Midterm elections are rarely favorable to the President’s party and, true to history, the Democrats took a beating on Election Day. Republicans picked up enough seats to gain control of the Senate, which means that come next year, Congress could be entirely in the control of Republicans. That makes President Obama the sole firewall against a conservative onslaught.
Here are five antigay issues that are bound to arise now that the GOP has full rein of Congress…
1. Endless attacks on marriage equality
At this point, there’s not a lot that Congress can realistically do about marriage equality. The Supreme Court has pretty much spoken, and states are falling in line. But the same could have been said about Obamacare, and that didn’t stop Republicans from shutting down the government for 17 days last year in the vain quest to kill the law. Realism is not the GOP’s strong suit these days, especially in the Ted Cruz wing of the party.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
What will happen is a lot of symbolic gesturing that will still be damaging to the LGBT community. There will be bills to resuscitate DOMA and resolutions trumpeting support for traditional marriage. None of these will have any practical effect, but they will have a psychologically one, by de-legitimizing same-sex marriages and empowering opponents of marriage equality. To some extent, we will still have to play defense, particularly since the Supreme Court has chosen not to issue the final word yet.
2. Open war over Supreme Court nominees
And because the Supreme Court ducked the issue this year, any vacancy on the Supreme Court will immediately become an all-out war over marriage equality. Marriage equality will be as much a litmus test as reproductive rights. Republicans controlling the Senate will never allow an openly pro-marriage nominee to be seated on the bench. (Given their embrace of obstructionism to date, they may never allow an Obama nominee on the bench at all.)
The fight will be especially fierce if one of the departing justice is one of the five that struck down DOMA. That means a single vote in the opposite direction could halt the progress of marriage equality. This will become a do-or-die battle for the right, and Republicans getting ready to go into the 2016 presidential campaign will be in no position to stake out a middle-of-the-road position. The right wing has signaled it’s ready for a party civil war on this issue, and the Supreme Court nominee will be a call to arms.
3. Enshrining religious liberty in legislation
Looking to shore up the party base in advance of the presidential election, Congressional Republicans will likely turn to the refuge of the homophobic: religious liberty. In order to make the world safe for anti-marriage bakers, the GOP will look to create a right-wing version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that will specifically exempt individuals from following laws that they object to on religious grounds. That would mean not just marriage equality laws, but even nondiscrimination laws.
The Supreme Court gave Congress the green light to pursue this carve-out for homophobes in its Hobby Lobby ruling. Such a law might eventually fail a constitutional challenge, but then again, maybe not. In the meantime, the damage it would cause would be incalculable.
4. Kiss ENDA goodbye
ENDA has about as much chance of passage in a Republican-controlled Congress as Mitch McConnell has of winning RuPaul’s Drag Race. Two more years of delay doesn’t mean much to a bill that’s been kicking around for nearly two decades, but at some point the stench of failure becomes impossible to remove and the bill becomes a zombie–dead but not buried. It also means that nondiscrimination protections in the workplace will still be hit-or-miss, leaving many states where you can both get married and get fired.
5. Creating a forum for nutburgers
The loony right will always be with us, but now they will have a loudspeaker in Congress. We will be subjected to all kinds of ‘expert’ testimony from antigay activitists. It’s already happening in the House, where the head of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty recently testified before a subcommittee about the “apparent hostility” the Obama administration was showing to evangelicals in the military. Appearing before a Senate committee is great not just for legitimacy but also for fundraising, and the antigay right will clamor for every opportunity to talk about the gay threat.
Now President Obama can stop a number of these problems. He can veto bad legislation, and Republicans won’t have enough votes to override his veto. But he can’t stop the efforts to erode, derail or otherwise delay the gains we’ve made. He won’t be able to make things happen that might help us.
The problem could be short-lived. The 2016 Senate map favors the Democrats, so Republicans may hold onto the Senate for just two years. (It will be a while before they lose control of the House because Republican-controlled states have redrawn districts to ensure the maximum number of GOP seats.) In the meantime, though, the damage will have been done.
The only upside: voters won’t take kindly to restarting the culture wars. In the end, the party may end up doing as much damage to itself as it does to us. But after this election’s results, that’s pretty cold comfort.
mcdfishfilla
Yeah cause the Democrats did an awesome job of ending the war, droning civilians, international diplomacy, internet privacy, peace, and federal LGBT workplace protection. This article isn’t balanced. Each side has their own points. Democrats have been in power for how long??? and the only reason marriage equality made gains was thanks to the inaction of the supreme court.
