What Did I Tell You?

Right on cue and as predicted, the Christiansists are all twitterpated about the Supreme Court ruling in New Jersey.

The divisive debate over gay marriage, which played a prominent role in 2004 campaigns but this year largely faded from view, erupted anew on Thursday as President Bush and Republicans across the country tried to use a court ruling in New Jersey to rally dispirited conservatives to the polls.

[...]

For conservatives, the debate brings back memories of 2004, when they rallied in opposition to a Massachusetts court ruling that same sex couples had a right to marry. The issue proved central in places like South Dakota, where Senator John Thune, a Republican, railed against activist judges in his successful campaign to oust Tom Daschle, then the Senate Democratic leader.

This year, by contrast, conservatives have felt frustrated that the debate over gay marriage and the judiciary is no longer front and center.

Yeah, that's because death and destruction in Iraq, rampant incompetence and cronyism as demonstrated by the response to Hurricane Katrina, and other things like, oh, say, North Korea with a nuclear bomb, rate as just a little bit more important to the average voter than the right wing's feverish -- if not a little creepy -- obsession with gay marriage.

I'm guessing that this attempt by the righties to drum up a last-minute rally from the nutsery will flop; at this stage, if there's an undecided voter out there in Ohio or Colorado or Minnesota, they aren't going to change their mind in a local Congressional race because the Supreme Court of New Jersey handed down a ruling. Of course, that won't stop Jerry Falwell, Lou Sheldon, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson from shaking down their gullible flocks to fork over some more dough, but they know a sucker punch when they see it, and they know that no one ever went broke by exploiting the fear and paranoia of the foolish and the weak.

It's doubly interesting that Mr. Bush should be stumping around the country railing against "activist judges" since the New Jersey Supreme Court basically ruled in favor of civil unions, which is what the president endorsed during the campaign in 2004. Am I surprised that he either forgot or changed his mind? Not at all. Anyone who can't stay the course from one month to the next certainly can't be held responsible for what he said on the campaign trail two whole years ago. I mean, come on...