Condemning Gays -- Blame Game Continues

Here's another article trying to rationalize why the Dems lost by blaming our core values -- in this case, equal rights for gays. (And by "our" core values, I mean America's core values.) The argument? If the homos in San Francisco hadn't made such a spectacle of themselves (by politely lining up for hours or days in a fervent desire to have their lifelong partners recognized by the state), then Bush wouldn't have been able to rile up the evangelicals so much and Kerry would have won.

As John pointed out to me, in 2000, the Dems tried to blame Gore's loss on groups pushing for reasonable gun laws. In other words, if we just abandoned the idea of reasonable gun laws (which are supported by the vast majority of Americans), abandoned the fringe idea of equal rights for all citizens, and, heck, abandoned a woman's right to choose, then we could win elections AND rename ourselves the Republican Party and save lots of money on stationery to boot.

You could point to many different groups as making the difference in this election since it came down to 3% of the popular vote and one state. John Kerry didn't reach out strongly enough to the black community (turnout was so-so in Ohio). John Kerry didn't reach out to Hispanics enough. And so on.

But let's assume for a moment that John Kerry's belief that gays deserve civil unions (which is also endorsed by Bush), that John Kerry's opposition to a Constitutional Amendment taking away rights from gays as unnecessary and divisive (an amendment that was rejected by the Republican controlled Senate) DID in fact make him lose. So what?

I would be proud to lose an election because I denounced slavery.

I would be proud to lose an election because I supported the suffrage movement.

I would be proud to lose an election because I supported the Civil Rights Voting Act and finally guaranteed blacks the right to vote. (Though even today we can't guarantee those votes will be counted.)

Why wouldn't John Kerry and the Democratic Party be proud to lose an election because they defended equal rights for all citizens? Because they said gays/blacks/women are NOT inferior to anyone else and do deserve respect and equal and fair treatment under the law?

Who do you think history is going to judge more kindly? George Bush -- who demonized gays and ran a nasty, divisive campaign maligning them to get elected?

I can't imagine anything that would make me prouder than to stand up for my fellow citizens' rights and to pay a price for that stance. I would pay it happily. Why aren't the Democrats?