Cagnazzo82
@mcdfishfilla: Putting aside the absurdity of you claiming marriage equality just came about by magic on its own…
…Just one question? Where exactly are those gains being made? Might it be perhaps in those deep *red* right-leaning conservative republican states that all one after another passed bans on same-sex marriage in their constitutions?
Those bans were passed in republican states. Both sides are *NOT* the same on marriage equality. Anyone who suggests otherwise is lying their behinds off.
mcdfishfilla
@Cagnazzo82: No one said they are equal. Find me a quote in my original post where I said they were equal. Just stop praising the democratic party like their ideals or something.
FitChicago
I have no tolerance for a right wing agenda or a return to the politics of the mid to late 1990’s through 2008, but this article accurately illustrates the doomsday scenario but fails to include a touch of rationality. Now no one is suggesting the dunderheads that write the GOP platform are rational, but if their goal is to elect a Republican candidate for President than their Congressional agenda will completely avoid social issues. While this would mean that ENDA will be further delayed, if it was truly important to the administration than it would have become law between 2008-10. A powerful push by Republicans to attack marriage equality seems unlikely simply because it decreases their chances for success in 2016 and is a fight without a winning strategy for them; the Court seems to be content on marriage being a State issue as it has always been. DOMA was cooked up by President Clinton and the Republican Congress, things have changed so significantly that reinstating DOMA would be like re-segregating water fountains in the 1970’s; it’s not gonna happen. There are nutburgers in every political party and the worthless media gives them a platform because it gives them something to endlessly babble about. What this country needs is politicians like Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, two men who actually worked together to neuter that lunatic Gingrich and focus on the greater good. These two men were most effective in this effort as they were each their party’s nominee for the Presidency. Do I applaud all of their results? Absolutely not. Do I admire their leadership? Very much and it’s what is sorely missing today. Did you know that Obamacare and the national healthcare system Bob Dole proposed in 1996 are almost identical?
mcdfishfilla
@FitChicago: Thoughtfully stated.
demented
@mcdfishfilla: Agreed. Both sides are dirty, and more about oppressing people and starting new wars than actually fixing problems. Obama’s been in office for more than half a decade, yet ENDA is still in limbo; for the Democrats, LGBTAQ people are just a convenient demographic they can toss a bone to occasionally, and expect gratitude and loyalty because the other side is slightly worse.
Both parties need to be wiped out so we can start anew.
Saint Law
@mcdfishfilla: The Democrats are awful: rightwing technocrats; but the Republican party are much, much worse, being actual fascists an all.
MarionPaige
This article is surprisingly well balanced only, as I pointed out, it is possible for Congress to pass law reversing a Supreme Court decision (the Congress did in the 1980’s reverse a Supreme Court decision on Title 42 Section 1981). The “kicker” is that, in 1991, the then President signed the bill passed by Congress reversing the Supreme Court decision. Obama is not going to sign any bills by Republicans reversing civil rights gains.
If Bloomberg new’s article on the election is still correct, then The Republicans do not have enough votes to over-ride a Presidential veto. The Bloomberg article was written before a final tally on how many seats the Republicans did gain. However,
Even if Obama is currently the only thing keeping the country from going back to the Reconstruction Era, we still have the fucking Gay Marriage Fucktards prepping to help elect a Republican President in two years.
jonjoe88
@Cagnazzo82: Exactly! Except for a couple of Republicans, the majority of the Republican Party are anti-gay and proudly so. To claim that both sides have “their points”, I am sorry but I prefer the Democratic “points” to the Republican ones. The Democrats are not perfect to be sure but the Republicans are much much worse. If you think the Republicans have your back… you better think again.
jonjoe88
@demented: You are too naïve if you think a third party will succeed in this type of polarized environment. This was what Ralph Nader gave us – George W. Bush and the unlawful invasion of Iraq and the tanking of our economy. Yes both parties are beholden to monied interests but that is the result of Citizens United. ENDA could not go anywhere thanks to REPUBLICAN obstructionism. If you paid any attention, it was REPUBLICAN obstructionism that curtailed any meaningful legislation on even things like jobs creation. And Republicans have vowed to redouble their efforts to obstruct and stop any and all of Obama’s policies now that they control the Senate. They hate Obama and the Democrats more than they love the country and they will see the country fail rather than allow Obama to leave behind any kind of “legacy”. I fault the Democrats for continually choosing to “play nice” to the Republicans. They should have launched an investigation into the many criminal activities of the Bush Administration. Instead, they swept everything under a rug hoping that the Republicans would do the same when their time came. It will never come. Already, Republicans are talking about starting hearings and investigations into the OBama Administrations supposed “crimes”. If anything, Democrats should learn their lesson and ALWAYS play hardball with their GOP opponents. They would get more respect.
jonjoe88
@MarionPaige: No the Republicans do not have the three quarter votes they need to overcome a presidential veto. They will try though to make things a living hell for gay people like the good Christians they are.
jason smeds
Obama and the Democrats had the chance to pass ENDA 4 years ago when they controlled the Senate with a huge margin. They failed. That’s why I’ll never vote Democrat again.
vive
@jason smeds, thanks for pointing that out. You are correct. It is not as if Democrats allied to anybody but corporate America either.
arj
“Here I come, to save the day!!!!”
