Hate Groups Publish Full-Page Message To SCOTUS In The Washington Post: We Won't Honor Your Ruling On Marriage

A coalition of hate groups and Christian pastors calling themselves Defend Marriage has published a full-page message to SCOTUS in the Washington Post. Among the signers at the bottom of the ad are Mat Staver, Elaine Donnelly, the Benham brothers, Alveda King, Jim Garlow, John Hagee, E.W. Jackson, Don Wildmon, Dave Welch, Robert Jeffress, and Penny Nance. From the text:

We affirm that any judicial opinion which purports to redefine marriage will constitute an unjust law, as Martin Luther King Jr. described such laws in his letter from the Birmingham Jail. We are Christians who love America and who respect the legitimate rule of law. However, we will not honor any decision by the Supreme Court which will force us to violate a clear biblical understanding of marriage as solely the union of one man and one woman. We affirm that Marriage, as existing solely between one man and one woman, precedes civil government. Though affirmed, fulfilled, and elevated by faith, the truth that marriage can exist only between one man and one woman is not based solely on religion but on the Natural Law, written on the human heart.

Bolding is theirs. (Tipped by JMG reader Jim)

WaPo 2016 Net Favorability Poll

Of all the declared and potential 2016 candidates in the Washington Post's net favorability poll, only Sen. Bernie Sanders is (barely) in positive territory.

The real-world surveys show that the overwhelming majority of presidential candidates are running negative favorability scores. Quinnipiac has Bernie Sanders at +1 overall, although that's partly because 62 percent of Americans say they haven't heard enough about him to form an opinion. The closest Republican is Marco Rubio — the same number of Americans say they view him positively as those who view him negatively, meaning his score nets out to exactly zero. Clinton and Obama are tied at -4. And it's all downhill from there, all the way down to Donald Trump. Only 15 percent of Americans view him favorably, compared to 71 percent who have a negative opinion. That gives him a net favorability of -56, more than twice as bad as the next-lowest candidate, Chris Christie, with his -26 score.

(Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

Strong Lead For Hillary In New WaPo Poll

Via the Washington Post:

Hillary Rodham Clinton holds double-digit leads over potential Republican challengers Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney as the likely Democratic presidential candidate moves closer to entering the race, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. Although Clinton, Bush and Romney are all longtime politicians and members of political dynasties, registered voters are less likely to count that familiarity against Clinton. That is a good sign for Clinton, a failed 2008 presidential candidate and the focus of Republican criticism that her time has come and gone. Clinton’s potential to make history as the first female U.S. president makes little difference to most voters and is a net positive for others.

That 39% say they'd vote for Huckabee is rather mind-blowing.

MAP: Federal Aid By State

Via the Washington Post:

Nearly $1 in $3 in state revenue comes from the federal government, according to a new analysis. While taxes are responsible for most state general revenues, the federal government is responsible for about 31.5 percent of the total, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation. Mississippi is most reliant on the federal government, with 45.3 percent of general revenue in the most recently available fiscal year coming from the feds. Oil-rich Alaska‚ whose revenue is highly volatile, is least reliant on the federal government. The Tax Foundation’s analysis is based on a simple calculation of Census state revenue data published last month. The Census data offer a detailed breakdown of revenue sources for each state, so the Tax Foundation simply divided the “intergovernmental revenue” each state received from the federal government by the state’s “general revenue” total.

DC Priest To Gays: Stop All That Fucking

"A person with same-sex attraction is called to live celibately, like any unmarried heterosexual person. And though celibacy has its challenges (as does marriage) it can also be a very fulfilling way to live. Of this I am a witness. I am heterosexual, but I live celibately, not just because I am a priest, but because I am unmarried. And my life is very rich and fulfilling. I am not lonely, frustrated, or miserable. I suppose sex can be a source a happiness. But I have done enough counseling to know that sex can also be a source of stress, struggle, and yes, unhappiness. It is wrong to simplistically link sexual intercourse with happiness or to declare it a sine qua non for fulfillment. With this background in mind, I was pleased to see an article in the Washington Post that discusses the lives of those with same-sex attraction who choose to live celibately and in conformity with the teachings of the Church in this matter."- Father Charles Pope, writing for the Archdiocese of Washington.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG:  Father Pope calls for the cancellation of NYC's 2015 St. Patrick's Day "anal sex celebration parade" over the inclusion of one LGBT group. Father Pope slams the legalization of gay adoption in Florida because "parthenogenesis" is not meant for humans. Father Pope denounces President Obama for citing scripture in his endorsement of same-sex marriage.

