Rob Portman: I Won't Run For President

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) today announced that he will not run for president in 2016.

Portman, a Republican who was once considered a top contender to be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee in 2012, said in a statement early Tuesday morning that he would not seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Instead, he said, “I have decided to run for re-election in 2016. I am excited about continuing to serve, especially with the change in the Senate leadership.” “With the new Republican majority, I see a real opportunity over the next two years to break the gridlock in Washington and actually get things done to help Ohioans and all Americans. That's where I believe I can play the most constructive role,” he said. “I don't think I can run for president and be an effective senator at the same time.”

Portman's support for same-sex marriage has spawned countless diatribes from anti-gay groups who have universally vowed not only to defeat his bid for the GOP nomination, a cause now made moot,  but to unseat him in the Senate. Just this morning the FRC tweeted out a link to a Citizens For Community Values declaration that Portman is "unacceptable for any public office."

Brian Brown Vs Sen. Rob Portman

"Rob Portman can forget about getting elected President of the United States. If he runs we will make sure that GOP primary voters are aware of his desire to redefine marriage and his willingness to see federal judges set aside the votes of 50 million Americans who enacted marriage amendments across the country because his son is gay. Rob Portman's son has a right to live as he chooses, but that does not give his father the right to redefine marriage. The same voters who just elected pro-marriage candidates like Joni Ernst, Tim Scott, Tom Cotton, Pat Roberts and Thom Tillis are not going to support someone like Rob Portman." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, from a post NOM's blog.

Sen. Rob Portman: If I Run For President, My Gay Marriage Support Will Be A Plus

GOP Sen. Rob Portman is considering a 2016 presidential bid and says that his support for same-sex marriage would only help his campaign. The Washington Post yesterday declared that Portman's candidacy could set up a "nightmare scenario" for the Republican Party.

This raises the possibility of a scenario that Republicans who agree with Portman — and believe the party must evolve on gay marriage to stay in step with the country’s cultural and demographic shifts — might want to start worrying about right about now. It’s not hard to imagine that Senator Ted Cruz might make precisely the opposite case from Portman, making the case that the party must reaffirm its support for “traditional marriage” key to his GOP presidential primary run. This could come after the Supreme Court has declared a Constitutional right to gay marriage — which Cruz would then be vociferously calling on Republicans to help roll back. Gay advocates believe lower court rulings overturning state gay marriage bans on Constitutional equal protection grounds could portend an eventual SCOTUS ruling that enshrines a national right to gay marriage. That could happen in time for the 2016 primary.

Two weeks ago Cruz said that Americans should "come to our knees to God" in defense of one man, one woman marriage.

Giving Credit Where It's Due

Via Memographs.

Tony Perkins Vs Sen. Rob Portman

"With ENDA on the table, liberals (and a handful of Republicans) are trying to convince the American people that they aren't tolerant enough to run their own offices. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is trying to cushion the blow of his ENDA support with flimsy so-called religious exemptions that will do nothing to protect Americans. His amendment, which passed yesterday by voice vote, would supposedly prevent the government from discriminating against a church or church-run organization in the narrowest of exemptions. If Sen. Portman thinks his amendment will protect him from criticism once Americans recognize what the law means for businesses, he's mistaken." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

Senate Adopts GOP's ENDA Amendment Granting Broader Religious Exemptions

Via the Associated Press:

On a quick, voice vote Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment from Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire that would prevent federal, state and local governments from retaliating against religious groups that are exempt from the law. The overall bill would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. The vote set the stage for passage of the bill on Thursday when all 55 senators in the Democratic majority and a number of Republican senators are expected to back the measure. Asked if he would vote for the bill, five-term Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who twice sought the presidency, said, "yes," then added in a brief interview, "if we get the amendments worked out." McCain was a co-sponsor of the Portman-Ayotte amendment. The Senate plans to vote on Thursday on an amendment by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to expand the number of groups that are covered under the religious exemption.

GOP Senators Attempt To Expand ENDA's Already Too-Broad Religious Exemptions

Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner reports that a group of GOP senators are pushing an amendment to ENDA that would expand the already too-broad religious exemption in the bill. LGBT groups "appear uninterested" in fighting the amendment, says Geidner.

The amendment, which also includes a provision making explicit that the purpose of the ENDA includes respect for religious liberty, is being authored by Sen. Rob Portman and is cosponsored by Sens. Kelly Ayotte, Dean Heller, Orrin Hatch, and John McCain. On Monday evening, the Senate’s lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jeff Merkley, said he would be backing the amendment. Officials with the Human Rights Campaign, American Civil Liberties Union and Freedom to Work all said they believed it was an unnecessary provision, but none said they were actively opposing it — and HRC made its lack of opposition explicit. “HRC believes this language is unnecessary, but does not oppose it. We believe this merely restates the status quo for religious employers,” HRC vice president for communications Fred Sainz told BuzzFeed.