— Rickypoo Santorum, Defeated Pensylvania Senator, Perennial Presidential Wannabe
corey
Money rules, creates masses of uninformed and literally stupid people. Of all countries, the USA probably is made up of more citizens like this, than any other. I did not even bother to vote, because I knew it did not really matter, for the next two yrs will be the start of the 2016 presidential election. Hope the Dems act the way the Repubs did since Obama became president.
CoachS
@FitChicago: Great comments… and spot on.
tdx3fan
What a nicely horrifying list. You do realize that none of it will actually happen. The Senate might have Control, but it still needs a 2/3 majority to overturn a veto, and that is simply not going to happen.
The truth is that NOTHING will get done for two years. Not a damn thing, they can talk and talk and talk about what they want to do, but nothing will get done. Then in two years after they have done nothing but talk the Hillary 2016 turn out will easily hand the congress and senate back to the Democrats and we will see stuff actually happen again.
Look to see 300+ votes on blocking gay marriage, but none of them will have any effect at all on the actual laws, and the only “emotional effect” will be the ones we allow it have on us.
tdx3fan
@FitChicago: I am not even sure why we as a nation need ENDA. The vast majority of companies are going pro-gay rights anyways. It is not like you can make the argument that gay people cannot find jobs. Although, that might be different for transgendered people, and we need to make the changes for them, and I am all for working just as hard for them as I would for the gays.
However, I live in the middle of the bible belt, and my boss was actually kind of upset that I did not come out sooner because I didn’t want to worry about my job when it was new. I have never actually had a negative experience in the work place, and I’ve been out since I was 18 and worked a few different jobs over that period of 17 years.
tdx3fan
@MarionPaige: http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-overturned-supreme-court-cases.htm
I think you are missing a HUGE difference. When the SCOTUS made those rulings they based them on laws that were created outside of the constitution. It was a legal case based on laws the nation is run on. Those can be updated, and should be updated, and until they are updated are going to be interpreted by the court the way the court sees fit.
When they upheld the rulings in the lower courts regarding equality they did not base it on laws that the nation runs by they based it on the constitution. The constitution should be updated also, but that requires a policy that takes a lot more than just the House and Senate to pull it off.
The only way they can overturn the recent SCOTUS decision is to amend the constitution, and they simply just do not have the power to do that.
BJ McFrisky
Yes, those raci$t, sexi$t Republicans just voted the first black woman into the senate. How horrible of them.
tdx3fan
@jonjoe88: Hate to break this to you, but the reason that they “swept everything under the rug” is because it was not just GWB that was guilty in that area. Pelosi and Reid and other top officials during the Bush era were just as guilty. Truth is that Hillary probably knew just as much as Bush did as well. The Iraqi war was all about the interests of big money, and they made a killing because of it. All of the top leaders were just as culpable as Bush, and Hillary is still as shill for the big money corporations…
tdx3fan
@jonjoe88: To override a veto is 2/3 bro. The only time 3/4 comes into play is ratify a constitutional amendment.
tdx3fan
@jason smeds: Probably because they were busy passing the demolition of DADT, but lets not let a little thing like facts and logic get in the way shall we. For the record, I think that the amending of the American health insurance system was much, much, much more important than ENDA, even for the LGBT community.
1EqualityUSA
The Republican$ will let $COTU$ do the dirty work for them. They’ll appoint another ScaliaAlitoRobertsThomas type to deal with “unsavory” gays. The Katholic-5 are manipulating this country with the laws they have passed recently.
My question is regarding the pending impea#hment of Obama for going ahead with !mmigration reform. Is this an attempt to show how raci$t and unpleasant the Republican$ are and, thereby, energizing the Hi$panic vote for 2016?
1EqualityUSA
Sorry for having to bypass the censorship on this site by substituting letters. I’m not sure which word the Queerty Gods objected to.
tdx3fan
@BJ McFrisky: Come back and tell us when they vote the first gay person into the Senate, and if you are even remotely trying to compare the two on gender and racial equality you have to stop and ask yourself why it is actually news in 2014 that the Republicans finally elected a black woman to the senate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Moseley_Braun
Looks like the Democrats had them beat on this one by ONLY 21 YEARS.
tdx3fan
@1EqualityUSA: The stupid is strong with this one….
