Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) Shows Us Exactly Why Republicans Suck

[superpunk]

not gonna post the entire thing but here's the important bits

The big story in Ohio today is that Ohio's Republican senator, Rob Portman has come out in favor of gay marriage. Why the big change from someone who is just as "severely conservative" as Mitt Romney pretended to be? Well, turns out Senator Portman's son, Will, is gay. I say, kudos to Senator Portman and his wife for supporting and loving their son, as well as for changing his position on the issue of gay marriage. But in his opinion piece in the Columbus Disgrace--er, Dispatch today, he shows us exactly why Republicans suck on issues that Americans care about.

Senator Portman goes on to explain in his opinion piece that he hasn't always supported gay marriage, as if we didn't know. But that something changed his position, and it started with his son Will telling him in February of 2011 that he was gay. Regarding his thoughts at the time, Portman writes:

At the time, my position on marriage for same-sex couples was rooted in my faith tradition that marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman. Knowing that my son is gay prompted me to consider the issue from another perspective: that of a dad who wants all three of his kids to lead happy, meaningful lives with the people they love, a blessing Jane and I have shared for 26 years.

This is written all flowery and nice, but here's the problem: he never considered how the issue of gay marriage affects people until it affected him. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's come over to our side (we have cookies!), but this reveals exactly why Republican politicians suck. They don't think about things from other people's perspective. They don't have to struggle to eat, so they don't think about what happens when they cut food stamps and people who already have too little to eat have even less. They have retirement savings and won't have to depend on Social Security, so they don't think about how gutting SS effects people who depend on it to survive. They can afford their own healthcare without any problem, so this big scary Obamacare mandate is all bad news, it can't possibly help people who have no insurance now and just pray they don't get sick or injured, because it doesn't help them. They just end up paying extra taxes for people who are lazy, right? Because how else would you end up in a situation like that, unless you were lazy? Because Republican politicians aren't lazy, and they're all well-off, so the opposite must be true--if you're lazy you fail at life. Thus if you've failed, it's your own fault, so why should anybody else help you? Help yourself, damnit!

This idea of "It doesn't effect me personally so I don't give an eff" isn't a new Republican idea, nor is it new to politics. Not only does it explain why the party is so off-base from what the American people feel and experience on a daily basis, but why they tend to be assholes in general. Old white men aren't likely to face the idea of getting an abortion any time soon seeing as how they don't have uteruses, and they don't care to think about the plight of the woman who DOES consider having the procedure. Because it doesn't personally affect them.

Some day a senate republican will have a kid who is a woman or poor and we'll be all set.

TLDR: Republicans lack the ability to have empathy.

 

[jnday]

Marriage is a union between a man and a women. If gays want a civil union of some kind, I might would consider supporting it, but I will never support gay marriage.

 

[superpunk]

Marriage is a civil union.

 

[Hoofbite]

Wonder how God feels about being tossed aside in the name of personal interest.

 

[Hoofbite]

Marriage is a union between a man and a women. If gays want a civil union of some kind, I might would consider supporting it, but I will never support gay marriage.

I have no problem with saying you'd never support it. That's fine.

But for people who basically have no vested interest outside of dogmatic teachings, I think it's pretty ignorant to actively stand in opposition.

You don't have to support it but I see no reason why someone would actively try to deny other people a certain status, ability, or whatever.

Honestly, I think the issue of gay marriage is somewhat of a microcosm of what is wrong with the US in terms of people actually working together and getting shit done. Rather than focus on things that have a direct impact on their life, far too many people focus on what other people are doing even though there is no impact on their life. There's no reasonable or rationale argument as to why gay people shouldn't be able to get married. Only religious dogma and there's very little difference between having a state-sponsored religion and forcing religious principles on others through legislature.

If you're going to hang on to religion as the backbone of an argument against gay marriage then keep it out of the legal realm.

 

[junk]

I have no problem with saying you'd never support it. That's fine.

But for people who basically have no vested interest outside of dogmatic teachings, I think it's pretty ignorant to actively stand in opposition.

You don't have to support it but I see no reason why someone would actively try to deny other people a certain status, ability, or whatever.

Honestly, I think the issue of gay marriage is somewhat of a microcosm of what is wrong with the US in terms of people actually working together and getting shit done. Rather than focus on things that have a direct impact on their life, far too many people focus on what other people are doing even though there is no impact on their life. There's no reasonable or rationale argument as to why gay people shouldn't be able to get married. Only religious dogma and there's very little difference between having a state-sponsored religion and forcing religious principles on others through legislature.

If you're going to hang on to religion as the backbone of an argument against gay marriage then keep it out of the legal realm.

Well said. I have other theories as to why people oppose it.

I'm a big fan of personal freedoms. What two consenting adults do is no business of mine and certainly no business of the government's provided it does not harm others.

Religion should in no way be associated with our government or our schools.

