House minority whip Cantor says GOP should be more inclusive on gay issues

There isn't a Republican Party anymore...

there's two: one with the good sense to realise that divisive Limbaughite politics are going to relegate them to the dustbin of history for the next generation, and one that's too blinded by prejudice to recognise it. The UK's Tory party has been through exactly that process over the last fifteen years, and even now they still haven't quite got it.

I particularly liked Harriet Harman's rebuke of Tory MP Philip Davies:

"As far as pressing forward on equality is concerned, there will be a debate next Thursday on new equality legislation, so that we can ensure everybody in this country is treated with fairness and respect and is not subject to prejudice and discrimination-or, indeed, cheap shots from the hon. Gentleman."

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Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum.

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by: tavdy79 @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 07:58:10 AM CST

Yep. There's the

Republicans and the Dixiecrats.

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by: kevinchi @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:06:48 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Yep.

When New Labour moved rightwards to the centre / centre right, the Tories  had no idea what to do. They tried going even further to the right on a whole host of issues, John Redwood etc. That definitely worked out so very well.

The Republicans are going to have to go through the same process. If they continue drifting ever rightwards, without appearing to make / making a shift leftwards, they will become utterly irrelevant.

Whether the Tories have actually shifted leftwards, or whether they are pretending and just paying lip service, they at least appear to realise that the majority of UK voters do not want an extreme right wing party in power.

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by: rfloh @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 10:33:48 AM CST

[ Parent ]

uh oh

somebody is going to get in trouble
he better hush all that talk
he knows making sense isn't allowed
will he bow to kiss the ring of Rush LimbauGh?
or be a man  

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"

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by: danadevin85 @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 07:59:39 AM CST

Cantor to appologize to Rush

in 5, 4, 3,...

Besser ein ende mit Schrecken als ein Schrecken ohne ende

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by: becca @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 08:23:58 AM CST

please note though

that Cantor NEVER used the word GAY in his generic response.  He's got plausible deniability and can say he was only addressing the environmental portion of the question

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by: timNC @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:03:55 AM CST

seriously

who would believe this joker? Other than the Rush bregade. Glad he'll get fire for it anyway, though. LOL.  

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by: RyansTake @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:10:58 AM CST

Charlie Brooker Sums It Up.

Charlie Brooker is actually talking about the UK's Tory & Neo-Lab politicians in this little diatribe, but it's soooo appropriate to the Limbaughite/progressive divide in the GOP I thought I'd reproduce some of it here - it's well worth reading the whole rant however.

N.B. friendly reminder: in the UK "fag" means cigarette ;-)

To politicians, we're little more than meaningless blobs on a monitor. Bring on the summer of rage

We're the ants in their garden. The bacteria in their stools. Politicians have nothing but contempt for us

Any abusive relationship tends to end with a long, slow phase of mounting disappointment followed by a sudden, irreversible snapping point. The descent to rock bottom may take years but when you get there, the force of impact still shocks, and it's precisely this shock that gives you the strength to walk away. Take smoking, for instance. You can light up for years, hating yourself and the habit a little bit more with each accumulated puff, yet remain hopelessly locked in nicotine's pointless embrace, until one day you find yourself scrabbling through the kitchen bin, picking potato peelings off a dog end because it's 11pm and the shops are closed and GOD YOU NEED A FAG . . . when you catch sight of your sorry junkie-arsed reflection in the shiny bin lid and undergo an epiphany of self-disgust, vowing to quit there and then.

I bring this up because I suspect that across the country, people are undergoing similar epiphanies every day. Not about cigarettes, but politicians.

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Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum.

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by: tavdy79 @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:58:26 AM CST

It is nice that Booker has finally woken up,

BUT,

One big reason politicians

"do what they want, these people, and you and I are cut out of the conversation. I'm sure they're dimly aware we still exist. "

is because people, like Booker think like this:

"Despite a bit of grumbling, the Tories supported the veto. Because they wouldn't want cabinet minutes published either."

There is a certain party called the Liberal Democrats in the UK, you know, Booker you dumbass.

Thing is, they could get away with this bullshit while times were good, while people were comfortable enough to ignore what was happening; when people were focusing on plasma TVs and iPods and celebrity gossip instead of what the politicians were doing - not because they're stupid, but because they know a closed shop when they see one.

Thing is, in some cases, yes it is because they are stupid.

Instead of treating the politicians the way they politicians treat voters: what have you done for me lately, and what are you going to do for me in the future, what are your ideas / ideals; some voters are blindly loyal to a particular party. Or worse, a particular politician. Or they like that some politician speaks really well, and uses nice rhetoric, or that s/he a certain gender / race. Or the personal life of the politician. Or what the politician wears and looks. Or some such drivel.

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by: rfloh @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 11:29:14 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You need a different voting system

How about the German voting system or STV?

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by: Chris From Old Europe @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 21:25:08 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I definitely prefer a propositional rep type system

to the first past the post system.

But, no voting system is perfect, any system can be gamed; voters need to stop treating politics like sport, where they are loyal to a particular team or person, and where they want to believe in the good intentions of politicians, instead of holding them to their actions.

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by: rfloh @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 22:14:01 PM CST

[ Parent ]

My personal preference...

would be for a Swedish-style system, where most of the Riksdag (legislature) is elected from group constituencies (usually with around 10 or 11 elected per constituency) while the remainder is selected from the various parties so that the Riksdag is proportionally-representative of the votes cast.

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Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum.

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by: tavdy79 @ Tue Mar 03, 2009 at 05:30:10 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Having read Booker's article more throughly and thought about it

his childish whine / whinge really freaking pisses me off.

One big reason politicians get away with crap is because of voters like him. They keep wanting to believe, they keep wanting to believe in the good intentions of politicians, instead of paying attention to their actions, and won't put their votes, money and actions where their mouths are.

And comparing his attitude to smoking is idiotic whingeing. Smoking is (very) physically addictive.

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by: rfloh @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 11:54:08 AM CST

[ Parent ]

All he said was...

the gop should be inclusive, not exclusive in response to a question GS asked that included gays...I don't see anywhere where Whip Cantor is suddenly gay friendly.  To me his statement is no different than Bible religious people saying they are inclusive just like the one who came to the door the other day....inclusive for this lady meant she would pray for me....gee thanks.

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by: Karen in Kalifornia @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 10:40:39 AM CST

My question is the same as always

What does "inclusive" mean?

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by: mcc @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 13:20:56 PM CST

so like Rush

The freepers are saying they want the country to suffer serious setbacks and for people to get hurt because they're not the ones whose ideas are at play.  Yeah, that's patriotism for you.

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by: ol cranky @ Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 14:47:58 PM CST