The proposed amendment would bar the government from retaliating against "religious employers" that discriminate against LGBT workers. Here is the text:

“A religious employer’s exemption under this Act shall not result in any action by a Federal government agency, or any state or local government agency that receives Federal funding or financial assistance, to penalize or withhold licenses, permits, certifications, accreditation, contracts, grants, guarantees, tax-exempt status, or any benefits or exemptions from that employer, or to prohibit the employer’s participation in programs or activities sponsored by that Federal, state, or local government agency. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to invalidate any other federal, state, or local law or regulation that otherwise applies to an employer exempt under this section.”

Sen. Pat Toomey has an amendment of his own and this one IS opposed by LGBT groups. The text:

“(b) In addition, (i) an employer shall qualify for this exemption if it is (in whole or in part) managed by a particular religious corporation, association, or society; if it is officially affiliated with a particular religion or religious corporation, association, or society; or if the institution’s curriculum is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion; and (ii) This exemption shall apply regardless of whether the employer, or the employment position at issue, engages in secular activities as well as religious activities.”

ENDA passed its cloture test on Monday and may be heard by the full Senate as early as today.

Quote Of The Day - Linda Harvey

"Former attorney general of Ohio Jim Petro and his wife have jumped on the 'gay marriage' bandwagon because their daughter Corbin got hitched, so the fantasy goes, to another woman in Massachusetts. He joins another prominent Ohio politician, U.S. Senator Ron Portman, in recently discovering human rights our forefathers missed. This propaganda, using children as guinea pigs, is the rotten fruit of same sex marriage as it has played out in Massachusetts and other parts of the liberal Northeast and West Coast and it may come to Ohio unless voters get wise. The daughters of future quasi-liberal politicians in Ohio and elsewhere will hear in school only one approved opinion, and it's not one that reveals the harmful truth about homosexual conduct, gender change chaos, and -- oh, yes -- prospective parenting options." - Linda Harvey, writing for American Thinker.

Quote Of The Day - Will Portman

"I’m proud of my dad, not necessarily because of where he is now on marriage equality (although I’m pretty psyched about that), but because he’s been thoughtful and open-minded in how he’s approached the issue, and because he’s shown that he’s willing to take a political risk in order to take a principled stand. He was a good man before he changed his position, and he’s a good man now, just as there are good people on either side of this issue today.

"We’re all the products of our backgrounds and environments, and the issue of marriage for same-sex couples is a complicated nexus of love, identity, politics, ideology and religious beliefs. We should think twice before using terms like 'bigoted' to describe the position of those opposed to same-sex marriage or 'immoral' to describe the position of those in favor, and always strive to cultivate humility in ourselves as we listen to others’ perspectives and share our own." - Will Portman, son of Sen. Rob Portman, writing for the Yale Daily.

"Ex-Gay" Crackpots PFOX Ask Sen. Rob Portman And Wife To Join Their Group

The "ex-gay" crackpots at PFOX, who last month filed a Supreme Court brief against same-sex marriage, have issued a press release that both denounces Sen. Rob Portman and his wife and invites them to join their group. From PFOX head Regina Griggs:

My heart goes out to Sen. Portman and his wife. As the mother of a homosexual child, I understand how Sen. Portman feels. It is not easy, but as a responsible parent I must stand firm in my belief that marriage must remain as that of a man and a woman. To deliberately deny children a mother or father by supporting genderless marriage will create grave consequences. All children do best who live in a society where healthy relationships come from living with and being exposed to both genders. As the executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), I believe parents do not have to approve of everything their children do and say. Responsible parenting means loving and respecting our children in spite of our differences. Sen. Portman, we invite you to rethink your recent statement and for you and your wife to become honorary members of PFOX. We welcome you with open arms.

We'd love to hear from the "homosexual child" of Regina Griggs.

NY Post Slams Gay Left

Noting the criticism of Sen. Rob Portman's reversal on marriage from the left, the New York Post today published an editorial titled "When Yes Isn't Enough."

Never mind that embracing gay marriage in the GOP carries a risk while it’s completely safe for a Democrat. Or that another prominent flip-flopper on the issue — Barack Obama — also invoked personal experience (conversations with his daughters about friends with same-sex parents). Or that a good part of the effort to persuade opponents to shift has been based on the slogan, “We are your children.” Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of the conservative gay-rights group GOProud, explains the attacks on Portman this way: “It just goes to show that the gay left hates conservatives no matter what their position on marriage.” We’ll leave it at this: What kind of activist asks people to have a change of heart, and then berates them when they do?

The Post and LaSalvia conveniently fail to note that Portman's support also came with a call for the Supreme Court to "stay out" of marriage equality.  Since LaSalvia is a Tenther, we presume that he feels the same way.

Linda Harvey: Gay Identity Is A Delusion

"Every person out there who claims a 'gay' identity has the ability to get married in Ohio or anywhere else now. He or she can marry someone of the opposite sex, because that’s what marriage is and because a 'gay; identity is a delusion. Two men, no matter how sincere they feel, or two women, will never be a marriage. The person who believes this disorder is 'who he is,' as apparently [Sen. Rob] Portman’s son does, has tragically internalized a lie. His son needs to hear the hope of change and the stories of the thousands of former homosexuals in this country. But his father is apparently not going to tell him. How sad!" - Hate group leader Linda Harvey, writing for World Net Daily.

