So it was Mehlman himself who personally asked GOP officials to use gay marriage as a wedge issue during the presidential campaign. As you know, this is relevant because rumors have swirled for months about Mr. Mehlman's own sexual orientation, and the rumors have only been fed by Mehlman's continuing refusal to state on the record that he's heterosexual.
From the Cinci Enquirer:
"They're clearly using it as a wedge issue," said Brendon Cull, a spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party. "John Kerry and John Edwards have made it very clear that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. George Bush stood up in front of this country four years ago - almost to the week - and said he wanted to be a uniter and not a divider. But like Bill Clinton said, they want the country divided because they know they can't win if we're not."
Blackwell said it was "an activist court in Massachusetts" - which ruled last November that the state could not ban same-sex-marriages - that set the stage for the national debate, not any Republican campaign committee.
"All things flow from there," said Blackwell, who said he was asked by Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman earlier this year to do "surrogate work" on gay marriage in Ohio.
