Ted Olson - Fighting to Overturn Prop 8

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 10:33am

A very interesting article on Ted Olson, the former Solicitor General for W. He is perhaps most well known for his commentator/wife dying on the plane that hit the Pentagon.

He provides some thought about the why conservatives should support gay marriage. An interesting read.
A Conservative Against Prop 8

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 10:49am

That's nice - but if Prop 8 is overturned then it can be put up for a vote the next year and this thing could be endless. It's time we stopped focusing time and money on marriage rights state by state and go after something federal. Now that will mean something.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 10:52am

I think this is expected to go to the SCOTUS.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 10:59am

Exactly, they have challenged the law on federal grounds, arguing that it violates both the Fifth Amendment?s Due Process right as well as the Fourteenth Amendment?s Equal Protection Guarantee.

The whole point of the challenge was to get to the SCOTUS.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:04pm

I wanted to convey the message that this was not Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, that this is about human rights and human decency and constitutional law.

I can't tell you how weird it is to hear a Republican lawyer say the tings I wish a Democratic president would say.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:25pm

^^^Especially when that president taught constitutional law.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:44pm

Think about it folks. A REPUBLICAN LAWYER, who once worked for G. W. Bush's administration, lobbying to bring Same Sex Marriage to a predominately Conservative Supreme Court.

How likely does that sound? Why would this happen, unless...

They know the fix is in, that if it goes to the Supreme Court that any kind of legal protection for same sex couples will be FINISHED.

Olsen: "This is about human rights and human decency and constitutional law."

HA! Since when have Republicans given a toss about Human Rights, Human Decency and Constitutional Law? Trust this guy at your peril.

Updated On: 8/3/09 at 12:44 PM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:54pm

It must be exhausting being you.

Many "Goldwater" Republicans feel the way Olson does.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:58pm

The exhaustion only comes because people continue to believe that any member of the Republican Party can be trusted in any way whatsoever. After 8 years of G.W. Bush and his Party Of Evil running this country into the ground, how can anyone of any sense trust a single solitary one of them?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 1:02pm

Every once in a while, Roscoe, it helps if you stop to breathe.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 1:05pm

Sorry, but I have come across friend and co-workers who are Republicans and were appalled by George Bush (and did not vote from him the second time) and are against Prop 8.

And, Olson is working with David Bois, a noted Democratically leaning attorney who represented Al Gore (against Olson) in Bush v. Gore. So yes, I do believe Olson's sincerity.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 2:07pm

It must be difficult going through life being such a negative person, Roscoe. Sheesh.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 2:20pm

Yeah, I get a bit overheated at times.

If it is negative to clearly see the ongoing evil of the Republican Party and its members who voted for George W. Bush and to take with a massive truckload of salt the pretense that those creatures have finally seen the error of their ways, well then, hell yeah, color me negative.

I'll take the vilest blackest darkest dankest negativity over the brightest sunniest gullibility of those who believe a word that issues out of the mouth of any Republican pretending to be even remotely socially progressive.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 4:28pm

Careful, Roscoe, or someday you might miss the miracle.

[Plum]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 11:01pm

They know the fix is in, that if it goes to the Supreme Court that any kind of legal protection for same sex couples will be FINISHED.

Yeah, because the Supreme Court never overturns its own precedent on the subject of individual liberties. Except when it totally does. (See also: The Court overturning its own flag-salute precedent three years after making it.)

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 8:32am

Pal, when and if there's a miracle I promise I'll proclaim it loud and clear.

Plum, that's a very interesting bit of historical information there, thanks for sharing it. I'd say, though, that the whole "gay" aspect of this particular issue is so very loaded for so very many straight folks, our President included let's not forget, that all bets are off. I'm hoping for the best, of course, but when Republicans are in any way involved it is always best to expect the very worst that the human race can deliver.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 8:44am

It's important to remember that on the SCOTUS, Justice Kennedy is often the deciding vote in 5-4 decisions. For the most part, Kennedy is supportive of gay rights.

[shameless]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 9:00am

I think Olson wanting to add to his legacy is also a big factor.

But, hell, if he gets it done, I'll support building a monument for him.

[Q]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 9:12am

"when Republicans are in any way involved it is always best to expect the very worst that the human race can deliver"

Seriously? Comments such as these come across as parody, at least to me.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 9:21am

"Comments such as these come across as parody, at least to me."

Yeah, well, there's a degree of exaggeration for comic effect, but not a whole lot. I find warnings about possibly missing a miracle to be a lot funnier.

[singtopher]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 3:58pm

Grumpy/Roscoe never apologizes for his intolerance and stubbornness.