Conservative GOP prez candidate, Sam Brownback, refuses to take position on gay adoption

He was on ABC's "This Week" this morning and outright refused to take a position on gay adoption. Stephanopoulos pushed him repeatedly, and beyond saying that it was an issue for the states to decide, Brownback said he would not take a position on the merits of the issue itself.

Think about that. An uber-conservative Republican presidential candidate - a candidate representing the religious right "family values" wing of the party - is afraid to stake out a position against gay and lesbian couples adopting, lest it hurt his chances at becoming president.

Part of the problem is the Mary Cheney effect. No one wants to offend the First Lesbian. But it's much larger than that. Gay issues are no longer a sure-fire vote getter for the far-right. In this last election, there were numerous examples where gay marriage bans may have actually helped Democratic pro-gay candidates get out the vote. You can only cry dyke so many times.

This is, as they say, rather huge.