The Politics Thread

[Soapsuds]

Job cuts could or possibly will come our way too...everyone isnt happy with the tax increases..my check went down after having so many years in my job..it sucks big time that my check keeps getting smaller and smaller....

[DRW50]

Ohio senator Rob Portman, who was considered as one of Romney's VP choices and was at one time hyped as a 2016 contender, essentially puts that to bed with his announcement that he now supports gay marriage (his son is gay).

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/03/rob-portman-and-his-brave-gay-son.html

What do we get in response? To the surprise of no one, the elites are OK, but the base shows us threats against his political career, and ugly slurs. And they also hide behind media darling Marco Rubio, who has always been happy to be anti-gay.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/gop-elite-embraces-portmans-gay-marriage-switch-88936.html?hp=t1

http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2013/03/nom-aide-attacks-portman-reversal-159445.html?hp=l1_b2

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/03/15/mixed-gop-reaction-to-portmans-gay-marriage-shift/

Edited March 16, 2013 by CarlD2

[Soapsuds]

Hmmm..how quickly he changed his bigotry views.....now his on the other end...now he knows how one feels...

Which is the gay son?? Anyone know??

[Wales2004]

If you must know...the one in the back.

It's troubling when a person in that position says she wishes no harm...kind of like a wake up call to the nut jobs.

[Soapsuds]

bwhaha then both are gay...lol

[Wales2004]

I was waiting for that because....well....but maybe the other one is blind.

[Soapsuds]

They both look gay to me but my gaydar is so bad at it

[Wales2004]

They look goofy and their sister looks ugly....that's all I've got.

[Soapsuds]

bwhahaha...agreed....

[Wales2004]

Looking like your dad isn't always a good thing.....

[DRW50]

Ugh ugh ugh ugh. I expect nothing less from CNN and Candy Crowley but it still tells you how far the media has gone. This is their reaction to the Steubenville rape case.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/03/cnns-not-only-one-peddling-sympathy-steubenville-rapists/63204/

[JackPeyton]

I dont think this is a fair analysis of the media at large with this case. The vas majority of articles ive read about this case were not at all slanted like this, while some did talk about the effects it would have on the boys lives it wasnt done in a these poor boys kind of way, and there have already been very many critical responses and outrage to this.

Truly disgusting. I expected so much more from Candy Crowley.

This is a great read- http://prospect.org/article/toxic-masculinity

[DRW50]

http://prospect.org/article/toxic-masculinity

Thanks for the link. I agree with much of what they say. I'm glad they brought up Zerlena Maxwell, who has been the subject of unbelievably vile racial slurs and death threats.

Edited March 18, 2013 by CarlD2

[Ann_SS]

Overall, the coverage of this rape trial shows how far we have come as a society. Every article that I have read has been anti-rape and used the social media evidence to basically lay out their guilt, even as their strived for balance prior to the conviction. After the conviction, I did not see a whole lot of sympathy in the media. Even in the blog comments, the rapists' defenders were pretty much out numbered. Crowley et al. deserve the scorn heaped upon them, but they are a minority.

[DRW50]

Seems a little inflated (usually the response depends on how the question was asked), but there's a new poll out showing 58% support gay marriage. With results like that, no wonder some of the GOP elites are awkwardly dancing around the issue.

The most interesting part is the response that suggests people are tired of state resolutions, and that supporters now have a stronger intensity. The latter might mean that anti-gay ballot measures are less likely to pass, as we saw in 2012.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/03/poll-tracks-dramatic-rise-in-support-for-gay-marriage/

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/poll-58-percent-back-gay-marriage-89025.html?hp=l1

Hillary Clinton has also announced her support.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/03/18/hillary-clinton-comes-out-in-support-of-gay-marriage/

Edited March 19, 2013 by CarlD2