You do realize that the CONGRESS and SENATE do NOT appoint JUSTICES right? That is done by the President. That is Obama. He will be filling ANY vacant seats, and none are currently vacant, and most likely won’t be by 2016.
As for 2016, I think we are kidding ourselves if we think the Republicans have a chance in hell of beating Hillary. Hillary might as well just start measuring the drapes, and she will now have two years of Congressional stupidity to use as part of her personal platform.
tdx3fan
@1EqualityUSA: Not to mention you can’t really talk about the Catholic 5 like its a blanket statement when its quite obvious that Kennedy is not at all aligned with the other 4 in that 5 on all issues. For the rights to kill babies he might be, but when it comes to the rights to equality he tends to side with us quite often.
1EqualityUSA
Confirmation hearings, tdx#fan…they have the power to approve or disapprove of any choices Obama presents.
BJ McFrisky
@tdx3fan: Get off your high horse—you guys elected a black president only 6 years ago, after years of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton running for the office. Why weren’t these trailblazers elected?
Roan
It’s not that bad, but it will be a bumpy ride.
1) Moot
2) Probably, but at least one of them has to die or retire first.
3) The SCOTUS has already spoken on the current RFRA. It was determined to be an overreach of the Congress’ powers to dictate to the states. However, the states are free to to enact their own RFRA type laws, and several have already done this (MS, AZ).
4) Executive Order
5) Most definitely, but nothing is getting done now. Let’s hope the impending GOP shenanigans and dysfunction will seal their fate and help another Democrat take the White House in 2016.
aliengod
@mcdfishfilla: I agree with you. Yesterday was one of the few times in my life I voted Republican. I consider myself a Libertarian but I also know in my state that’s a wasted vote.
MarionPaige
A nightmare scenario was “in place” in the late 80’s when Conservatives gained control of The Supreme Court and that Supreme Court used Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164 (1988) to OVER-RIDE / NULLIFY 100+ YEARS OF CASE LAW on a Reconstruction Era Civil Rights Law. With Patterson v McLean the US Supreme Court re-interpreted a 100+ year old Reconstruction Era Civil Rights Law.
We (Black People) were there in the late 80’s and we witnessed THE ORGY IN FEDERAL COURTS ACROSS THE COUNTY in which newly appointed Reagan Federal Judges had civil rights cases assigned to them and they promptly dismissed them all. We (Black People) know first hand that GAINS CAN BE REVERSED if enough of the wrong assholes gain control of either The Supreme Court or Congress.
It is with the memory of what a Conservative Controlled Supreme Court did in the late 80’s that we Blacks have watched in horror these BRAIN DEAD GAY MARRIAGE FUCKS prancing around the country playing at being intelligent sane people (with the interest of gay people as their alleged motive). One of my favorite BRAIN DEAD QUEEN MANTRAs was that, BECAUSE OF FULL FAITH AND CREDIT, all 50 states would be required to honor gay marriage if it was legalized in Hawaii.
Now, or in two years, when we all know what is at stake, no one should be surprised when THE BRAIN DEAD GAY MARRIAGE FUCKS LINE UP TO ATTACK Hillary’s record on gay fucking marriage
MarionPaige
I wonder how many of the Republican Senate States are also New Gay Fucking Marriage States?
Charlie in Charge
Registered Green but very happy to see the Dems win everything in California. Come to the coasts, my loves.
Vince Smetana
This Queerty article is a knee-jerk fear-mongering tactic. And people wonder why others vote Republican. :smdh:
If you stick your finger in the air, you’ll see that the conservatives are having to modify and update their views. Certainly, there might be a small step backward, but not the cataclysmic doomsday fall that Queerty is suggesting. Try again.
Rufus4111
The ‘recent’ testimony cited under #5 doesn’t actually take place for two weeks from today. That’s just good journalist, Mr. Gallagher.
JerseyMike
The gay marriage decisions fired up their base. Republicans have two years to fuck things up. We all know they will. Most of us are old enough to know this happens to every second term president during the midterm. It happened to Bill, happened to W. Now it’s O’s turn.. The republicans just need to keep up their assault on women and Hispanics so everyone will be ready for Hillary.
vive
So the American people overwhelmingly rejected the do-nothing Republican Congress by – wait for it – electing an even more Republican congress?
Shit for brains population indeed.
Kieran
The gay community should take a lesson from Jewish-Americans. Jews represent a much smaller segment of the US population than Gay-Americans do and yet regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans win a particular election, the interests of Jewish-Americans are always guaranteed support within Congress. Both parties actively and unapologetically compete for and court the small Jewish community for votes, support and money.
