by Johanna Neuman

For more than four years, the Bush White House has run against any changes in the law that would allow gay Americans -- even his vice president's daughter -- to marry.

Under the guidance of political maestro Karl Rove, George W. Bush even ran against gay rights in his 2004 re-election bid. The strategy: push a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and thereby stir the base of evangelicals to the polls. It worked.

Now, four years later, the climate has changed, (as the Swamp's colleague, Johanna Neuman is reporting at Countdown to Crawford ). Both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, while not embracing the still-politically-radioactive concept of gay marriage, support rights.

Obama and his running mate Joe Biden back civil unions, along with spousal visits in hospitals, insurance benefits as partners and rights of inheritance and adoption. At some political cost, McCain voted against the Bush administration's proposal for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, arguing that states, not judges or the federal government, should make these decisions. He also backs legislation to ban workplace discrimination against gays.

Both presidential campaigns have reached out to gay Americans, seeking their votes. Even Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, an evangelical, sounds inclusive toward gays. "(N)o one would ever propose, not in a McCain-Palin administration, to do anything to prohibit, say, visitations in a hospital or contracts being signed," she said during the vice presidential debate. That's one reason the Log Cabin Republicans, the largest gay Republican organization, who did not endorse Bush four years ago, are backing McCain-Palin this year.

But Bush remains passionately opposed to any movement on the issue.

By Amanda Erickson

A House subcommittee Wednesday began examining whether gay men and women should be allowed to serve openly in the armed forces for the first time in15 years.

Congress had not reconsidered the controversial 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy since it was approved by former President Bill Clinton in 1993. Currently, recruitment officials are not allowed to ask enlistees about their sexual orientation and service personnel may not engage in homosexual conduct or aggressively display homosexuality.

At the 2½-hour hearing, lawmakers focused on two key questions: What effect a change in the policy would have on troop unity and whether the current policy is hurting recruitment and retention of service members who are gay.

Occasionally, the debate got heated, such as when Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes gays in the military, suggested that allowing gays to openly serve in the military would increase the number of HIV-positive cases among service members. Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) called that contention "inappropriate" and said under that logic "you ought to recruit only lesbians to the military because they have the lowest incidence of HIV."

But the hearing mostly drew on the personal experience of openly gay former service members, retired sergeants and the head of a group that opposes allowing gays and lesbians to serve.

Capt. Joan Darrah, who served in the Navy for 30 years and won several commendations, spoke of the stress the policy caused her. Darrah had been at a meeting in the Pentagon just minutes before it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Seven of her colleagues were killed.

"The reality is that if I had been killed, my partner then of 11 years, would have been the last to know," she said. "I had not dared to list her in any of my paperwork."

by Jim Tankersley

A leading evangelical Christian group is telling supporters that a "cultural earthquake" rocked California earlier this month, which threatens "to permanently alter marriage and families in America."

Focus on the Family Action, the political offshoot of Dr. James Dobson's Colorado-based Focus on the Family, is ramping up its coast-to-coast "battle to save marriage," its senior vice president for government and public policy explained in a fundraising e-mail this week. The effort is a response to a California court ruling that legalized gay marriage in that state, and which Focus on the Family Action says "will be felt in every state that does not already have a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman" because California does not require residency for marriage.

"Homosexual activists across the nation will be emboldened to push their anti-family agenda (it's happening this very moment in Colorado)," senior vice president Tom Minnery writes in the Focus letter. "The only recourse is for Californians to pass a state marriage-protection amendment on the ballot this November."

Later, he adds: "The California homosexual marriage 'earthquake' could forever change the cultural landscape of our nation -- unless pro-family citizens like you and me take a stand."

A series of state initiatives banning gay marriage drew big attention in 2004. Republicans credited them for bolstering evangelical turnout at the polls and helping to push President Bush to re-election victory, particularly in battleground Ohio. Analysts wondered in the aftermath of the California ruling if the issue could once again factor heavily this year.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama oppose gay marriage, and, unlike Bush, both oppose a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Obama supports civil unions for gay couples.
.

by Frank James

When you watch the Democratic National Convention this summer and see the diverse ocean of faces, keep in mind that the diversity you're witnessing didn't happen by accident.

