Thune: No gay Justice

Sen. John Thune gives away the game:

[C]onservative leaders have warned the nomination of a gay or lesbian justice could complicate Obama's effort to confirm a replacement for Souter, and another Republican senator on Wednesday warned a gay nominee would be too polarizing.

"I know the administration is being pushed, but I think it would be a bridge too far right now," said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune. "It seems to me this first pick is going to be a kind of important one, and my hope is that he'll play it a little more down the middle. A lot of people would react very negatively."

Thune's predicting that his own party is full of bigots who would oppose a nominee on the bass of their sexual orientation. If Republicans oppose a gay nominee for being gay, knowing nothing of their stance on any issue, they thereby discredit their own standard exucses for opposing legal equality for gays and lesbians.

Naked prejudice is a turnoff, so sophisticated conservatives are careful to couch their opposition to gay rights in terms of opposition to certain laws, as opposed to opposition to gay people. For example, the party line is that gays can't get married because it would be "judicial activism" to interpret a marriage statute as applying to everyone, and they hate judicial activism, so sorry, gay people...

By balking at the prospect of a gay nominee, the Republicans would be acknowledging what we've known all along, that their recalcitrance is not about religious freedom, or the family, or any of the usual bullshit excuses for prejudice--they just plain don't like gay people.

Comments

[Norman Costa]

Lindsay,

Just for fun, I think Obama should nominate Senator Larry Craig (R Idaho) to the US Supreme Court. Then Obama should ask Senator John Thune (R South Dakota) to shepherd Craig through the confirmation process.

[Eric Jaffa]

Has Obama nominated someone openly gay to any positions so far?

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

The top officer for federal personnel is openly gay.

[Dabodius]

My first thought: seat Franken, and with the Democratic supermajority's sixty votes for cloture, Thune is only whistlin' Dixie.

My second: alas, some of those Democratic senators would fail to vote for cloture, afraid they would be baited as gay-friendly. The bullies can't do their work without enablers; both are in adequate supply.

[minstrel hussain boy]

ready
fire
aim

you'd think that they would slow the oppositon thing down until they actually had a nominee.

instead we get video of how a judge who's name was mentioned is unacceptable, and now this.

[Peter K.]

"Mr. Obama has chosen a number of openly gay people for prominent jobs, including Fred P. Hochberg as chairman of the Export-Import Bank and John Berry to run the Office of Personnel Management. And he is the first president to set aside tickets for gay families to attend the White House Easter Egg Roll."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/politics/07obama.html?_r=1&hp

[Peter K.]

"Just for fun, I think Obama should nominate Senator Larry Craig (R Idaho) to the US Supreme Court. Then Obama should ask Senator John Thune (R South Dakota) to shepherd Craig through the confirmation process."

That would be fun but Craig doesn't believe he is gay. He would be a conservative Supreme Court justice just like the other conservatives on the court except every now and then he'd slip off to the men's restroom for a little foot-tapping extracurricular activities. When busted he'd yell "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I AM A US SUPREME COURT JUDGE!"

[parse]

"I know the administration is being pushed, but I think it would be a bridge too far right now," said GOP Chief Deputy Whip John Thune. "It seems to me this first pick is going to be a kind of important one, and my hope is that he'll play it a little more down the middle. A lot of people would react very negatively."

Thune's predicting that his own party is full of bigots who would oppose a nominee on the bass of their sexual orientation. If Republicans oppose a gay nominee for being gay, knowing nothing of their stance on any issue, they thereby discredit their own standard exucses for opposing legal equality for gays and lesbians.

Sad, but true that nowawdays knowing someone is an out gay or lesbian tells you nothing about their stand on the issues. It used to be the case the out-and-proud meant someone was almost certainly progressive politically. Now, so much of what passes for LGBT activism is profoundly conservative: favoring marriage and the family, military service, enhanced powers for police and prosecutors. The appointment of a gay justice might send shudders down the spine of those supporting sexual liberation and personal freedom.

[Chris O.]

"My first thought: seat Franken, and with the Democratic supermajority's sixty votes for cloture, Thune is only whistlin' Dixie."

Unfortunately, nominees still need at least one Republican vote from the Judiciary Committee to advance it to the full Senate.

[Bruce]

Are there prominent appellate judges or top-rank legal scholars who are out? In Maryland there are a few judges in Baltimore City and maybe Montgomery County, I forget, but these are trial judges. I don't know of any names floated.

In reality, Obama is going to get whomever he wants; the question is how much onanistic fapping these Republicans will indulge in front of their vanity mirrors during the process.

[European Justice]

Well in my opinion,,,,,, theres nothing wrong if they chose to a gay or a lesbian justice. I think if they chose one equality among these group of people will be implemented.