The cult of the lost cause.

A bill filed by Senator Ed Emery (r):

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

SENATE BILL NO. 555 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY SENATOR EMERY.

Read 1st time February 26, 2015, and ordered printed.

ADRIANE D. CROUSE, Secretary.

2369S.01I

AN ACT

To repeal section 451.022, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to marriages other than a marriage between a man and a woman, with an emergency clause.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Section 451.022, RSMo, is repealed and one new section

2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 451.022, to read as follows:

451.022. 1. It is the public policy of this state to recognize marriage only between a man and a woman.

2. Any purported marriage not between a man and a woman is invalid.

3. No recorder shall issue a marriage license, except to a man and a woman.

4. A marriage between persons of the same sex other than a marriage between a man and a woman will not be recognized or enforced for any purpose in this state even when valid where contracted.

5. (1) No state or local taxpayer funds or salaries of an employee of the state or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state shall be disbursed for an activity that includes the licensing or support of marriage other than a marriage between a man and a woman.

(2) Any employee of the state or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this section may be terminated and shall no longer receive any salary and employee benefits.

(3) Any active employee who is a member of any retirement system established by the state of Missouri or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state for the purpose of providing plan benefits for elected or appointed public officials or employees of the state of Missouri or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the state, who is not yet vested as of the effective date of this section, and who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall not be eligible to receive any retirement benefits from the respective plan, except such member may still request from the respective retirement system a refund of the member’s plan contributions, including interest credited to the participant’s account.

Section B. Because of the need to clarify licensing procedures, section A of this act is deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety, and is hereby declared to be an emergency act within the meaning of the constitution, and section A of this act shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and approval.

[emphasis in original]

He must have inadvertently left out the death penalty. Stoning could work.

Priorities. Think of all those localities and the legal fees they’re going to pile up.

With an emergency clause? Let it go, dude.

Alongside a breathless post about teh gay agenda:

“Paid for by Misourians for Ed Martin – Randy McArthur, Treasurer”

Uh, most people want an Attorney General who doesn’t wear a propeller beanie.  

Cynthia Davis, former republican member of the General Assembly and now fringe party candidate for Lieutenant Governor, continues to demonstrate her well deserved reputation (weighing in on HB 2051 and Representative Zach Wyatt):

….Missouri legislators made national news last week over a bill to dictate what schools can teach regarding perverted behavior.  This story is particularly interesting to me since I was just in the community of Novinger, Northwest of Kirksville, the week before.  When this area replaced a Democrat with a Republican, they thought it would be an upgrade.  The new representative from Novinger just provided us with an example of why voting for a party alone does not represent our best interests.

The first four years I served in the House, this area was represented by a Republican.  Then for four years, the area was represented by a Democrat.  In 2010, this district reverted back to a Republican who now has betrayed the family-values image of the Republican Party as he held a press conference to announce his private preference of debasing himself with other men.  Making a public spectacle of this information bolstered him to national attention.  Since governments are not dragging people out of their bedrooms, why is his deviant lifestyle relevant to public policy?….

All that’s missing is the spittle.

As for the text:

Fairfax: …Man, that’s just MEAN. That’s MEAN, man.

“…relevant to public policy?”

Uh, we’ll take “right wingnut cultural wedge issues used in public discourse for a generation as a cynical distraction for political gain” for a thousand, Alex.

The stoopid, it burns.

Yesterday, in Butler, Missouri (via Joe.My.God. and Think Progress):

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r): Okay, first of all, are you guys with the Democrats or the Republicans?

Question: So, the, the, uh, two thousand four amendment [crosstalk]…

Representative Hartzler (r): Am I gonna see you next year?

Question: Well, you will when you come to Columbia. [crosstalk]

Representative Hartzler (r): I know. I just wondered, are you friendly or are you not?

Question: Well. [second voice: “We’re friends [inaudible]…”]

Representative Hartzler (r): Oh, no. Okay. All right.

Question: The two thousand four amendment to ban same-sex marriage…

Representative Hartzler (r): Oh, I’m so, I can’t believe you asked me that. I just… [inaudible] [crosstalk]

Question: Well, it’s a a cause, it’s a cause of yours.

Representative Hartzler (r): So, so, sorry.

