at a science fair who won national recognition for her biology research while living with her family at a homeless shelter – she gives me hope. 
 
The auto worker who won the lottery after his plant almost closed, but kept coming to work every day, and bought flags for his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife – he gives me hope. 
 
The family business in Warroad, Minnesota that didn’t lay off a single one of their four thousand employees during this recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it meant the owners gave up some perks and pay – because they understood their biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business – they give me hope. 
 
And I think about the young sailor I met at Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee.  Six months ago, I would watch him walk into a White House dinner honoring those who served in Iraq, tall and twenty pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face; sturdy on his new leg.  And I remember how a few months after that I would watch him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled. 
 
He gives me hope. 
 
I don’t know what party these men and women belong to.  I don’t know if they’ll vote for me.  But I know that their spirit defines us.  They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours is a “future filled with hope.” 
 
And if you share that faith with me – if you share that hope with me – I ask you tonight for your vote. 
 
If you reject the notion that this nation’s promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election. 
 
If you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election. 
 
If you believe that new plants and factories can dot our landscape; that new energy can power our future; that new schools can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers; if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this November. 
 
America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won’t promise that now.  Yes, our path is harder – but it leads to a better place.  Yes our road is longer – but we travel it together.  We don’t turn back.  We leave no one behind.  We pull each other up.  We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth. 
 
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless these United States.
 
 
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I'm live-blogging tonight's events on Twitter: @aravosis

@aravosis Read the rest of this post...

Pro-Romney ad bashes gays

Well that didn't take long.

The man who claimed to be more pro-gay than even Ted Kennedy, now has gay-bashing ads running that warn America that "gay marriage" will be forced upon them over their morning coffee.

The ads were produced by a pro-Romney SuperPAC tied to fey religous right leader Gary Bauer, who has lots of issues with homosexuality.

Also interesting is that Romney's running mate Paul Ryan voted for ENDA in the House, before voting against it. Then, when HuffPo asked Ryan a few weeks ago if he still supports ENDA, the response was silence.

I think folks should probe Paul Ryan much more deeply on his past history concerning all things gay.

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Socarides on the election and LGBT successes

From Current TV:

[Richard] Socarides stresses Obama’s positive legacy on gay rights. “It’s interesting that other progressive communities — the environmental community, the immigration rights community — really are looking to what the gay rights community has been able to achieve in the first term,” he says. “They’re looking to us to get tips on how to get things moving in what we hope will be an Obama second term.”

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On gay rights, like every other issue, Mitt Romney is cheating on himself

Mitt Romney took a veiled swipe at gay marriage last night.

Whatever.

The guy is so all over the map on everything that nothing he says anymore means anything.  He will say quite literally anything to get elected - he'll lie about Obama, he'll lie about himself.  Nothing he says means anything.  I he can pivot 180 degrees on every firm conviction he's ever had - with no other justification than political expediency - then he can pivot again.  Which ought to trouble GOP voters.

It's a lot like the old saying about falling in love with a guy who's cheating on his wife to be with you.  What's to say he won't do the same to you?  Especially if, like with Gingrich's current wife, you're number 3 on the cheat-then-marry index.

Except in this case, by lying about his own lifelong positions, such as his once-promise that he'd be more pro-gay than Ted Kennedy, Romney is now cheating on himself.  And there really isn't a bigger betrayal than that. Read the rest of this post...

Paul Ryan has awfully purty hair for a straight Republican

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I'm used to politicians in Washington caring about their hair.  John Kerry and Mitt Romney are only two politicians who exemplify men who care a bit too much about their hair (for straight guys, at least).

But Paul Ryan.  Now there's a man who brings the notion of caring about your hair to a whole new level.

