The time is now

by Bob Henline in The Straight Line | 0 comments

For anyone that hasn’t been paying attention, the 2012 presidential campaign season is in full swing.  We’ve already seen a near tie in Iowa between Mitt Romney and Rick (Google it) Santorum, and by the time this column hits the streets the New Hampshire primary will be a thing of the past.

While many Americans tend to ignore this pregame show as something that belongs in the purview of political wonks, like me, now is the time where you really should be paying attention. Especially to the ass-clowns vying for the GOP nomination. Right now, those idiots are slugging it out with each other trying to claim the title of “Mr. Conservative” (now that Michele Bachmann is out), and in doing so, they’re showing the rest of us just how little they care about the Constitutional principles of freedom and equality to which they pay lip service in their 30-second soundbites.

Not a single one of those wannabe champions of the Constitution support actual equality for America’s LGBTQ community, not even our own beloved former Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. He has, in the past, supported same-sex civil unions, and Mitt Romney ran a state that allows same-sex marriage, but you won’t hear either of them talking about that on the campaign trail. Instead you hear Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Santorum yapping about the evils of homosexuality and the need to have an amendment written into the Constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Anything else, and you fall into Newt (I’ll screw anything that will hold still long enough and not file charges) Gingrich’s definition of a “war on religion.”

While this isn’t my primary point today, I’m going to delve into marriage for a second. If these clowns are right, and marriage does belong in the realm of religion, then why is there government benefits associated with marriage? I’m fine leaving the “marriage” term in the purview of churches, but if we do that then all legal recognition of marriage needs to disappear and fall into the civil unions category for which all Americans have equal rights. Want to bet the GOP doesn’t really want the consequences of marriage belonging to religion?

Anyway, back on point. When the general election rolls around the eventual nominee will be running around the country spouting about the evils of spending and Barack Obama, and then try to distance himself from the outrageous shit he’s been spewing in order to ingratiate himself with the extreme right wing of the Republican base. And that nominee is likely to be Mitt (never met an issue I didn’t like both sides of) Romney.

What that means for you, me and all of us is that up through the GOP convention these guys will be pandering to the crazies and laying out all kinds of hatred-filled vitriol about the evil gays and their liberal allies that want to destroy religion in America and destroy American families and blah blah blah. Then the nominee is going to try to move to the center and ignore that hatred, in an attempt to appeal to a much more moderate general electorate.

In Utah this becomes even more problematic. Imagine what happens if Mitt is the nominee. How many idiots are going to flock to the polls in this state and punch a straight Republican ticket to support “our boy Mitt?” While in the grand scheme of presidential politics Utah is completely irrelevant, think about what that does for other local candidates.

Due to his local ties and his religion, Mitt is likely to dramatically increase the turnout of voters in Utah, which in my opinion is a good thing. I’m always a fan of higher voter participation. What scares me, however, is how many of those voters will be punching straight Republican tickets without bothering to think of the other races involved. That’s where the rest of us come in.

We all need to be paying close attention to what these yahoos are saying right now, and hold them accountable for that hate speech come the general election. We need to all be registered and get to the polls on Election Day to ensure that our voices are heard in the midst of the Romney love fest. You may think that your vote doesn’t matter, but look at recent races – every vote matters, especially in the local and state races. Unless you want one of these clowns deciding for you that you are a second-class citizen and not entitled to the full rights and liberties of being an American, you need to exercise those rights and responsibilities and get your ass to the polls.