Instead, it will be the result, in substantial measure, of a very strong affirmative action program within the Democratic Party which at times seems virtually indistinguishable from the use of quotas.

This comes through in an informative Wall Street Journal story by June Kronholz about the other campaign going on in the Democratic Party currently, the effort many people have undertaken to become delegates to the party's national convention in Denver.

The story explains how some candidates for delegate spots host parties at restaurants, bake cookies or produce campaign videos for cell phones in order to win a delegate position. It also explains how various state party organizations go about filling their delegations.

But here's a key passage that speaks to the use of what many would view as quotas.

The states and parties have different ways of filling those seats. Some, like Pennsylvania, put delegates' names on the primary ballot. Party central committees name some delegates in others. But for Washington state's Mr. (Jody) Rodgers, for example, the road to Denver began at a Feb. 9 caucus at his West Seattle elementary school. There, his neighbors elected him an Obama delegate to Seattle's 34th Legislative District convention, which in turn elected him an Obama delegate to the state's 7th Congressional District convention.

The odds are long: The party's big-tent diversity goals reserve six of Washington's convention seats for blacks, 10 for Hispanics, and others for Asian, American-Indian, young, disabled, and gay, lesbian and transgendered Democrats. Any diversity seats that haven't been filled at the congressional-district meeting will be plugged at the state convention.

by Mark Silva

Ellen DeGeneres, who hosts a popular daytime television talk show and has announced on-air that she will marry her girlfriend, broached the question of gay marriage today with Republican John McCain, the party's presumptive presidential nominee.

McCain, unlike President Bush, does not support the enactment of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. But the senator from Arizona, in his own second marriage, does believe that gay and lesbian unions should be treated as "legal arrangements'' as opposed to the traditional institution of holy matrimony.

The question has gained new urgency in the aftermath of the California Supreme Court ruling opening the door for gay and lesbian marriage in the biggest state in the union - the one with 57 Electoral College votes. Just as the debate over gay marriage and state amendments banning it provided a backdrop for Bush's reelection in 2004, the political question of legalization of a lifestyle shared by many Americans recurs in 2008.

DeGeneres announced her own wedding plans on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, when the court ruled - "I'll tell you who the luck guy is soon,'' she joked.

"I think that people should be able to enter into legal agreements,'' McCain said softly on DeGeneres' show today, with the candidate striking an amenable pose of agreeable disagreement with his host. "I think that that is something that we should encourage.... I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman.

"There is this old way of thinking that we are not all the same,'' DeGeneres protested politely, with applause from the studio audience that cheered her wedding announcement last week. "We are all the same people,'' she told McCain. "All of us. You're no different than I am. Our love is the same.''

McCain nodded and said: "We just have a disagreement... I, along with many, many others, wish you every happiness.''

"So you'll walk me down the aisle,'' DeGeneres asked. "Is that what you're saying?''

McCain let out a belly-laughing no comment.

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference with same sex couples and city officials at City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday, May 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

by Frank James

Today's decision by the California Supreme Court striking down a state ban on gay marriages feels like deja vu all over again in terms of its timing during a general-election year.

It was only four years ago in 2004 that Massachusetts's highest court clarified a similar decision it had made that a gay-marriage ban in that state was unconstitutional.

The Massachusetts court's actions helped rev up religious conservatives who turned out in force during the general election, particularly in Ohio, and helped re-elect President George Bush, putting him over the top against Sen. John Kerry, who was opposed to gay marriages but supported civil unions.

Now, during another general-election year, California's highest court comes down on the same side of the gay-marriage issue as the Massachusetts court.

