Last Call

It's looking like America has reached a critical mass on same-sex marriage:  in less than ten years, support for same-sex marriage in the US has jumped 26 points in ABC News/Washington Post polling.

Most Americans, moreover, say the U.S. Constitution should trump state laws on gay marriage, a question now before the U.S. Supreme Court. And – in another fundamental shift – just 24 percent now see homosexuality as a choice, down from 40 percent nearly 20 years ago. It’s a view that closely relates to opinions on the legality of same-sex marriage.

That's actually a pretty big jump since just last August, after the President made his views clear and the repeal of DADT happened.  It certainly didn't hurt the President's re-election chances, now did it?

Intensity of sentiment about gay marriage also shows considerable change in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. In 2004, strong opponents outnumbered strong supporters by a broad 34 percentage points. Today strong supporters are ascendant, outnumbering strong opponents by 11 points.

Full PDF of the poll here.

At this point, I'm confident to say that same-sex marriage will be fully legal in all 50 states within ten years.  It may be five.  It may even be less.

Oh, and support of same-sex marriage by minorities now is 61% as opposed to 57% of whites.  Just throwing that out there.

Hillary Clinton And The Evolution Revolution

Hillary too can play the "evolves on gay marriage" game, folks.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is announcing her support for gay marriage.

In an online video released Monday, Clinton says gays and lesbians deserve "the rights of citizenship." She says "that includes marriage."

Clinton's announcement puts her in line with other potential Democratic presidential candidates for the 2016 election, including Vice President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio also announced his support for gay marriage Friday.

To be 100% fair, as Secretary of State there really wasn't any way she could make her personal political stances known, as she's not allowed to have them, so I wonder if all the "Why is Obama so late to the same-sex marriage equality party" folks will give Hillary a pass or not.  It's of course the right thing to do, but gosh, the logic applied to Obama would be "Well Kerry's been Secretary of State now for a month, where was she?"  Besides, coming in after Rob Portman on this list does seem like a rather big oversight on her part, yes?

Zealots, Lunatics, and Fanatics

President Obama is finally learning that zealots, fanatics and lunatics are immune to negotiation.  They only understand power and its applications.  Zealots like Paul Ryan...

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) told CBS' "Face The Nation" Sunday that he believes Obamacare will "destroy" the country's health care system, even though his budget assumes key savings from the law.

"I really believe it's going to destroy the health care system in America," Ryan said. "We believe the law will collapse under its own weight and that people will be eager for alternatives as the gorey details unfold in the future with its implementation."

Lunatics like Kevin McCarthy...

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) signaled Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press" that there is no acceptable ratio of spending cuts to new revenues because tax increases are unacceptable to Republicans, period.

"There are no new tax increases because you don't need it," he said.

His exact words to David Gregory?  "You're going to get nothing." 

And then there's fanatics like Orange Julius.

On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) addressed fellow Sen. Rob Portman's (R-OH) newfound support for same sex marriage, which the senator said was influenced by his son coming out as gay.

Boehner said he appreciates Portman's change of heart, but "can't imagine" that his own opposition to gay marriage would ever change, even if he had a child who was gay.

They will never stop trying to destroy the economy.  They will never stop trying to destroy Obamacare.  They will never stop trying to destroy LGBT rights.  Never.

Why negotiate with them?

 

StupidiNews!

• Two Canadian inmates are back in prison after a daring helicopter escape in full daylight from a Quebec detention center.
• New evidence unearthed by the BBC suggests back channel communications by Iraqi intelligence told both the CIA and Britain's MI6 that Saddam Hussein had no active WMDs.
• Islamist rebels are increasing their hold on three Syrian provinces, with the aim of installing a theocratic government after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
• Concern that Cyprus's bank levy will be repeated in other EU nations is driving down Asian and European stocks this morning.
• Defense Distributed, the company making firearms with 3-D printing technology, has been granted a federal license to sell its weapons.