CBS Boosts Obama White House's Same-Sex 'Marriage' Talking Points
Bill Plante forwarded the Obama administration's spin on Tuesday's CBS This Morning concerning Vice President Joe Biden's support for same-sex "marriage." Plante omitted any clips for conservatives or even moderate Democrats during his report, and mentioned social conservatives' opposition only in passing. While Obama officials expressed support for same-sex "marriage" in the piece, no leftist critics of Obama's apparent opposition were included.
The CBS program was the only Big Three morning newscast on Tuesday that reported on the controversy over the Vice President's recent statement on the issue, as well as the ballot initiative in North Carolina that would codify marriage as between one man and one woman in the state.
Anchor Charlie Rose noted that "President Obama hasn't said anything yet about comments from the Vice President and a member of his Cabinet supporting same-sex marriage" in his introduction for Plante's report. Co-anchor Erica Hill then spotlighted how "a new Gallup poll shows half of Americans think same-sex marriages should be legal," and turned to the White House correspondent: "Bill Plante is at the White House with a look at the President's delicate political dance."
Plante led the segment by stating that "if the Vice President hadn't brought it up, the White House would just have soon have ignored this." He continued by contrasting Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan's support for same-sex "marriage" with Obama's apparently "evolving" viewpoint on the controversial issue:
PLANTE (voice-over): The White House played defense Monday, insisting that nothing has changed in the President's view of same-sex marriage. While he opposes it, his position is still evolving.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY (from White House press conference): I don't have an update to provide you on the President's position. It is what it was.
PLANTE: But in the last 48 hours, the Vice President has suggested that he supports the right of gay couples to marry, only to see the administration pull that back and say that he was simply supporting equal rights for all.
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN (from NBC's "Meet The Press"): I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that- men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying- are entitled to same, exact rights.
PLANTE: But Education Secretary Arne Duncan was explicit when asked if he supported same-sex marriage.
ARNE DUNCAN, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION (from interview on MSNBC): Yes, I do.
PLANTE: It's an important position to many of the President's supporters on the left, and though the President endorses civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, he has maintained that he does not support marriage for them, at least not yet. Here's what he said in 2010.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (from December 2010 press conference): My feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this.
Later, the CBS journalist acknowledged that "the issue of same-sex marriage is politically potent. It was one element in the 2004 reelection of George W. Bush. It helped to drive social conservatives to the polls." However, instead of playing a soundbite from such a conservative, Plante continued by highlighting the increase in support for the left-wing cause, according to the Gallup poll, while forwarding more of the White House's talking points:
PLANTE: ...[P]ublic opinion on the issue is shifting. 2011 was the first year in history that a majority of Americans supported gay marriage, according to a Gallup poll.
The White House stresses it has taken steps to guarantee rights for same-sex couples. It ended the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy in the military, and has ordered the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
PLANTE (on-camera): Now, later this week, the President is headed to Hollywood; of course, a bastion of liberal support; and he is likely to be asked at a big dollar fundraiser at the home of George Clooney if he's still evolving in his views.
Plante has a record of such one-sided reports. During a report in May 2011, the correspondent highlighted the President's recent mockery of Republicans on border security, but failed to include an opposing clip from a GOP politician. Four months later, Plante filed report on Obama's "jobs bill" that consisted largely of soundbites from the Democrat. Earlier in 2012, the CBS journalist spent more time talking about the wines that were served at a White House state dinner than the presence of some of the President's top fundraisers.
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Comments
This Weeks "Diversion Du Jour"...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 1:40pm.
...Like clockwork, the "Baracko Brain Trust" trots out the diversionary issue of the week. Lawd knows they don't want to talk about unemployment, gas prices, or which Tally Wackers are secretly being let out of prison this week.....
Yeap, we all know it's a
Submitted by dscott on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 3:45pm.
Yeap, we all know it's a flimsy diversion and a stupid one at that. The idiots (liberals) haven't quite thought this one through.
Firstly, most Blacks reject gay marriage as a civil right, they find it insulting that a life style choice is elevated to equal treatment regardless of birth in effect diminishing their own cause. In doing so many Blacks may simply stay home on election day as a third choice instead of voting for Romney as the only other choice in the false dichotomy being offered by Democrats.
Then there is the Catholic vote, many of Catholics being Democrat are faced with the same false dichotomy of GOP vs Democrat. If you can't muster the will to vote GOP because the Dem candidate is so incompetent or adverse to your beliefs the third option of staying home is an easy one.
Finally, the lesson of California is apparently lost on Dem strategists, the majority of state voters were FOR banning gay marriage and only by intervention of the Courts and outright nonfeasance of the governor (just like Obama did with DOMA) left the referendum in limbo. So if the State of California, known as the land of fruits and nuts will outright ban gay marriage then why would you want Obama to campaign on legalizing gay marriage turning his re-election into a referendum on gay marriage? Surely even the most dullest of the dimwits at the DNC recognize that would galvanize the Conservative base for a 100% turn out on the issue. That means Obama would go down in flames in a 50 state loss.
Why else do you think Obama is refusing to come on of the closet on the issue? The problem for Obama is everyone outside of the closet doors now know he IS for gay marriage and he is not sure how to handle that piece of transparency. Hey but be my guest Dems, please, please, please make this a referendum on gay marriage.
yeah this is one trial balloon that turned into lead. Next diversionary issue...
