Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer thinks that voters are disgusted about the obsessive focus on gay marriage to the detriment of other actual issues (Iraq, fuel prices, immigration, the economy, and healthcare are the top five).  And this disgust might lead to a bit of backlash at the polls. 

I caught this columnist tonight on McIntire's radio show as I was fleeing the suburbs of Cranberry to return to the sanity of the inner city.  It was like a reunion of cojoined twins listening to the Johns grapple for the banter-meister mantle.  Call me disloyal, but I think Baer might have taken it during that segment.  :-)

Anyway, Baer points out that true conservatives aren't consumed with homopersecution and resent being pigeonholed on cultural issues.

"It makes no sense on any level," says a national GOP consultant requesting anonymity to avoid drawing criticism from paying clients. "Republicans risk being defined as the socially conservative party, and only that, as opposed to the party conservative on the economy, conservative on national security, the things that allowed Republicans to dominate for so long."

Being defined by one aspect of your identity?  I can't imagine what that must be like!

Essentially, the homo-frenzy may turn out the tried and true Santorumites who see no problem with Ricky employing a spokesfag to spin his gay bashing rhetoric- if you can't marry 'em, lure 'em into traitorous high paid jobs and hope they don't notice?

However, Baer postulates that the broader constituent base may in fact resent this grandstanding enough to voice their displeasure at the polls.

I don't doubt some sincere people sincerely see gay marriage as threatening civilization. (Though same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for two years and as far as I know Boston hasn't turned into a pillar of salt.) But political leaders who push this - Bush, Sens. Frist and Santorum, legislative leaders in Harrisburg - insult and cheat their broader constituencies.

Paging a few Democrats ---   H. William DeWeese of Waynesburg; Vince Biancucci of Aliquippa; James Casorio of Irwin; Peter Daley of California; Anthony DeLuca of Penn Hills; R. Ted Harhai of Monessen; Nick Kotik of Robinson; Victor Lescovitz of Midway; David Levdansky of Forward; Joseph Markosek of Monroeville; John Pallone of New Kensington; Joseph Petrarca of Vandergrift; Thomas Petrone of Crafton Heights; Sean Ramaley of Conway; Harry Readshaw of Carrick; Larry Roberts of Hopwood; Ken Ruffing of West Mifflin; James Shaner of Lemont Furnace; Thomas Tangretti of Greensburg.

Last night, State Representative Dan Frankel appeared on KDKA's John McIntire program to discuss the alleged marriage protection amendment.  Frankel was straightforward about the prospect that if the bill gets to the floor of the Senate for a vote, it will pass.  He reasoned that the same divisive fears and desperate pandering to the right wingers will be in the heart of the good Senators of Pennsylvania (obviously, my words and not his) resulting in yet another demonstration of the gay-panic defense that pervades politics these days.

I called in and asked Representative Frankel what a good gay Democrat is to do about all the guys on OUR side who voted in favor of the amendment ....Western PA reps such as Dave Levdansky, Joseph Markosek, Harry Readshaw, Anthony DeLuca and so forth. 

<There is no need to even mention Ken Ruffing of West Mifflin whose 16 visits from the police on domestic disturbances make him a fine candidate for his upcoming job with the PA Gambling thugs.- further proof that the crony system is alive and well>

Frankel told me that we need to work to ensure a Democrat majority in the house and senate and that this is a wakeup call to LGBT advocates and activists that we have to work much harder to build relationships with these officials so we can prove to them that their fears are groundless.   I was taken aback at how grubby that sounds, but he's probably right.  I guess its the Bob Casey trickle down effect; they are good on most issues and we can, hopefully, work with them on the others. 

That still doesn't sit right with me .... I need more.  What do you think --- vote 'em out or work with them?  I pretty pissed off right now at these guys. And I'm STUNNED that Mike Divin voted against the amendment, although I suspect he's either trying to appeal to moderate Democrats in his battle against Democrat Chelsa Wagner or he's just giving the big F to the Republican leadership. 

The PG continues to collect your opinion on the matter.  Please send an e-mail with your name and hometown to postscript@post-gazette.com.

 The Trib printed two letters this morning, one for and one against.  The "against" letter was so boring and trite, I won't bother to quote it.  But shout out to Melanie O. Paulick of Mt. Lebanon for her little missive. 

It is easy to point fingers at something that may be uncomfortable for us to consider, but it is much less easy for us to fix the problem with ourselves. If banning gay marriage because it would mean children don't have both a mother and a father is truly your argument, you'd better make sure you come from the perfect family.

Melanie, dear, that would mean that all the right wingers would have to put down their fetus signs, turn off The 700 Club and go out and mingle with the great unwashed sinners in the soup kitchens, the jails, the homeless shelters, the senior centers OR maybe open their perfect little homes to foster children <gasp>.   You know, the things Jesus would do.  They'd rather sit home, point their fingers and use their hypocritical prayers to judge us. 

Frankly, I'd rather hang with the great unwashed. 

And our good friend and frequent Correspondent commenter Bob Arlia of Cranberry got a few points into the PG article on the fractious culture politics in Harrisburg.

"The representatives who voted for this bill are religion-driven, fear-mongering terrorists," Robert Arlia of Cranberry said yesterday.

"Every terrorist in the world uses religion as the basis for their actions. What the House did is use religion as the excuse to be a terrorist to all the gay and lesbian people in this state," said Mr. Arlia, who's been in a committed relationship with his male partner for 23 years.

Amen, Brother Bob.