And once again, another Democratic senator who opposes gay marriage but favors civil unions, Barack Obama, appears poised to get the Democratic nomination and face a Republican Party that could use today's decision to gin up energy among its conservative base.

by Matthew Hay Brown

With a ruling today by its highest court, California has rejoined Massachusetts as the only states to allow same-sex marriage.

"Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," the California Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 opinion that overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

Six of the seven members of the court are Republicans. Outside the courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news spread of the decision, the Associated Press reports.

Two dozen same-sex couples joined rights groups and the City of San Francisco in a lawsuit four years ago after the court halted weddings performed in San Francisco.

"Today the California Supreme Court took a giant leap to ensure that everybody -- not just in the state of California, but throughout the country -- will have equal treatment under the law," City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who argued the case for San Francisco, told the AP.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he respected and would uphold the ruling.

"Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling," he said.

by Frank James

Here's one from the all's-well-that-ends-well department. Politico has a story about Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.,) the House's only open lesbian, getting to take her domestic partner on a congressional delegation trip to Europe last month that traveled by military jet. The Defense Department had first refused Baldwin's request.

As Politico reports:

Prior to the Easter recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to intervene with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in order to get Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s domestic partner on a military flight for a congressional fact-finding trip to Europe.

The speaker succeeded, but the issue continues to simmer for both sides. The Pentagon appears to be self-conscious about transporting gay domestic partners at a time when it continues to enforce a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in its own ranks. The speaker is sensitive to the gay rights issue but doesn’t want to be drawn into a situation where it appears she is dictating policy for the use of military planes.

Under House guidelines, members of Congress may take their spouses with them on military flights if there is room for them and when it is “necessary for protocol purposes.” Although Baldwin, the only openly gay woman elected to Congress, exchanged wedding vows with Lauren Azar in 1998, her home state of Wisconsin does not officially recognize same-sex marriages, and military officials were apparently unwilling to consider Azar a “spouse” within the meaning of the House guidelines.

by Kelley L. Carter

Gospel music superstar Donnie McClurkin says he was surprised to wake up Tuesday morning to a media firestorm.

The 47-year-old Grammy-award winning and best-selling musician is scheduled to perform this weekend at Senator Barack Obama’s three-day concert series in South Carolina. Bloggers, for the most part, are calling for the senator to cancel the singer’s Sunday night appearance, saying that his views are anti-gay and incite hate. His ideals and most importantly his ministry, he says, were severely misconstrued.

“Most of the things that were said were totally out of context and then other things weren’t true,” says McClurkin in an exclusive interview with the Tribune. “My only concern is to be in place with Senator Obama in unity and bring all the factors together for the sake of change. That’s my only thing. Of course some agents have twisted it as though he [Obama] were embracing a racist or a Nazi, and that is anything but true.”

by Mike Dorning

Democratic candidates next month will hold the first ever televised presidential campaign forum devoted to issues of interest to gay voters, a debate that is likely to touch on such emotional, deeply personal issues as gay marriage, adoption and service in the military.

Democratic candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) already have confirmed they will participate, organizers said. That is likely to put pressure on other Democratic candidates to attend a forum geared to this significant, Democratic-leaning constituency.

The questioners will include singer and gay rights advocate Melissa Etheridge, as well as Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a gay rights group that is co-sponsoring the event.

The forum. scheduled for 8 pm Central Time in Los Angeles on Aug. 9, will be broadcast live on Logo, a cable television channel geared toward gay audiences. The event will also be available on the Internet through live streaming video on LOGOonline.com.

Posted by Aamer Madhani at 10:50 a.m. CDT

Gen. Peter Pace’s remarks to the Chicago Tribune calling homosexual acts “immoral” continues to reverberate.

A group of retired gay and lesbian officers aligned with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network today called on Pace to apologize, claiming that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff comments dishonors the service of gay, lesbian and bisexuals veterans as well as those who are quietly serving under the current Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

The network has been advocating for the reversal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the law which bans homosexuals from openly serving.