Why can’t the gay community devise the same kind of political strategy here in the US?
JerseyMike
@Kieran: no other group will ever have the same pull as Jewish people.. They are considered the chosen people of God by the religious right.
jwtraveler
@BJ McFrisky: One right-wing, black, Mormon woman defeats a Democrat in Utah and that erases decades of anti-woman, anti-black policies?
MarionPaige
there is now probably no chance of an extension of unemployment benefits for the long term unemployed. However,
I guess that only affects us poor Black and Hispanic people. All the White Queens are rich and have the luxury of leaning back and deciding which rich billionaire they are going to gay marry
jwtraveler
@JerseyMike: Anti-Semitism rears its ugly head on Queerty. Jewish people get attention from both parties because we vote in much higher numbers than our percentage of the population and we organize and get involved in politics. As I tell my poor, black, immigrant students: if you want politicians to listen and do what you want, you have to vote. The religious right does not support Jews; they support Israel because it’s the birthplace of Christianity. There’s a difference.
jwtraveler
@MarionPaige: Not all gay, white men are rich. But those are the ones who are visible in the media and have more political power, just as rich, straight, white people have more power and visibility.
JerseyMike
@jwtraveler: I hope you don’t think my intention where to be anti-Semitic. Everything you said was right. I apologize for offending…
Blackceo
@BJ McFrisky:
Because Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton weren’t credible as Presidential candidates and quite frankly ” too black” for white America. Obama had the appeal for white voters (particularly white women and higher income and educated white men) to make him an attractive candidate.
As for last night’s results, not shocking. I live in Maryland and my state chose only its third Republican governor in the state’s history, and I was part of that. I am a staunch Democrat but voted for the Republican Hogan, who is not one of the crazy Republicans. The MSM called it the biggest upset of the night and on paper it was given Maryland is a 2 to 1 Democrat state. We r about as blue as a blue state can get, but I knew if my liberal Blatino ass was voting Republican that the Democrat was in BIG trouble. Also, very low turnout in Democratic bastions of Balt City, Prince Georges and Montgomery Counties doomed the Dem candidate.
Brown would’ve won if his GOTV operation was better, but he was a rather uninspiring candidate. Tired of always giving my vote to the Dems only to not have them be bolder. So maybe this is the wake up call they need. As for MD, I’m tired of being taxed and fee’d to death and want to keep more of the money I earn so Hogan it is. He’s not going to unravel the state’s position on social issues because the legislature is still overwhelmingly Democrat, but I want him to curb state spending and repeal some of these damn taxes. It’s not me being enthused by the Republican candidate, but refusing for a continuation of the current economic policy of the Dems here. So it’s a lesser of two evils choice for me. I’m a social liberal and fiscal conservative so there’s no party for me. But Hogan better prove his worth, otherwise we’ll be back to Dem governor in 2018.
TampaBayTed
Thanks to all those voters who sat on their asses during this election the reign of Terror will begin in January 2015. Senator Joni Ernst? My god, have the good people of Iowa taken leave of their senses?
FStratford
@BJ McFrisky:
You meant the first black Republican woman. They are late by more than 2 decades, if you ask me. That is NOT an accomplishment. That is a condemnation of their raci$t culture, policies and rethoric
BJ McFrisky
@Blackceo: I too am a social liberal and a fiscal conservative—it’s called Libertarianism. Hoping more people wise up like you and can turn things around before those of us who work for a living end up supporting every whim and desire of the government.
@jwtraveler: Anti-black and anti-woman? Newsflash, Einstein: The KKK was started by the Democratic party, and it was the Republican party who ended slavery, much to the scorn of the Democrats. Democrats also imposed the welfare system on the African-American community, effectively eroding the black family by encouraging women to have kids and stay single, or else the checks will stop coming. Facts can be a bitch.
wpewen
It’s going to be more of the GOP carny sideshow. I think slightly more of the electorate at large may know this, including many Republicans. Those boys here among us who are gay and still slamming the Dems-see how much better you could do under the circumstantce.
Marriage equality will stick, Obamacare will also. There may not be any more federal gains for two years, obviously. The ONE thing people can really worry about is the Supreme Court. As has been the case since Reagan.
BJ McFrisky
@FStratford: Electing a black woman is a condemnation of their raci$t culture? Hm. Apparently, you and I have vastly different definitions of the word “condemnation.”
Rhettoric
Whadda ya call a thousand politicians chained together at the bottom of the ocean?
