You can read the article here.
Cindy, shocking to many, came out and posed. The picture is here:
*pic from the huffington post
Daughter Meghan had been public in her support for marriage equality for a long time, and I love that her mother came out in support too. I think this is huge for the Republican party. The party is changing. These are not your grandfather's Republicans... these are my Republicans.
As I've written so many times before... I still just can't understand why gay marriage is such an issue in this country. Who cares? If you're against it, don't get one!
My personal solution would be to stop giving tax breaks for marriages and start taxing it. (bitter single girl rant commencing...) Married people already get dual incomes to live off of, let them pay taxes on it. Maybe if people (gay AND straight!) knew they were going to pay more in taxes, they'd think a little harder about getting married, and maybe 50% of marriages wouldn't end in divorce.
As for the criticism that it's "too late"... I disagree. Maybe it's too late for John McCain, but honestly, who cares? It's never too late to support equality. And I love that John McCain came out and distanced himself from his wife's position... it makes it even more awesome that she posed. I'm sure it wasn't easy for her to say "sorry hubs, but this is what I believe, sorry if it's not what you believe." I hope to have that kind of marriage one day...
And honestly... my BIGGEST beef with all of this... WHY is this being made into a REPUBLICAN issue? I don't see Michelle Obama posing for NoH8 or coming out and sharing that despite her husband's refusal to support gay marriage, she disagrees. Where are the democrats on this?! They've got a majority in Congress, why aren't they passing marriage equality?
I think this has to do with age... as more of MY generations gets older and gets into office, things will change. We are more open-minded than our parents (isn't that always the case?). The problem is NOT that Congress is made up of Republicans like John McCain. The problem is that that Congress is made up of 73 year olds like John McCain.
The Republican party is changing. The Republican party is me, and Meghan McCain, and Cindy McCain, and I am prouder than ever to be a Republican.
Cheers to the GOP!
ReplyDeleteLOVE this post. I definitely agree...our age republicans are SO different than even our parents. Go Cindy AND Scott Brown, him and his posing nude and all=)
ReplyDeleteWord.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you for putting this into words.
I kindof love you.
Great post, definitely agree!
ReplyDeleteYou know what I hate?? The fact that they airbrushed the hell out of her to make her look 20.
ReplyDeleteBut besides that, go Cindy go!
And I don't understand why gay marriage is such a big issue either. In 50 years we (the country, not me personaly) are all going to look like SUCH jackasses that we thought it was right to ban it. It's just dumb.
Ugh!
I love this post! Totally agree...love the GOP!
ReplyDeleteGo GOP - times & we are a changing! :o) (finally!)
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteI agree with EVERY single freaking word. Great post girl. Great freaking post!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSolid post, LF! It's an interesting and important move for not just for the GOP, but for the country. Despite being a hard line conservative on fiscal and security issues, my social libertarian disposition always made me somewhat sympathetic to gay marriage. I always thought that the theoretical stability and inherent tradition that marriage represents would get more family-value oriented folks on-board over time. Plus, Ted Olson, Bush's former solicitor general, has done more to advance gay rights over the past few years through his law suits, than any national democrat.
ReplyDeleteThis destroys the GOP lock-down on allegedly being the anti-gay party, sure large elements of the GOP are still opposed to gay marriage, but then again, so are many high placed democrats, including President Obama. Frankly, President Obama has the exact same stance on gay marriage as Senator McCain does. Yet, all of the progressives and liberals are willing to give the big O a pass even though he and democrats take the gays and their issues for granted. I find that willful ignorance and blind partisan loyalty to be extremely disturbing. What's worse, people who pay lip service to get your vote and do nothing or people who take an position opposite of yours and aren't afraid to so say?
Um, I disagree with the marriage tax. Not everyone who's married has two incomes to live off of and some day when you get married, you might want to have kids and stop working for a while(maybe/maybe not... just sayin) which is damn near impossible for many people right now. Putting a tax on their union would make that reality worse. Also, taxing people just for getting married or being married might INCREASE the divorce rate and promote 'living in sin' which I don't really have a problem with, but I bet a lot of people do... And if I were taxed on being married, I'd get divorced and live in sin with my husband! hahaha Also, you do have to pay the government already to get married... I paid for a marriage license and someone certified to perform the ceremony, in addition to all the sales tax I had to pay for the items/food, etc. I used in the wedding. I somehow don't think that punishing those who are allowed to get married would solve this problem.
ReplyDeleteI support gay marriage and I give major props to Cindy McCain for supporting it too! EVERYONE should have equal rights. Good post - made me think!
By the way, I'm just speaking my opinion and won't do it anonymously cause I hate when peeps do that... so I hope you won't be angry with my disagreement. Love your blog :-)
Great Post. I'm an independent and mostly due to the fact that I agree with so much coming from each party. The republican party is changing due to the exact reasons you listed. I hope one day I have a party I can hop completely on board with.
ReplyDeleteI am a lesbian woman and I'm planning my wedding for this year. It won't be legal but it's very real in our hearts. Maybe one day a law will pass in my state, but until then I hope people continue to progress in acceptance and equality for everyone. :)
YAY LF!
Very good point on Michelle (and, really all the Democrats who think it's political suicide to say anything that could be interpreted as being in favor of gay marriage). Maybe if the politicians are going to be dumb their wives can lead the way?
ReplyDeleteI support gay marriage, but only because I'm opposed to gay sex. I figure if there are more gay people married to each other, the amount of sex they have will drop off just like it does for straight couples.