Question: So, that in, in combination with the statement [crosstalk] you made, uh, earlier this month where you said [inaudible] incest and bestiality. How do you think [crosstalk]…?

Third party: Are you, are you taking pictures, video?

Person on camera: Yeah, sure.

Third party: Okay.

Representative Hartzler (r): No, you misunder, that was a mis, a misunderstanding [crosstalk] of the quote.

Question: Okay, well [crosstalk] Okay. Amendment.

Representative Hartzler (r): Certainly on that, so. [crosstalk] That was really taken out of context.

Question: So, how do you think the, the amendment? [inaudible] How do you think that makes people, young people, like me, who are gay feel about ourselves, to come up in to a society that, to us seems like doesn’t value us in the same way straight people are valued?

Representative Hartzler (r): We’re not, we’re not the ones changing the policy. [inaudible] So you shouldn’t feel bad at all. In two thousand [crosstalk]…

Question: Why shouldn’t I feel bad if there’s an amendment, you champion [inaudible crosstalk] an amendment prohibiting me from…

Representative Hartzler (r): [inaudible] Right now it has been the law of the land for a long time that marriage is a [inaudible] commitment between a man and a woman. All we did in two thousand four is just put that in the Constitution. So we’re not changing policy at all. And, and anyway, so you shouldn’t feel bad, anyway. [crosstalk] It’s nice to meet you guys.

Question: So, you don’t think I should feel bad at all?

“…I know. I just wondered, are you friendly or are you not?…”

Interesting, not all town halls are going to be like the annual “clap louder” convocations of the Chamber of People’s Deputies. On occasion someone’s gonna slip in and ask a question.

Recently:

Are teh gay really so icky, Vicky? (March 24, 2011)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) on DADT: it’s all about the plumbing (April 1, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): teh gay are so icky (June 5, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): stop being mean by quoting what I said (June 8, 2011)

The stand alone repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has passed the U.S. House:

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 638

H R 2965      YEA-AND-NAY      15-Dec-2010      5:24 PM

QUESTION:  On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment

BILL TITLE: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010

—- YEAS    250 —

Carnahan

Clay

Cleaver

—- NAYS    175 —

Akin

Blunt

Emerson

Graves (MO)

Luetkemeyer

Skelton

Breaking News: House passes “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal

….This is “an imposition of somebody’s social agenda,” said Rep. Todd Akin, R-Missouri. It’s an “eclipse of reason, an eclipse of common sense….”

I wonder if they think teh gay is contagious? Or just bigotry?

There’s nothing new under the sun:

“….going concerns, accustomed through many years to the present system” of segregation, “no experiments should be tried…at this critical time….”

“…The Army is not a sociological laboratory; to be effective it must be organized and trained according to the principles which will insure success. Experiments to meet the wishes and demands…for the solution of their problems are a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and would result in ultimate defeat…”

Social agenda? Where have we heard that before?

It’s their world of false equivalence, the rest of us only get to live in it.

Jon Rust, the publisher of the Southeast Missourian, writes today in “Innuendo: Bad politics”:

…This week, people close to the Emerson campaign crossed the line in mudslinging too. In a paid election letter to this newspaper, a writer who once worked for Emerson’s husband called into question Sowers’ sexuality. The innuendo used was repugnant…

“Too?” Rust spends the first three paragraphs blaming Tommy Sowers’ (D) campaign for the tone of the 8th Congressional District campaign, without citing any examples, before he gets to condemning a paid political letter which appeared in his paper written by an individual associated with Jo Ann Emerson (r), the republican incumbent. The subject? You guessed it:

…The second point — the innuendo — is unfair and inappropriate. I will admit: I don’t see that sexual orientation has anything to do with whether a person is qualified for Congress…

You’d think the publisher of the paper would cite a specific example of a “distortion” by the subject of his first three paragraphs. You’d think. Nah, it’s just easier to wrap yourself in a false cloak of impartiality and dismiss one party’s egregious behavior with the condemnation and excuse that “everybody does it.” And then wring your hands.

I wonder if that letter by the Emerson supporter had anything to do with this?:

Jo Ann Emerson (r): wedge issues trump everything for republicans

Besides, what will all our seven year olds think? Uh, Ike, I think that cat is already out of the bag.