What's so confusing? He's
Submitted by redfish on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 1:51pm.
What's so confusing? He's supported the right of courts to decide the issue, and he opposes DOMA. That in effect makes him in favor of same-sex marriage. Its the same game he plays with abortion; he's personally opposed to abortion but thinks the Constitution protects the right to an abortion. The only further test would be to see how he reacts when the Robert Court strikes down state court rulings. But he has a liberal view of the Constitution, so its hard to think he would agree with Roberts over his own appointees, Kagan and Sotomayor.
The media shouldn't buy into the games he's playing.
Obama doesn't want DOMA apart of his re-election
Submitted by dscott on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 4:11pm.
Connect the dots:
Court Rejects State Ban on Gay Marriage
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020413640457720918320951925...
"A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down California's voter-mandated ban on gay marriages, but stopped short of finding that other states or the federal government were required to recognize same-sex marriage.
The decision sets the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on gay marriage as soon as next year, and could add fuel to the issue in the presidential campaign.
In a 2-1 vote, a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said California's 2008 law, popularly known as Proposition 8, violated the 14th Amendment's equal-protection clause by stigmatizing a minority group without legitimate reason."
Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
http://gaylife.about.com/cs/gaymarriage/i/doma.htm
" The anti-gay conservative response to the growing issue of gay marriage was The Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 which denies federal recognition of gay marriages and gives each state the right to refuse recognition of same-sex marriage licenses issued by other states. The act does not prohibit states from allowing gay marriages, neither does it obligate states to recognize the gay marriages from other states.
Current Status
The Federal Defense of Marriage Act currently stands as law in the United States, but in the wake of the current gay marriage rights movement conservative groups are proposing the Federal Marriage Amendment which would create a federal definition of marriage as "the union of a man and a woman," prohibiting states from issuing same-sex marriage licenses."
In other words, IF the SCOTUS upholds for DOMA in the upcoming SCOTUS decision, they have to over turn the 9th Circuit Court because it is NOT a 14th Amendment issue as claimed, therefore the argument fails and Proposition 8 would become law in California. This would be a stinging defeat to liberals. But then it was Bill Clinton who signed DOMA into Law...so who knew, we agree with Clinton on something. And wasn't it Bill Clinton who instituted Don't ask Don't tell? Some might argue that Bill wasn't a liberal at all...
Bill Clinton's signing statement of DOMA:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/scotts/ftp/wpaf2mc/clinton.html
Maybe Bill Clinton was a better lawyer than Barack Obama?
Unchanged AND Evolving
Submitted by freecitizen on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 3:05pm.
How can Obama's position be unchanged for the last 4 years yet still considered to be evolving?
"Saturday Night Live": Obama's Bootlickers
Submitted by berlet98 on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 4:28pm.
"Saturday Night Live": Obama's Bootlicker
Question: What’s the difference between members of the Democrat National Committee and the cast of “Saturday Night Live?”
Answer: Not much, except that the people on the DNC get paid a lot less than the comedians on ”SNL.”
I used to enjoy watching ”Saturday Night Live.” I mostly liked the bride’s eye-rolling and feigned shock at some of the sketches.
When it debuted on NBC in 1975 featuring ”not ready for prime time players” such as John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, et al., the show was usually funny if occasionally off-color and edgey. ”SNL” was always politically correct back then yet it poked caustic fun in almost every direction.
No more. The show has repeatedly demonstrated it has the same goals as the DNC, re-electing President Barack Hussein Obama. It simply employs one-sided, partisan humor to advance that aim as opposed to directly funding Democrats.
Times and “SNL” have radically changed, especially since the appearance on the political scene of Barack Hussein Obama.
Aside from regularly ridiculing the presumptive GOP nominee for president, Mitt Romney, just as their cadre of late night comedians like Letterman, Leno, Fallon, Stewart, et al. incessantly do, “SNL” has now apparently upped the ante by allowing Obama and Company to censor its content.
In deference to complaints by arch-racial agitator Rev. Jesse Jackson and in conformity with a concerted effort to compensate for alleged discrimination toward African-Americans in the entertainment industry, Hollywood and television producers caved and today blacks are more than well-represented on the silver and TV screens.
They bent over backwards, upside-down and every whichway to assure blacks that the entertainment industry was not only not racist but that they would slander conservatives in the process in order to prove their how liberal they were.
DailyCaller.com revealed that “SNL” has caved again, this time to advance the Obama 2012 re-election campaign.
Last Saturday, Lorne Michael scrapped the show’s planned and written opening skit mocking the president’s shameless efforts to suggest he was primarily responsible for killing mastermind 9/11 terrorist Osama bin Laden last May in Pakistan.
In Obama’s historical revisioning, SEAL Team 6, then-CIA director Leon Panetta, Admiral William McRaven, and a host of other advisors became secondary to his incredible courage in ordering the assault on bin Laden’s Abbotabad compound–after months of indecision.
Truth is usually less humorous than fantasy so “SNL” opted to . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=23331.)
Romney's stance unites base
Submitted by dscott on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:28am.
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=A85D9617-14CC-4186-A548-DB88...
Game ON! Worst part for the DNC, instead of a diversionary tactic, gay marriage will become an additional reason beyond the economy and energy policy to dis-elect Obama.
One thing you have to give the Clinton's props for, they knew that incrementalism was the better path to their goals and not the starry eyed over reaching zeal of extremist liberals.