First openly gay presidential Canidate!!!!!

[Mr. Anubite]

Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

In my experience, usually. However, it depends on which area the person is conservative in. For example, my parents are rather Libertarian. They are conservative on the fiscal issues, but they also believe very strongly in Gay rights. It helps that my Dad's sister and son are both Gay

He does vote Republican, though; then he whines to me about how unfair it is that I can't get married.

[Greenday]

Thing is, we aren't saying "people will vote for him because he's gay."

I'll say it. There are plenty of people who would only vote for him for he was gay, just like there were plenty of people who voted for Obama because he was black. Then again, there were also plenty of people who voted for McCain because he was white.

[AdminAssistant]

Thing is, we aren't saying "people will vote for him because he's gay." The issue is, that he won't be able to secure his party's nomination because he's gay, because Republicans as a whole* are anti-LGBT and anti-equal rights. He's running on a platform that is contrary to the party whose banner that he wants to run under. It doesn't make sense.

*There are exceptions, YMMV.

[daleduke17]

*raises a brow*
Clarify that sentence there? Exactly what do you mean?

A lot of people were shown on the news stating they had voted for Obama merely because he was black. Which, to me, is a very superficial reason to vote for someone to lead a major country. This guy who just announced his candidacy would have the same effect, just cross out "black" and put "gay" in its place. So, we wouldn't get the best candidate, just the more contemporary one.

Now, if Obama had been the best candidate, and people didn't harp on the fact he was black and make that his main selling point, then this wouldn't be an issue.

[FArchivist]

We saw (or are seeing) how well voting for someone for some superficial reason is going right now.

*raises a brow*
Clarify that sentence there? Exactly what do you mean?

[daleduke17]

And this is a big deal how? He's just another candidate. Just like Obama was back in 2008. People are just going to vote for this guy based on him being gay.

We saw (or are seeing) how well voting for someone for some superficial reason is going right now.

[lordlundar]

and do you have any proof of this?

Right here at 5:18 in.

Despite what you think about Jon Stewart, it doesn't change the fact the question of how the future RNC chairman was going to fight gay marriage was brought up as important.

[Mytical]

The day we no longer care the color of a persons skin, the day we no longer care what sex a person is, the day that it doesn't matter what sexuality a person has. That day will be a great day.

It shouldn't matter that a person is gay..or black, or female, or from mars and has pink pokadotted skin. What should matter is are they able to do the job. The best person should get the job, but we all know that is not what happens. Media hype gets in the way, the water is so muddy that we can't tell up from down let alone who is the best candidate.

[FArchivist]

I only ask because McCain was for Gay marriage, and spoke out loudly AGAINST DOMA, so if what you say is true and not made up out of whole cloth, McCain was never a candidate? Funny he was on the ballot as Republican.....

You might want to check your facts. McCain DIDN'T speak out loudly against DOMA. Here's what he actually said:

- In October 2006, McCain said he would consider changing the U.S. military's don't ask, don't tell policy: "The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it."

- In December 2007, McCain said he supported the policy, citing reports from military leaders that "this policy ought to be continued because it's working."

- In January 2010, when Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen – the top civilian and uniform leadership of the military – came out in favor of repealing the policy, McCain said he was "disappointed" by their stance: "At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the Don't ask, don't tell policy," which he described as "imperfect but effective." McCain also criticized Gates for what he saw as an attempt to usurp Congressional authority over the policy.

- He supported the failed 2006 Arizona initiative to ban same-sex marriage and the successful California Proposition 8. He also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 which barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

- When asked if he supported civil unions for homosexuals, McCain said: "I do not."

- In July 2008, McCain told The New York Times that "I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption."

No, McCain did not speak out loudly against DOMA. In fact, when the military decided to get rid of it, he chastized them. He's also chastized Obama for not enforcing DOMA since. Pro-LGBT rights, McCain ISN'T.

As for Republicans being required to be against gay marriage, yes, they ARE asked that question at every RNC nomination. In fact, here are the relevant passages from the national platforms of the Republican Party for 2008:

Because our children's future is best preserved within the traditional understanding of marriage, we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union of a man and a woman, so that judges cannot make other arrangements equivalent to it. In the absence of a national amendment, we support the right of the people of the various states to affirm traditional marriage through state initiatives.

Republicans recognize the importance of having in the home a father and a mother who are married. The two-parent family still provides the best environment of stability, discipline, responsibility, and character. Children in homes without fathers are more likely to commit a crime, drop out of school, become violent, become teen parents, use illegal drugs, become mired in poverty, or have emotional or behavioral problems. We support the courageous efforts of single-parent families to provide a stable home for their children. Children are our nation's most precious resource. We also salute and support the efforts of foster and adoptive families.

Republicans have been at the forefront of protecting traditional marriage laws, both in the states and in Congress. A Republican Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act, affirming the right of states not to recognize same-sex "marriages" licensed in other states. Unbelievably, the Democratic Party has now pledged to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which would subject every state to the redefinition of marriage by a judge without ever allowing the people to vote on the matter. We also urge Congress to use its Article III, Section 2 power to prevent activist federal judges from imposing upon the rest of the nation the judicial activism in Massachusetts and California. We also encourage states to review their marriage and divorce laws in order to strengthen marriage.

As the family is our basic unit of society, we oppose initiatives to erode parental rights.

And guess what? This has been in the National Platform of the Republican Party since 1992. The question is asked at every Republican National Convention. And John McCain, in the 2008 Republican nomination, expressed very clearly that he would adhere to preventing gay marriage from becoming a legal possibility. Whether he meant it or not, I don't care; his record, voting and speaking, shows clearly what he'll do.

[Greenday]

I'm just pointing out the difference between Cheney/McCain and Karger that makes the fact that they all believe in equality irrelevant. Maybe some day the Republicans will pick a gay front runner, but that time is not now. Replace his chances of slim to none with just none because that's his realistic chances.

I think it's great that someone wants to run for president so they can finally put a stop to all these bigoted laws making gay people into a lower class. But I wouldn't vote for someone whose only reason they want to be president is to fix that. Being president involves a lot more than dealing with LGBT rights and if the person running only gives a crap about that, I don't want someone in there who doesn't care about the majority of their job.

[Hyena Dandy]

Cheney and McCain weren't gay.

I think she was replying to lordlundar, which I was adding to.

Though I'm confused, since I didn't know that answering questions at the RNC was part of the vetting process. I figured you were already a vet by then.

Er... Vetted. Whatever.

[Greenday]

Cheney and McCain weren't gay.

[Hyena Dandy]

Cheney also said that freedom means freedom for everyone in the VP debates in 2000

[BlaqueKatt]

his chances range from slim to none. One of the questions posed to potential candidates at the RNC is "How would you go about preventing gay people from having the right to legally marry" and other obviously anti-gay rights questions.

and do you have any proof of this?

I only ask because McCain was for Gay marriage, and spoke out loudly AGAINST DOMA, so if what you say is true and not made up out of whole cloth, McCain was never a candidate? Funny he was on the ballot as Republican.....

[Andara Bledin]

The idea of being liberal in this country is so anathema to so many that our far left is barely left of center to the rest of the world.

^-.-^