MAP: Marriage Supporting Pols By State

Via the Washington Post:

About 45 percent of all governors and members of Congress across the country support same-sex marriage, and in all but 10 states there is at least one member of Congress or the governor who does. The percentage of politicians who support marriage for same-sex couples is slightly lower than the percentage of Americans who do. A September Pew poll found that 49 percent of respondents were in favor of gay men and lesbians being allowed to legally marry, while 41 percent were opposed and 10 percent didn’t know. Using information from the Human Rights Campaign and governors’ public statements, the percentage of elected officials who support marriage for same-sex couples was mapped out. Vacant seats were not included in states’ total, and elected officials whose views on marriage were not clear were not counted as being supportive.

Six states are ranked at 100%: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Hit the link for the interactive map.

Tweet Of The Day

Read the responses.

HomoQuotable - Matt Stolhandske

"As a gay man, I should hate Melissa and Aaron Klein. They’re the Portland-based Christian bakery owners who, in 2013, refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple’s wedding. And despite their insistence that they’re only morally opposed to gay marriage, not gays, they make their disdain for equality quite clear: 'I didn’t want to be a part of her marriage, which I think is wrong,' Aaron Klein recently said of one of the women he rebuked. I’m also an evangelical Christian. I can’t understand why Klein or any other Christians twist the words of Jesus Christ to justify this behavior. To me, it’s a deeply harmful and embarrassing bastardization of our faith. But I don’t hate the Kleins. In fact, I’m raising money to cover the $150,000 punitive fine they received from Oregon. [snip] To them I say: this is what an olive branch looks like. I am not rewarding their behavior, but rather loving them in spite of it. It is time for these two communities, which both cite genuine love as our motivation, to put aside our prejudices and put down our pitchforks to clear the path for progress." - Matt Stolhandske, writing for the Washington Post.

ABC/WaPo Poll: Half Of Americans Say Marriage Is A Constitutional Right

Via the Washington Post:

A full 50 percent say gay marriage is protected by the Constitution’s Equal Protection clause, an argument repeated by judge after judge in a string of federal rulings against state bans since a pivotal Supreme Court decision last summer. Some 43 percent do not believe gay marriage enjoys constitutional protection. Support for gay marriage overall — regardless of views on whether it is constitutionally protected — enjoys broader support, with 56 percent saying they back the right for same-sex couples to marry and 38 percent opposing it. In states that ban same-sex marriage, opinions tilt narrowly in support, 50 percent to 44 percent opposed. Opinions in these states are even more closely divided on whether or not it is a constitutional right, with 45 percent saying it is protected and 48 percent saying it is not. That includes the handful of states where federal court decisions against gay marriage bans are pending appeal. In states where gay marriage is allowed, 64 percent support it and 56 percent see it as a right.

(Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)

WaPo Marriage Map

The Washington Post has published an interactive marriage map.  Click on each state for recent developments.

WaPo: 82% Chance GOP Wins Senate

Via the Washington Post:

According to the model, which was built for The Post by political scientist and Monkey Cage blog author John Sides, Republicans have an 82 percent chance of claiming the six seats they need to move back into the majority. Explains Sides: The main problem for Democrats is that it’s a midterm year — and the president’s party almost always loses seats in the midterm. Moreover, conditions make it difficult for Democrats to overcome this tendency: The economy is not growing that strongly and, partly as a consequence, President Obama is not that popular. Moreover, as many have noted, many seats that the Democrats must defend this year are in Republican-leaning states.

New Poll: Record Support For Marriage

Via ABC News:

Half of all Americans believe that gay men and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll in which a large majority also said businesses should not be able to deny serving gays for religious reasons. Fifty percent say the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection gives gays the right to marry, while 41 percent say it does not. Beyond the constitutional questions, a record-high 59 percent say they support same-sex marriage, while 34 percent are opposed, the widest margin tracked in Post-ABC polling. The poll was conducted in the wake of a series of rulings by federal judges that state bans on same-sex marriage and prohibitions on recognizing marriages performed elsewhere are unconstitutional.

NOTE: A press release about this story mistakenly linked an earlier ABC/WaPo poll. I've replaced that graphic with today's poll result and corrected the link. The full poll results are here.