This guy does things with his hair that I try and fail to pull off on a regular basis. The whole push it all down flat to the front then do the swoosh at the tip thing.  I can't do it.  Have tried, and failed, every time I get a hair cut.  My haircutter can do it, I can't.  Ryan, however, does it perfectly.  (Unless he has someone do his hair for him every day, which would then be a story in and of itself.)  And I don't know why, but I find it a bit creepy when a straight right-wing guy in his 40s tries to look like some 20-something hipster or some 40-something queen.

I'm not suggesting that Paul Ryan is a queen, though he sure is purty for his age, and sure has purty hair that he obviously cares an awful lot about (just sayin').  I just think it's interesting that, for a politician who cares a bit too much about his hair, Paul Ryan takes the ritual to a whole new level.  It says something about the man.  At the very least, it suggests that he's sexy and he knows it.  Which is not a very admirable trait in anyone.

So what do you think?  Paul Ryan got any YouTubes we don't know about? Read the rest of this post...

Buzzfeed: The 14 Most Important Sex Ads Of The Republican National Convention

So bad, it's good. Read the rest of this post...

Musto on gay GOP self-loathing

Michael Musto:

Just when you assumed gay self-loathing had been deposited in the dead-chicken bins, along comes a new wave of self-flagellation aimed to throw us under the hate truck. At a time when gays have made significant progress and other people are fully available to do all the hating, some gays crazily want to join in!

I'm talking about the wave of gay Republicans who grovel before the enemy, making lavish excuses for politically repellent candidates—you know, the Romney/Ryan ticket—who would gladly turn us into a subordinate class without any semblance of full equality. There's no one more self-loathing than the oxymoronic "grubs" (gay Repubs) who rally to the defense of power-crazed bigots, spinning them as champions of decency and fairness who happen to be grossly misunderstood. No, wait, that's nothing new. For 30 years, there have been Log Cabin Republicans, though they at least try to work within the system to change the party's attitudes and have managed some good deeds here and there. But the pip-squeaks over at the more conservative group GOProud—who spun off from the Log Cabins—have only been organized since 2009, so their pigheaded attempts to sell us down the river still have a rank newness.

This is the organization that decided Paul Ryan was "a bold and inspired pick," a guy who can lead us back on "the road to fiscal solvency." (Oh, good! He can get us out of the mess set up by the last Republican administration.) They also cite his vote in favor of ENDA five years ago (though right before that, he'd joined a movement to kill it), as well as a couple of other gestures, completely leaving out his votes against hate crime protection and same-sex adoption and in favor of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and Defense of Marriage. This intently selective representation of someone who could shatter lives is like a paint-by-numbers portrait that leaves out the swastika. "Paul Ryan opposes discrimination against gay Americans," lied GOProud, shamelessly. And James Holmes is a patron of the arts!

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New Yorker covers show Romney and Ryan as kinda gay

Odd.

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Gay GOPers to hold Tampa convention party at fetish site w/ Paul Ryan imitator

Artist rendition of next week's event:

No homophobic GOP vice presidential candidates were harmed in
the creation of AMERICAblog's artist rendition (Fetish photo via Shuttertstock)

Well this should be fun.

And hey, I got nothing about a good fetish party. I do think, however, that if you're trying to kiss the GOP's gay-hating ass - like the sponsor of this party, GOProud, is doing - then you might want to avoid having an impersonator of your anti-gay, anti-sex candidate at a venue that regularly holds fetish parties.

The Edge has the deets:

The list also features GOProud’s HomoCon 2012 at the Honey Pot. "Male Revue Upstairs in the VIP Room Featuring Paul Ryan Look-alike!" the ad reads. GOProud is a group of gay conservatives who will host their HomoCon convention during the RNC. EDGE reported that the event features a number of conservatives speakers, including the editor of the conservative news and opinion website Breitbart, Dana Loesch, who has made anti-gay remarks in the past.

Will the Paul Ryan look-alike be clothed?  Because the Honey Pot is the monthly venue for the biggest fetish party around.

Via a recommendation on the Facebook:

One of the best local fetish parties around. Tons of fun, play spaces have a good feel,and the DMs are some of the best.