ReplyDelete"I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish." - Dick Cheney
"Marriage is between a man and a woman." - Barack Obama
As for why there's so much resistance to gay marriage, part of the problem is that many people on the far left are really hateful and bigoted, which makes it hard to muster support from the middle, especially on a rights issue. When you portray the opposition as ignorant hillbillies, you're not going to get them to support you. And, when you insist that giving you the right to marry won't lead to opening the door further (plural marriage, incest, etc), it's hard to take your rights campaign seriously.
As a Texas Democrat who supports equality for everyone I can appreciate this post, but have to disagree with many of the comments. But, I do want to say that, in my opinion, too many issues are made partisan. Why does this have to be a republican or democratic issue? Why isn't it just a human issue? I think that's why there's so much inefficiency in our system. We get too hung up on labels, hence "gay marriage" vs. "traditional marriage".
ReplyDeleteyeah....i don't know about taxing the marriage folk LF. :) Like Pink Jelup said... not all married people are making significant amounts of money. Some may be struggling more than a single person.
ReplyDeleteBL1Y, great point. The moral bankruptcy and shameless partisan hackery of the gay rights movement leadership needs to be highlighted and condemned.
ReplyDeleteDick Cheney was the highest ranking government official to be an open advocate of gay marriage, yet the gay rights movement leadership continues to treat him with contempt, instead of embracing a natural ally. These same people blindly support President Obama despite the fact that he is repeatedly on record being a staunch opponent of gay marriage.
The movement would do itself substantial good if they emancipated themselves from the shackles of the Democrat party, which does them no favors, and seek out and supports viable candidates, regardless of party, who would support their issues. I think more Republicans would step forward and plenty of democrats would maintain the status quo. Not only would this bold move highlight the issue in a more meaningful way, it would likely accelerate the goals of the movement. Although a staunch supporter of gay marriage, the hypocrisy of their political leadership makes me queasy.
You said it perfectly!
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with you. While i DEFINITELY applaud Cindy McCain-- she is in no way indicative of her party. While perhaps there are plenty of young, urban Republicans who are supportive of gay marriage, that in no way means that it is a trend in the party. In fact, it seems to be quite the opposite. While the face of the republicans are ultra-right-wingers like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, the party will not change. Face it-- the majority of republicans aren't young and urban (and definitely not gay), they are middle-aged, middle-class, southern, and religious. While Democrats have definitely stumbled on this issue, they certainly remain the party of the majority of supporters of gay marriage. Unfortunately, most Republicans seem to be heading even more right.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, it is Republicans like you that give me hope for bipartisanism in this country. It is my hope that we can rise above the current polarizing political climate to make real change.
Good post!~
ReplyDeleteThere have been some great points made here. Thanks for posting on this... I agree with you wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteGood post!! You can't help who you love. There are so many straight people out there who shouldn't be allowed to get married. Although I don't agree with the whole taxing married people more thing either just because everyone's financial situation is different from the next, I do believe that it is something that would deter people from jumping into marriage without thinking about it, therefore perhaps lowering the divorce rate.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that some parts of it have to do with age (and probably also have a correlation to religious beliefs). I would say my parents are moderately left-leaning. Their voting record might indicate that they're severely to the left, but they're not, as evidenced by their disagreements with me, their extremely liberal daughter (read: bleeding heart). Yet, neither of them believe there should be gay marriage. Civil unions is fine by them, and my mother especially doesn't know why homosexuals wouldn't be satisfied with that -- no matter how many times I suggest to her that she would not be satisfied with a only a civil union. They don't believe in gay marriage because of religious reasons, and there's really no convincing them otherwise.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't believe that Republicans could really come out in support of gay marriage now because their base would be against it. I have a hard time believing that the southern (and to some extent western), religious right wing will support the proposition any time in the near future. But maybe I feel that way because I don't see too many young Republicans speaking out in this way. I would love to be wrong on this.
I also think you and others have a fair point about Obama's lack of support for gay marriage. I wish he would come out in support of it. But I understand I will never agree with him on everything, and right now it's enough to hope that Democrats who have the ear of the president will one day at least push him in the right direction. I also understand our focus is elsewhere right now.
I'm glad you posted this, though, because I had not read this about Cindy McCain. (I've been trying to stay off of political sites so I can get my work done!) I think Cindy's incredibly beautiful and classy (and boy does she know how to dress!).
Rose,
ReplyDeleteWhile the majority of gay-rights supporters are Democrats, the majority of Democrats are not gay-rights supporters.
I saw this on TV! So awesome!
ReplyDeleteno politics on blogs! just say no!
ReplyDeletemarried people already do pay a tax! when two people get married their incomes are combined, moving them to a higher tax bracket and a higher tax rate (and i'm single!) agree with you on everything else, though!
ReplyDeleteWOW! i never thought about it like this! i just discovered your blog and i LOVE it - I can't wait to start following! thank you!
ReplyDeleteRather than taxing a couple for being married, shouldn't it be a cohabitation tax? Living with a significant other before marriage save just as much, and there are plenty of married couples who do not get to save by having a dual income if they live in different states, maintain two households, and have to travel to see each other.
ReplyDelete(Sorry, bitter long distance marriage rant...)
No offense, but it is a very republican idea that if there was a tax on married people, less people would get married. I didn't marry my husband for legal perks or discounts, I married him because I love him and I want to share my life with him.
ReplyDeleteGood point also to the person who pointed out that two incomes get pushed into a higher tax bracket.
Ethidium: What's so bad about a long distance marriage? You have just as much sex as a regular married couple, but don't have to deal with your partner's annoying habits.
ReplyDelete