WaPo Publishes Interactive Marriage Map

The Washington Post has published an interactive marriage equality map which doesn't show all the lawsuits currently in progress, but it does highlight the states where we seem to be closest to a win.

Op-Ed Of The Day

From a Washington Post op-ed written by Yale law professors Ian Ayres and William Eskridge:

Eight U.S. states, and several cities and counties, have some version of what we call “no promo homo” provisions. Before the United States condemns the Russian statute’s infringement of free speech and academic freedom, it should recognize that our own republican forms of government have repeatedly given rise to analogous restrictions. [snip] The actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein has called on the United States to boycott the Sochi Games because Russia prohibits “propaganda of homosexuality.” But recall that in 2002 the United States proudly, and without comment, sent its Olympic athletes to a state — Utah — that prohibits the “advocacy of homosexuality.” Maybe Obama ought to send Olympic delegates Billie Jean King and Brian Boitano to Alabama and Texas. [snip] Putin’s inability to justify this law puts a spotlight on the inability of Utah, Texas, Arizona and other states to justify their gay-stigmatizing statutes. They should be repealed or challenged in court. Just as judges led the way against compulsory sterilization and racial-segregation laws, so they should subject anti-gay laws to critical scrutiny.

Read the full piece.

Washington Post: NOM Has Lost

"Like a candidate losing every primary, you wonder how long the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) can hold on. It’s now in the red to the tune of more than a million dollars. What exactly does NOM do as voters in state after state decide to expand marriage to gay couples? There aren’t enough states for a constitutional amendment. It’s no longer a matter of judicial activism, but a sea change in public opinion that is propelling the legal shift. How many contests does NOM lose before it — or its donors — figures out the argument is not going to carry the day?" - Jennifer Rubin, right-wing columnist for the Washington Post.

WaPo Gives Obama Four Pinnochios

The Washington Post has given President Obama its four Pinnochios rating for his claim that you can keep your existing insurance under Obamacare.  From their Fact Checker blog:

The administration is defending this pledge with a rather slim reed — that there is nothing in the law that makes insurance companies force people out of plans they were enrolled in before the law passed. That explanation conveniently ignores the regulations written by the administration to implement the law. Moreover, it also ignores the fact that the purpose of the law was to bolster coverage and mandate a robust set of benefits, whether someone wanted to pay for it or not.

The president’s statements were sweeping and unequivocal — and made both before and after the bill became law. The White House now cites technicalities to avoid admitting that he went too far in his repeated pledge, which, after all, is one of the most famous statements of his presidency. The president’s promise apparently came with a very large caveat: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan — if we deem it to be adequate.”

Tea Party sites such as Twitchy are doing cartwheels.

Newspaper Correction Of The Day

Here's the guy that the WaPo called "thickset."

Washington Post Vs Teabagger

(Via AmericaBlog)

Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the Washington Post:

Mr. Obama, speaking on the eve of his cancellation of a summit meeting in Moscow, said he felt Mr. Putin would surely understand “that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn’t tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently.” The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should understand that as well. On Wednesday the committee received a petition with more than 300,000 signatures urging it to boycott Sochi as the host city.

That may be unlikely, but the IOC will have to take some definitive stand in the weeks ahead, especially after Vitaly L. Mutko, Russia’s minister of sports, pronounced that Olympic athletes of all nationalities would be subject to the “propaganda” law. Those words stand in contrast to the IOC’s commitment that “the Games themselves should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and of course athletes.” The Olympic spirit is not compatible with a gag order on expressions of human freedom.

Editorial Of The Day

From the Washington Post editorial board:

In the politically charged election year of 1996 — the same year the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof margins — the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) reached the Senate floor and was defeated by a single vote.

Reading the tea leaves then, it might have seemed that employment discrimination against gay workers would become illegal long before 17 years would pass. It was same-sex marriage that seemed unlikely. But a nation that has evolved rapidly toward supporting marriage equality continues to drag its feet on workforce fairness. The rejection of ENDA, a version of which was proposed as far back as the mid-1970s, has become something of a ritual: The act has been introduced in every Congress since 1994, save one. [snip]

Mr. Obama promised on the campaign trail in 2008 that he would sign an executive order protecting gays in the federal contractor force. His failure to do so becomes increasingly indefensible and inexplicable by the day. An executive order could generate momentum for ENDA, not to mention put in place at least some protections until the act becomes law. After helping to end discrimination in the military and publicly endorsing same-sex marriage in his first term, it’s time the president honor the promise he made five years ago.