And FourSquare:

Second Saturday each month upstairs you will find the bay areas best Fetish Club. Its the real thing, equipment to use, toys to buy, and entertainment to watch.

And here's a better description of the event:

So this weekend was the once a month Fetish Circuit and this Slutzy Girl attended. The club night is hosted at the Honey Pot in Ybor City. Fet Cir take over the upstairs floor. It is a great event that starts really as you arrive. Ybor is lively and full of fun and unusual people. As you arrive at the club, the line for the Honey was snaking around the corner of the building, but this is not where the fetish are crowd are going. Head to the front of the line, hop the rope and say you are for Fet Circuit and in you go. Banded at the door you then head to the back of the club to Fet Cir, banded and paid you head upstairs.

It is a great location, great bar tender, tvs all around the place with porn movies playing. One area hosts some local vendors and my eye was taken by a pair of fabulous heavy red floggers. yummy. As you walk around, people are milling around, finding friends new and old. A number of rope suspensions are going on. In one corner two girls are suspended in web like rope work and look amazing, the long hair of one of the girls is even tethered to the frame.

Further back in an intense flogging scene is going on, a man tied to a St Andrews Cross is receiving some well deserved scening from his Domme.

Working my away around the club, I chat with the DJ for a bit, and the music is loud and great. Perfect for scening. As the evening goes on I see more flogging, more rope play and a number of people on spanking benches, being spanked, flogged and whipped. It is a great place to chat and understand a new technique from an experienced person. The club is run extremely well, Edwin does a wonderful job at organizing and bringing this event to us each month.

I'd love to know if the Romney/Ryan campaign has a comment on this?

And local Tampa readers, please go and get us some photos :) Read the rest of this post...

67 percent of gays will vote for Obama, number is a little low

Per a new Harris/Logo poll, 67% of gays would vote for Obama were the election held today, and 23% would vote for McCain.

Keep in mind that 77% of gays voter for John Kerry in 2004, and 70% voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

So this would appear low.  But according to CNN, John McCain got 27% of the gay vote in 2008 - so Romney's 23% is also a drop (Harris has 7% for other candidats, and 3% "unsure").  Though Harris says they had McCain's gay vote at 23%, so that would mean Romney is where McCain was.

Either way, it's possible we're still seeing some reticence from gays vis-a-vis Obama because of lingering, or leftover, angst from the first several years of the presidency when gays didn't feel their promises were getting the attention they deserved.  I think the President has now done enough to merit our vote.  But I worried back at the beginning that growing negatives are hard to turn around later - it's better to avoid the negatives in the first place.  We need to see more polls, but it might not hurt Team Obama to ramp up the outreach to gay America a little.

From a Harris/Logo poll via the Blade:

The poll found that 67 percent of LGBT respondents will vote for President Obama in November, compared to 48 percent of general voters. More than a fifth of LGBT respondents also said they would consider voting for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney if he held the same positions on gay rights as the president. Twenty-six percent of LGBT voters also said they are more likely to vote for Republicans if the GOP held the same positions on gay-specific issues as the Democratic Party.

Past numbers, below.

2004 Kerry vs Bush exit poll:

4% of voters were gay
77% voted Kerry
23% voted Bush

2006 US House exit poll:

3% of voters were gay
75% voted Democratic
24% voted Republican

2008 US House exit poll:

3% of voters were gay
80% voted Democratic
19% voted Republican

2008 Obama vs McCain exit poll:

4% of voters were gay
70% voted Obama
27% voted McCain

2010 US House exit poll data:

3% of voters were gay
68% voted Democratic
31% voted Republican

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Gay bathhouse offers GOP conventioneers free passes (seriously)

Isn't that sweet of them.

Still, nothing compares to the Onion's satire report on the gay hookers serving the GOP convention.
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Must-see gay election music video (with more than a little beefcake)

Seriously do go check it out. You'll be hearing about this video from your friends in days if you haven't already. Read the rest of this post...