HomoQuotable - Josh Barro

"There are a lot of teenagers for whom, unlike Will Portman or me, coming out entails risk of familial rejection, homelessness and violence. There is a reason organizations such as the Ali Forney Center, which provides housing and support to homeless LGBT youth in New York City, need to exist. Making public policy less anti-gay will help these youth but arguably more importantly, demands for social acceptance of gays and lesbians at the elite level trickle down into mass attitudes and make it less likely that families will reject their gay children in the first place.

"At least half the members of the Senate still oppose gay marriage, and they are, by and large, a fecund bunch. That means there are more Will Portmans out there waiting to announce themselves. Republican Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, who appallingly once took to the Senate floor with a photograph of his 20 children and grandchildren to brag that there are no gays in his family, might well have gay descendants that he doesn’t even know about. They owe it to the rest of us to follow Will Portman’s example and make their existence known." - Bloomberg economics writer Josh Barro, saying that Will Portman wasn't necessarily brave to come out to his father, but instead fulfilled his obligation to other gay kids.

GOP Calls For Gay Inclusion

The GOP has issued a 97-page report which singles out the inclusion of gay people as part of the party's strategy for future success.

"For the GOP to appeal to younger voters, we do not have to agree on every issue, but we do need to make sure young people do not see the Party as totally intolerant of alternative points of view," the report states. "Already, there is a generational difference within the conservative movement about issues involving the treatment and the rights of gays — and for many younger voters, these issues are a gateway into whether the Party is a place they want to be."  "If our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out," the report continues, adding that disagreement over 20 percent of the issues should not mean the party cannot come together on the other issues. Polling has consistently shown nearly half of conservatives younger than 30 support marriage equality.

RELATED: Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has praised the marriage reversal by Sen. Rob Portman, but he stops short of endorsing same-sex marriage himself.

"I think Sen. Portman made some pretty big inroads last week," Priebus said. "I think it's about being decent. I think it's about dignity and respect, that nobody deserves to have their dignity diminished, or people don't deserve to be disrespected." "It's not a matter of whether I support his decision," Priebus said. "I support him doing what he wants to do as an elected person and as an American. If that's his opinion, then I support him having that opinion."

Boehner: I'm Not Changing My Mind

"Rob [Portman] is a great friend and a long-time ally. And I appreciate that he’s decided to change his views on this.I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It’s what I grew up with. It’s what I believe. It’s what my church teaches me. And I can’t imagine that position would ever change." - House Speaker John Boehner, appearing yesterday on ABC's This Week.

UPDATE: John McCain agrees: "I respect anyone else’s decision and we all learn in life and grow and mature. I have changed my position on other issues in my life, but on this one, I had not contemplated changing my position."

CPAC Attendees Denounce Sen. Portman

(Via Scott Keyes at Think Progress)

Christian Group: Sen. Rob Portman's Gay Son Is Going To Get AIDS

"Portman has conveniently ignored the warnings against the sin of homosexuality in both the Old and New Testaments – and is accepting a behavior that may eventually kill his son from AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, or oral cancer. Homosexual sex is ultimately just as destructive as cocaine use. Would Portman suddenly call for the legalization of cocaine if his son had announced that he was a cocaine addict? Would that be 'loving' and 'compassionate'? What sort of core values motivate a U.S. Senator to change his mind about a sexually destructive behavior simply because his son is involved in it? What will happen to Rob Portman’s belief system when he discovers that his son is infected with HIV or throat cancer? A person with a same-sex attraction has a treatable condition. No one is 'born gay' and there is hope for those who want to overcome these destructive behaviors." - Government Is Not God-PAC, posting on their website. (Via Right Wing Watch)

Sen. Portman Gave Tony Perkins The Sadz

"Regardless of a child's choices, the love of a parent can and should be a guiding beacon in the lives of their sons and daughters.  Unconditional love, however, does not mean unconditional support in choices that are both harmful to them and society as a whole.  This is especially true when we approach public policy.  Our unconditional love for our children should not override the historical and social science evidence which makes abundantly clear what is best for all children and for society - being raised by a married mother and father." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, in a statement published to the FRC's website.

Haters React To Sen. Rob Portman

Portman: I Now Support Marriage But SCOTUS Should Stay Out Of It

"With the overwhelming majority of young people in support of allowing gay couples to marry, in some respects the issue has become more generational than partisan. The process of citizens persuading fellow citizens is how consensus is built and enduring change is forged. That’s why I believe change should come about through the democratic process in the states. Judicial intervention from Washington would circumvent that process as it’s moving in the direction of recognizing marriage for same-sex couples. An expansive court ruling would run the risk of deepening divisions rather than resolving them. I’ve thought a great deal about this issue, and like millions of Americans in recent years, I’ve changed my mind on the question of marriage for same-sex couples. As we strive as a nation to form a more perfect union, I believe all of our sons and daughters ought to have the same opportunity to experience the joy and stability of marriage." - GOP Sen. Rob Portman, writing for the Columbus Dispatch.