Fascism and homosexuality are like peanut butter and jelly in the eyes of "alternate history author" and onetime Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who kicked off his 2012 Presidential campaign by burnishing his fag-bashing credentials on, where else? The O'Reilley Factor. Here's the whole quote:

"Look, I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion. And I think if you believe in historic Christianity, you have to confront the fact. And, frank — for that matter, if you believe in the historic version of Islam or the historic version of Judaism, you have to confront the reality that these secular extremists are determined to impose on you acceptance of a series of values that are antithetical, they're the opposite, of what you're taught in Sunday school."

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It's official: Rham Emanuel has accepted Barack Obama's offer to become his chief of staff, according to MSNBC's "source very close to Rham Emanuel." So what about "partisan" Emanuel can Republicans glob on to immediately to paint Obama's first appointment as evidence of the Democratic president-elect's incompetence?

• He swears, saying "fuck" a lot. Read: He's an angry, angry man! This is especially important because the GOP will be called racist if they try to make Obama out to be an angry black man.

• Emanuel is a ballet dancer. Read: He's a fairy and won't be able to stand up to terrorists!

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One would think that now that the election has come to a close, we no longer need to hash out Sarah Palin's… oddities.

That would only really be true if she planned on heading back to Alaska and staying there. But no one, from her fans to her archenemies, believe that we've seen that last of her. Thanks to an upcoming expose in Newsweek (and Fox News), quite a bit of new, if unsurprising, information has come out about her since America voted.

Here's a round-up:
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If you've been watching or reading the news, you know that things don't look good for John McCain. Of course, anything can happen today and polls aren't to be believed, so who knows what's going to happen.

One thing's for sure - the Republican's campaign got a bit of good news today after a second investigation exonerated running mate Sarah Palin of any wrong doing in the "Troopergate" scandal:

This time, Gov. Sarah Palin can claim vindication against allegations that she abused her power in office by firing her public safety commissioner.

Palin - running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain - violated no ethics laws, according to a report released by the state personnel board on the eve of Election Day. An earlier, separate investigation by the Legislature found that Palin had abused her office.

"There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters," the personnel board's report said.

Palin's attorney said the Governor's "grateful" for the board's findings. Obviously.

Stare in awe at the latest in disgusting GOP race-baiting.

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Former Californian Congressman and current Senatorial hopeful Tom Campbell, a Republican, today came out against Proposition 8, which would overturn the California Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling. Though Campbell agrees judges shouldn't be making such decisions, he still vows to vote no on Proposition 8.

It was really quite a stretch for the California Supreme Court to say that the Constitution of California already contains a right for same-sex marriage, when the Constitution doesn't say a word about it. The truth is: It's a new issue. To those who say the Court got it wrong, I say: I agree. It's for us to decide. Now, let's make the right decision. And that right decision, in my view, is to allow same-sex marriage in California.

Republicans believe deeply that government should be limited. Government has no business making distinctions between people based on their personal lives. That's why, as a Californian and a Republican who has held elective office at the federal and state levels, I will be voting No on Proposition 8.
…
Gay couples are asking for a chance to play by the rules. We can give them that chance. For those of us who are proud of our party's and our state's reputation for fairness and against discrimination, our choice is very clear: No on Proposition 8.

This isn't the first time Campbell has come out for California's queers. While a Congressman, in 2000, Campbell voiced his opposition to a similar ballot initiative, the Knight Initiative, which would have banned gay marriage. If only he could persuade his party peers to be so progressive.

The electoral gay-baiting has spread to Missouri!

According to that state's Republican party, "extreme liberals" are all backing potential state representative Kristy Manning because, as a Democrat, the politico will institute free-wheeling abortions, gay marriage and all sorts of other sick shit.

The flier's but one in a series of anti-gay mailers that have gone out in recent weeks. Ohio's Republican party sent out two, while North Carolina's GOP recently attacked Senatorial hopeful Kay Hagan, whom they describe as an agent of the gay agenda.

Funny - both the Democrats and Republican parties claim they'll bring real change to America, yet these state's Republican parties insist on inflaming the tired culture wars.

[via Show Me Progress]

And we thought things were bad in Ohio!

North Carolina's overzealous Republican party has been mailing out literature that claims Democratic Senatorial candidate Kay Hagan's an agent of - gasp! - the homosexual agenda. Hide the children!

By electing Hagan over Republican Elizabeth Dole, the mailer claims, voters will be opening the door to a vast wave of homo happenings, like gay marriage and a queer inclusive Boy Scouts. The mailer also cites the so-called "activist judges" who are trying to spread gay marriage.

This flier is but one in a series of anti-gay mailers we've seen this season. Ohio's Republican party sent out pamphlets this month claiming that Democrat Ray Pryor represented the wrong choice because he supports gay adoption. The party also funded a flier touting Republican Congressional candidate Michael Keenan's love for "family values."

You can see you more of this nastiness over at PageOneQ.

This epically long election season has clearly taken a toll on John McCain.

The Republican Senator screwed up royally in Western Pennsylvania yesterday when he accidentally sided with Democrats who have called the region racist. Said McCain: "You know, I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And you know, I couldn't agree with them more." Whoops!

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