RainboWarrioR
@tdx3fan: uh dude speak for yourself. i live in Georgia one of the states where you can both be fired and denied a job for being gay and ive been looking for a job since i came back from New Jersey in April of this year and i havent found a job yet and not for want of trying. we fucking NEED ENDA down here. its a nightmare being gay trying to find a ob down here in GA.
olat760
1) “There’s not a lot that Congress can realistically do about marriage equality” is the only factual statement here. Everything else? Not going to happen. Obama can still veto things and, regardless, the GOP is not in lockstep. Susan Collins, Mark Kirk, Lisa Murkowski, and Rob Portman are all pro-marriage Republicans. Four is not a lot, obviously, but even if the final Senate tally is 54-46 (which just about the GOP’s best case scenario) they won’t have a 51 votes needed for these kinds of bills to pass.
2) There’s always a war over Supreme Court nominees. That said, you only need 41 votes to scuttle a nominee. Republicans have always had the ability to stop Obama’s SCOTUS nominees–and didn’t, twice. Why start now?
3) I actually disagree that Congress will turn to religious liberty. 2014 should be noted for how stringent the GOP was about NOT playing social issues–after Todd Akin, who can blame them. And, fact is, parties that just won a huge victory repeat their play books during the next election cycle. The GOP ran on ObamaCare in 2012, after a big 2010. The Dems ran on the War on Women in 2014, after a big 2012.
For 2016 Republicans, actually, I’d predict we’ll see an embrace of Cory Gardner’s over-the-counter birth control platform, as well as a half-hearted opposition to gay marriage–“I believe in traditional marriage, but it’s a state issue, not a job for the President or the Senate to decide”–before quickly changing the topic. That is, if gay marriage is even an issue by then. We’ve come a long way in another two years, and we might come even further in another two–enough that the GOP will see the writing on the wall.
4) You said it yourself–ENDA’s been kicked around for 20 years. If it’s a zombie bill, it’s already one. Besides, the Dems didn’t pass it in 2009 with a supermajority in both houses–what makes you think they would’ve passed it if they held the Senate last night?
5) Again, I don’t see “the antigay right clamoring for every opportunity to talk about the gay threat.” You just didn’t see that in 2014–because you’re right: “voters won’t take kindly to restarting the culture wars.” Republicans learned that this cycle and have decided to shut up. Assuming they’ll restart a culture war has no basis in fact–especially because they spent the last year trying as hard as they can deliberately NOT to restart a culture war.
Also important to note that the House is always more a forum for nutburgers–that’s not really the Senate’s style, though. But even if there are some crazy subcommittee testimonials, what iota of difference will that make to the voting public?
Final points) Yes, the 2016 map does favor Democrats, but not by that much. The “Obama states” with Republican Senators up for re-election are Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio and Florida. Dems have to win 4 or 5 (depending on if they win the White House) of those–including knocking off some popular incumbents in states that will go blue by a razor-thin margin–but will also need to defend in West Virginia, Colorado, and Nevada. Reid’s likely gone, if he draws someone more competent than Sharron Angle; Manchin is being courted to switch parties as we speak and can be vulnerable if the Senate hangs in the balance; and Bennet’s approval is underwater, with even Ken Buck almost beating him.
Maude
I remember Ronald Reagan & Robert Cummings in “Kings Row”, and only we queers knew they were in love, and having an affair right under every body’s nose……both in the picture and in the audience.
degaulle
Just read about ENDA and can’t believe employment protections are still not in place for LGBT people in the U.S. In Britain employment discrimination has been illegal since 2003. America’s LGBT community deserve better than this.
rae
Queerty – Stick to what you know. Boys and queer social life. No one at queerty is qualified to write about politics. Thanks.
1EqualityUSA
degaulle–Lucky duck. We pay the same amount of taxes, more in some states, and we are treated as though we are second class citizens. I’m glad you have it nailed down. Good work.
tjr101
Last night’s results is quite the gift to Hillary. In less than a year the country will be fed up with the GOP majority in congress. Nothing will get done. These fools can’t keep their hands out of women’s vagina’s, pushing for constitutional ammendents against gays and looking to cut taxes that will benefit rich corporate America. Only Obama’s veto will prevent these things from becoming reality.
Roan
Oh and big “thanks” for all the millennials who sat on their a$$ and did not vote. Where were you? 12% turnout in your age group? SMH. You f’ed this up for yourselves for many years to come.
jamesnimmo
@Cagnazzo82: Oklahoma Democrats vote in favor of discrimination every chance they get.
