Like I always say sometimes…

Like I always say sometimes…

…the only good Republican politician is a retired Republican politician…

Former Sen. John Danforth says a conservative push to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment is silly, calling it the latest example of how the political influence of evangelical Christians is hurting the GOP.

Danforth, a Missouri Republican and an Episcopal priest, made the comments in a speech Saturday night to the Log Cabin Republicans, which support gay rights. He said history has shown that attempts to regulate human behavior with constitutional amendments are misguided.

"Once before, the Constitution was amended to try to deal with matters of human behavior; that was prohibition. That was such a flop that that was repealed 13 years later," Danforth said.

Referring to the marriage amendment, he added that perhaps at some point in history there was a constitutional amendment proposed that was "sillier than this one, but I don't know of one."

Ron Chusid has a partial transcript at The Democratic Daily. One passage reveals just how difficult it is for some traditional Republicans to face what's become of their party...

It is a concept which is contrary to basic Republican principles. As I understand, the basic concept of the Republican Party is to interpret the Constitution narrowly, not expansively, so that legislatures and especially state legislatures can work out over a period of time the social issues in our country. And not to have these evolving issues fixed and concrete in the Constitution of the United States, taken out of the hands of legislatures and turned over to the federal courts. So this amendment is contrary to what I understand to be a basic tenet of our party.

It's a little startling, really, that John Danforth, an educated man experienced in the world of politics and the affairs of state, can remain blind to the reality of the Republican Party, which may have espoused the kinds of principles he describes when they had no ability to implement them, but which has consistently governed in a manner completely inconsistent with them.

It's the same sort of blind spot which allows people like Lincoln Chafee and Those Women From Maine to remain in the Republican fold, I suppose, though it's a weakness I'm more inclined to tolerate in former than current members of the Senate. While Danforth pines for something that never was, the current crop of Republican 'moderates' are actively complicit in their leadership's campaign to dismantle Constitutional government in the United States.

Specter, too, no matter what kinds of hearings he says he'll hold.

So two cheers for John Danforth, but the bottom line doesn't change.



Inspired by The Carpetbagger Report and The Democratic Daily.