However, if the church has an issue with the term marriage, make marriage a religious ceremony and civil unions the legal process. Then, a church can choose who they will marry and who they will not. Of course, this will lead to churches that support gay marriage and I'm sure won't really solve the issue that bothers those that oppose it.

As far as marriage today, a marriage is only what the two people involved make of it. The act itself is a joke. You can legally marry people by filling out a form on the Internet. You can get married in a drive through. The thought of preserving the "sanctity of marriage" makes me laugh.

 

[jnday]

Marriage is a civil union.

It is a religious union as well and it was a religious union first. In recent years that seems to be pushed aside. I can't think of any religions that supports gays being marriaged.

Junk makes a good point. Allow religions to handle marriage and the government to handle civil unions. At the very least, the movement allowing each state to make the decision is eomething that I support. If New York or California wants gay marriage, they are welcomed to it. That shit doesn't fly in the South and I am proud of it.

 

[Jon88]

Religion is a bunch of bullshit so I guess in the end it doesn't matter, right?

I don't see a problem with it. You'll see more Republicans changing their stance on this issue out of survival.

 

[jeebus]

Wonder how God feels about being tossed aside in the name of personal interest.

His usual response is vengeful.

 

[jeebus]

Religion is a bunch of bullshit so I guess in the end it doesn't matter, right?

I don't see a problem with it. You'll see more Republicans changing their stance on this issue out of survival.

As soon as you lost this battle in the schools you know it was going to happen eventually. When it was has been a suspending offense since the 90s to be against gay marriage in schools, while they sponsored pro gay clubs, you knew that sh1t was going to be legal. You can't raise a generation of kids to think something is right and then not expect them to start to agree.

The problem came when conservatives didn't understand that toleration didn't mean don't drag gays behind trucks it really meant that they were right about all social mores.

 

[jeebus]

It is a religious union as well and it was a religious union first.

I don't think it was a religious union first. Rather it was a civil contract that the church took over when civil society collapsed.

 

[Jon88]

When I get married I'm not having a preacher read me the vows. I'm having someone with a real job do it.

 

[jeebus]

Atheists are little people, I think their anger with god stems from their small size.

 

[Jon88]

Atheists are little people, I think their anger with god stems from their small size.

Atheists come in all shapes and sizes. I'd call myself and Agnostic. I refuse to believe in the god that Christianity puts forth or any other stupid religion for that matter.

I'm not wasting my life on that crap.

 

[jeebus]

Atheists come in all shapes and sizes. I'd call myself and Agnostic. I refuse to believe in the god that Christianity puts forth or any other stupid religion for that matter.

I'm not wasting my life on that crap.

Look for the stupid side of religion and that is what you will find. Yet, the path is still there, just cluttered with the stupid. Don't let your frustration with one turn you from the other.

Organized religion is fundamentally flawed, given, but without it it is hard to find our jumping off point to deeper understanding, and frankly I don't think it really fvcking matters what starting point we decide to use, (except Mormonism, that sh1t is crazy, basically fuck any religion that restrains my alcoholic need for whiskey).

 

[Hoofbite]

It is a religious union as well and it was a religious union first. In recent years that seems to be pushed aside. I can't think of any religions that supports gays being marriaged.

Junk makes a good point. Allow religions to handle marriage and the government to handle civil unions. At the very least, the movement allowing each state to make the decision is eomething that I support. If New York or California wants gay marriage, they are welcomed to it. That shit doesn't fly in the South and I am proud of it.

Are you suggesting prior to religion people didn't commit to one another?

 

[Hoofbite]

His usual response is vengeful.

I agree. Not very forgiving.

 

[Jon88]

Look for the stupid side of religion and that is what you will find. Yet, the path is still there, just cluttered with the stupid. Don't let your frustration with one turn you from the other.

Organized religion is fundamentally flawed, given, but without it it is hard to find our jumping off point to deeper understanding, and frankly I don't think it really fvcking matters what starting point we decide to use, (except Mormonism, that sh1t is crazy, basically fuck any religion that restrains my alcoholic need for whiskey).

Since organized religion is fundamentally flawed it certainly doesn't come from God.

And do you know how many gods there were before Jesus who shared the same birth, life, and resurrection? About 9. Do you know the correlation? The sun.

 

[jeebus]

Since organized religion is fundamentally flawed it certainly doesn't come from God.

. Now that is a postulet that could be argued. You know what else is fundamentally flawed, man. Religion is not flawed, groups of people are, hence my comments on organized religion.

And do you know how many gods there were before Jesus who shared the same birth, life, and resurrection? About 9. Do you know the correlation? The sun

. I will give you the benifet of assign that would all make sense if you extrapolated the meaning.

I could argue against what you are saying, but your point doesn't matter. Jesus is the path to a connection with the holy spirit which is the inner manifestation of the larger universal deity. All the details really don't fucking matter, they are largely tools that allow us to frame out thoughts. And I don't give a shit if the people who do it understand what they are doing or not, because it works.

 

[jeebus]

I agree. Not very forgiving.

That usual comes after.