Blackceo
No I’m not a Libertarian. I am a left leaning Independent. I don’t believe in shrinking the govt as much as Libertarians do, but I do agree it should be downsized quite a bit. I do believe in a safety net, but it must be greatly reformed. There is too much govt waste and inefficiency. If I ran my business the way govt runs theirs I’d be out of business. I’m fed up with both parties quite frankly. If there is one area Repubs and Dems will always be in bed on it’s the rise of a legitimate 3rd party. Also, anyone who thinks we actually live in a democracy is mistaken. We become more of an oligarchy with each passing election. Income inequality rising and getting worse. Even me as a higher income earner thinks its bad, and it’s getting worse. Sure we have democratic traits like regular elections and freedom of speech, but when it comes to policy, it’s the rich and wealthy who are running the show. And policy ultimately rules everything.
Bauhaus
@jason smeds:
Jimbryant, you lying troll.
ENDA passed in the Senate (64-32). It’s now stuck in the REPUBLICAN controlled House.
Obama is waiting to sign it.
Nice try.
MarionPaige
@tjr101 : Only Obama’s veto will prevent these things from becoming reality.
And it is important to remind gay people what Gay Fucking Marriage Fucktards thought was so important during Obama’s re-election that they were willing to risk Obama not being re-elected (i.e., that Obama hadn’t moved fast enough on gay fucking marriage for them).
It can’t be said enough times … Gay Marriage Fucktards have no sense of perspective. They got Bush elected President and if keeping gay fucking marriage a national issue means electing another Republican president, I’m sure they see nothing wrong with that.
Blackceo
@Roan:
It’s extremely frustrating the trend of low voter turnout in midterm years. It’s perfect for the GOP with seniors having more impact in the electorate because they come out and vote. Why so many people don’t understand you can’t just come out in Presidential years and say meh to the midterms is mind boggling. I honestly can see this being the new normal for us. With gerrymandering I can see a Republican Congress for years to come. But the electorate doesn’t favor Republicans during Presidential years. The electoral college isn’t in Republican favor nor is the country’s shift in cultural demographics during Presidential election years, which helped re-elect Obama. So we could see gridlock for some time with Dem Pres and Republican Congress.
Bauhaus
@BJ McFrisky:
A social liberal and fiscal conservative, does not make one a libertarian. At all. Not even close.
Roan
@Blackceo:
“Why so many *YOUNG people don’t understand you can’t just come out in Presidential years and say meh to the midterms is mind boggling.”
agreed
Larry & Patrick
@demented: it is not only our community…..but it is EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this country is held in contempt by both parties and both houses up to and including the President who is a proven liar as well.
mezzacanadese
@FitChicago: Yours are the most intelligent comments I’ve seen. Thanks for your reasoned response.
erikwm
@@BJ McFrisky: : You are wrong on 2 counts. Mia Love was elected to the US House of Representatives, not the US Senate, and the first black woman elected to the US Senate was Carol Moseley Braun in 1992.
Stefano
For you, Aries, the changing planetary configuration portends a period of timidity. You will probably go out less, introduce yourself to fewer new people, and be less prone to show off. But any relationships you form will be much more intense than usual. The weeks ahead are quite promising, although you may have to readjust some of your attitudes.
erikwm
@BJ McFrisky: Can we dispense with this old canard that the KKK has anything to do with the modern Democratic Party? In Civil War America, the Republicans were radical social liberals and the Democrats were social conservatives. Men like Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens were radicals who fought for social equality. Democratic President Andrew Johnson hated them.
Fast forward 150 years and the rolls have completely flipped. It changed when Truman integrated the military, JFK embraced the civil rights movement, and LBJ shepherded the 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress. The social conservatives in the south began leaving the Democratic Party in 1948 when Strom Thurmond made his independent run for President. They all eventually fled to the Republican Party in protst. The one-time “solid south” for the Democrats has become a solid south for the Republicans.
This caused a complete realignment of the two parties ALL ACROSS the United States. The Northeast and West Coast, once the base of the Republican Party, moved to the left as the conservative southern Democrats took over the GOP. California, which produced 2 Republican Presidents in Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, is now solidly Democratic. The northeast, once fertile ground for Republicans, is heavily Democratic, as well.
Interesting fact: Did you know before 1992, the state of Vermont had NEVER voted for a Democratic candidate for President? Bill Clinton was the FIRST Democrat to EVER win the state of Vermont in a presidential election. For 200 years, Vermont was solidly Republican. But when the social conservatives in the South switched from Democrats to Republicans, it upended the political divide all across the country. When the south turned Republican, the Northeast went Democrat.
So, be honest — the political descendants of the KKK are Republicans today. They are not Democrats. They hate what the Democrats have become.