Guest posted by Glenn Thrush of Newsday at 3:58 p.m. CDT

Barack Obama joined Hillary in courting gays and lesbians by calling for the rollback of "don't ask, don't tell" -- without wanting to directly refute General Pace's comment that homosexuality is "immoral."

Yesterday Clinton told ABC News "I’m going to leave that to others to conclude," when asked if gays and lesbians were immoral. A spokesman later backtracked.

Newsday caught Obama as he was leaving the firefighters convention and asked him three times if he thought homosexuality is immoral.

Posted by Jill Zuckman at 12:05 p.m. CDT

The ranking Republican of the Senate Armed Services Committee sharply rebuked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Tuesday, taking issue with General Peter Pace’s view that homosexual acts are immoral.

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), a former Secretary of the Navy, said, “I respectfully but strongly disagree with the chairman’s view that homosexuality is immoral. In keeping with my longstanding respect for the Armed Services committee hearing process, I will decline to comment on the current policy until after such hearings are held.”

Posted by Mark Silva at 1:15 pm CST

GREELEY, Colo. – Here in Colorado, where voters face an amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot Tuesday, where Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave campaigns for family values, and where evangelist Ted Haggard has admitted to buying meth from a man who claims that he also had sex with Haggard, the president downplayed his campaign appeal to family values as he stumped today.

"Marilyn Musgrave understands the importance of defending traditional values,'' the president told several thousand assembled inside an exhibition hall here. "In Washington, she's worked to defend the Pledge Allegiance, and to protect the flag from desecration.

"She has worked to prevent the institution of marriage from being redefined by activist judges. She understands your values, and that's another reason to send her back to the United States Congress.''

Posted by the Frank James at 10:45 am CDT
(Updated at 2:05 pm CDT with President Bush's statement)

Everyone knew it was going to fail and it did. So there was no surprise that the Senate voted this morning 49-48 to essentially keep debating a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, the Senate’s way of giving a piece of legislation the kiss of death.

But death in the Senate does not mean the demise of a gay marriage amendment as an issue. Sen. Bill Frist, (R-Tenn.,) the Senate Majority Leader and a presidential hopeful, indicated this is an issue he intends on keeping alive through a statement his office issued after the vote.

Posted by Frank James at 4:10 pm CDT

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took to the Senate floor today to announce his opposition to the Marriage Protection Amendment.

But before anyone jumps to the conclusion that this is yet another piece of evidence for McCain being a moderate, the man who many of us reporter types believe to be the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, made a strictly conservative case for his position.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Tuesday, June 6, as compiled by the Associated Press.

President Bush is touring the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, N.M. and speaking on immigration reform there, as well as later visiting the Laredo, Texas Border Patrol Sector heaquarters.

The Senate is debating the merits of a constitutional amendment declaring that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wednesday, May 31, as gathered by the Associated Press.

President Bush swears in the new CIA director, Michael Hayden, actually a ceremonial ritual since Hayden was officially sworn in Tuesday.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda meets with President Bush and then holds a news conference.

The National Spelling Bee holds its first rounds.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Tuesday, May 2, as collected by the Associated Press.

9:30 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee has an oversight hearing on the FBI, with FBI Director Robert Mueller, DOG Inspector General Glenn Fine, Linda Calbom, GAO, John Gannon, BAE Systems Information Technology appearing.
Location: Room 226, Dirksen.

10 a.m. House Government Reform Committee, the National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations Subcommittee has a hearing on UN sanctions after the Oil for Food program. UN Amb. John Bolton; Joseph Christoff, GAO; Carne Ross, Independent Diplomat; George Lopez, University of Notre Dame, will appear.
Location: Room 2154, Rayburn.

Good Morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, April 28, as gathered by the Associated Press.

President Bush is meeting with the President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan this morning.

8:30 a.m. Commerce Department releases the Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter.

10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. WATER QUALITY — US Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Program releases a nationwide assessment on volatile organic compounds in wells and groundwater.
Location: Room 2318, Rayburn.