Shannon1981
One thing we have to remember is that Obama has a legacy to protect. His signature legislation falls into two areas: LGBT rights and the healthcare law. He isn’t about to sign anything that will turn back the clock on either. He can do the same thing the GOP has done to him the last four years and shout “NO!” in response to everything they propose. It means more gridlock, but it is better than the alternative.
enlightenone
Armageddon 2.0!
jrb236
@Saint Law: The nut wing Evangelicals see this as win for their movement. They are already demanding impeachment of Obama. Tony Perkins today already demanding impeachment. He wants every accomplishment for gay rights to be stopped and to outlaw any thing Obama did for gay rights. This is a win for the Koch family and its Evangelical agenda. Hobby lobby sees it as a win for their Evangelical hatefulness. The Republican got the Democrats to run away from Obama and those candidates who did were all defeated. Now they were the fools. They should had run on Obama’s victories and accomplishments but fell for the anti-Obama bull of the Republicans. Democrats I hope will learn from this defeat. You don’t run away from the President you put into office. Yes, there were many Obama accomplishments. Too many Democratic candidates just were too dumb and followed the Republican lies about Obama.
dbmyers
@Saint Law: I agree. The tea party element in particular are showing regular characteristics of rising fascism. They and the right-wing echo chamber – Fox News regularly practice the technique of “the big lie”, made infamous by Hitler’s Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels, who said “Tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.” And “The bigger the lie the more they will believe it.” The tea party fundamentalists want to establish a theocracy with their perversion of christianity as the basis for all of our laws. To do so they are willing to serve as the tools (and possibly even “the brown shirts”) of the 1% Corporate Oligarchy. Together they spell FASCISM! If the US ever comes under complete control of modern day fascism, they could make the Nazis look like amateurs.
dbmyers
@demented: Serioiusly? “The other side is slightly worss”? That is a big steaming pile of bull pucky!
dbmyers
@tdx3fan: I wish you were right. It would take a major landslide in order to get the republicans out of control in the House in one election, because republican controlled state legislatures have reapportioned congressional districts to protect the incumbent (republican) congress persons. This process of cheating is called “Gerrymandering”.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/gerrymandering-made-impossible-democrats-win-house
The Senate could be taken back during a successful Clinton victory in 2016, but taking back the House may require winning MORE seats in the next off-year House election (2018), not LESS like what usually happens in an off-year election.
dbmyers
@jason smeds: So you would vote republican instead? Really? Talk about cut off your nose to spite your face!
dbmyers
@corey: You didn’t bother to vote. Who cares what you thing and quit complaining because you didn’t do a thing about it – TROLL!
dbmyers
@tdx3fan: I’m very glad for you. Does that mean that other people may not need the protection of ENDA in some other state, some other town, some other company? Look a little beyond your personal experience and try some empathy for others who might not have it as good as you do.
dbmyers
@tdx3fan: You are correct congress does not appoint Supreme Court Justices, the President does. But his appointments are subject to ratification (confirmation) by the US Senate and the appointment is not in place until there is “advise and consent” from the US Senate. If there is an appointment to be made (say due to the death of a justice), the republicans will not confirm any appointment Obama makes and then they’ll offer their own “appointment” suggestion and guarantee confirmation for that appointee, and then attempt to blame Obama if he doesn’t go along with it. Better hope that there is no progressive justices dying or retiring until after the 2016 elections.
dbmyers
@erikwm: Well done erikwm! People never remember their own history and must be reminded from time to time to keep them in contact with REALITY! I, a life-long democrat, would have been a republican back in Lincoln’s day. Conversely, neither Lincoln nor Teddy Roosevelt (original trust-buster and conservation and environment protector) would be a republican today. Both would be deeply chagrined and embarrassed by what their once great republican party has become today!
dbmyers
@vive: “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” – falsely attributed to H. L. Mencken (paraphrased from a newspaper column of his). It has also been altered by many to “No one has ever gone broke underestimating the intelligence of the American voter.” After last night, that’s a truism if I ever heard one.
dbmyers
@MarionPaige: Your hate and bigotry is unwarranted and unwanted.
dbmyers
@Kieran: Really? Because most republicans in power are homophobes or are appealing to homophobes (their base). You really needed to be told that?
BJ McFrisky
@erikwm: So—you want to forget the past, and all past achievements and failures? Wow. I guess that means FDR had no role in ending WWII, Watergate never happened, JFK wasn’t a womanizer, Clinton didn’t diddle Lewinsky, W. didn’t start 2 wars, and Carter was a great president. Oh yeah—and Democrats had nothing to do with the Klan and Lincoln wasn’t a Republican. Got it. Gotta love that liberal revisionism. Saul Alinsky would be proud.
@Bauhaus: Then what, in your intellectual opinion, is the definition of a Libertarian? If not someone who wants social freedoms and governmental reduction, then exactly what constitutes Libertarianism?