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Monthly Archives: January 2012

Federal District Judge Forces Hawaii Churches to Accommodate Same-Sex Civil Unions

January 5, 2012 – 4:30 pm

A court in Hawaii has refused to exempt churches from being forced to allow their property to be used for civil union ceremonies.

The Emmanuel Temple and the Lighthouse Outreach Center Assembly of God requested a restraining order to block a law that permits same-sex couples to enter civil unions. It exempts clergy from performing the ceremonies, which are the equivalent of marriage, but there is no provision to protect church property. They argued that they would face civil penalties and fines if they refused to rent their property for same-sex civil unions, but U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright denied the request.

Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel Action tells OneNewsNow that creates a clear conflict between government and the free exercise of religion.

Matt Barber"There is no exemption for religious institutions, for churches, houses of worship from being subject to fines and to sanctions as provided in the legislation for refusing to allow their houses of worship to be desecrated through the use of a so-called 'civil union' ceremony," he explains.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Civil Unions, Hawaii, Law, Religious Liberty | Comments (39)

First Rasmussen Post-Iowa Poll: Romney 29, Santorum 21, Gingrich 16

January 5, 2012 – 4:05 pm

A sign of Iowa's effect on national support among GOP primary voters:

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, coming off his photo finish with Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses, is now in second place among Republican voters in the race for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, taken the night after the caucuses, shows Romney again in first place with support from 29% of Likely Republican Primary Voters, followed by Santorum with 21%. -- Rasmussen

Of course, all three are NOM Marriage Pledge signers.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Iowa | Comments Off

Politico: Santorum Raises $1M in First Day

January 5, 2012 – 3:00 pm

Jonathan Martin for Politico:

Rick Santorum has raised just over $1 million since his eight-vote loss in Iowa last night, his top strategist tells POLITICO.

John Brabender, who revealed that their server briefly went down under the crush last night, said almost all of the cash came online.

This is the kind of fund-raising, coming less than 24 hours since the caucuses began, that Santorum will need to ramp up his TV presence and organization.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Iowa | Comments (4)

NRO on Santorum's Speech: "Simply the Best Republican Rhetoric"

January 5, 2012 – 2:30 pm

From former Rep. Atur Davis in NRO:

The case for Rick Santorum — and yes, at this juncture, that phrase still feels weird — is that he is a conviction conservative with immigrant, middle-class roots who empathizes with battered places Republicans normally don’t see. If you don’t yet buy it, watch his might-as-well-be-a-victory-speech in Iowa: It was simply the best Republican rhetoric in the last decade.

We've posted Santorum's speech here.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012 | Comments Off

Real Clear Politics: "Santorum May Be the Future of the GOP"

January 5, 2012 – 2:00 pm

Sean Trende, Senior Elections Analyst for Real Clear Politics, notes that Romney was a winner in Iowa (congrats to our Romney fans and colleagues), but he offers this interesting observation:

3. Rick Santorum may well be the future of the Republican Party. While I find it highly unlikely that he’ll be the nominee this time out, there’s a good chance that the Republican coalition will fundamentally change in the next 20 years and move toward Santorum’s style of politics. Twice in a row now, the party has toyed with nominating a candidate who combined social conservatism with economic populism; Santorum’s speech last night was essentially a northern version of a speech Mike Huckabee could have delivered in 2008.

We’ve already seen white working-class voters move toward the Republican Party over the past several decades -- a shift perhaps epitomized by the GOP’s special election victory in New York’s 9th Congressional District. If a more credible Santorum/Huckabee candidate could emerge, the party would reciprocate by moving toward these voters. This would have major implications for our political dynamic, and could deal the Democrats a serious blow in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

On the other hand, the Democrats have been moving toward a top-bottom coalition of “New Economy” professionals and minority voters. A Santorum/Huckabee-esque Republican Party would probably hasten the exit of upscale suburbanites from the Republican coalition, and potentially reinvigorate the New Democrat approach to governing that dominated the party’s politics in the ’90s.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012 | Comments Off

Cato Institute v. Santorum

January 5, 2012 – 1:30 pm

The Cato Institute (which mostly favors gay marriage) sharpens their attacks on Santorum. Fair enough. It's a horse race. But we were struck by this sentence in Michael Tanner's essay:

"After all, the Tea Party and 2010 elections were largely about economic issues and the desire to limit the size, cost, and intrusiveness of government. And those issues are not Santorum’s strong suit."

Who won Tea Party voters in Iowa would you guess?

Yup, Santorum snagged more of their votes than any other candidate, according to this CNN entrance poll.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Iowa | Comments (3)

George Will on Santorum: Suddenly, a Fun Candidate

January 5, 2012 – 1:00 pm

He writes in the Washington Post:

...Rick Santorum has become central because Iowa Republicans ignored an axiom that is as familiar as it is false: Democrats fall in love, and Republicans fall in line. Republicans, supposedly hierarchical, actually are — let us say the worst — human. They crave fun. Supporting Mitt Romney still seems to many like a duty, the responsible thing to do. Suddenly, supporting Santorum seems like a lark, partly because a week or so ago he could quit complaining about media neglect and start having fun, which is infectious.

... White voters without college education — economically anxious and culturally conservative — were called “Reagan Democrats” when they were considered only seasonal Republicans because of Ronald Reagan. Today they are called the Republican base.

Who is more apt to energize them: Santorum, who is from them, or Romney, who is desperately seeking enthusiasm?

By NOM Staff | Posted in Same Sex Marriage | Comments Off

"Santorum is Poised to Win South Carolina"

January 5, 2012 – 12:30 pm

The Charlotte Observer:

Rick Santorum has lagged near the bottom of the pack in South Carolina, mired below 3 percent in most polls.

That's despite the fact that he's spent more time in the state than any of his Republican presidential rivals.

But since he virtually tied former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, Santorum's South Carolina backers expect those numbers to climb.

"There are two viable candidates coming out of Iowa, that's Romney and Santorum," said former U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett of Westminster, Santorum's state chairman. "Santorum is poised to win South Carolina."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, South Carolina | Comments Off

Brian Brown: What do the Iowa Caucuses Tell Us?

January 5, 2012 – 12:00 pm

Our President Brian Brown posting at NRO's The Corner blog:

The thing that should be clear to observers of the Iowa caucuses is that social conservatives remain a critical component of the conservative movement. It’s been said that there are three legs of the conservative stool: economic conservatives, social conservatives, and national-security conservatives. But many in the elite, including some in the GOP elite in Washington, have been working hard to dismiss the importance of social conservatism. Iowa reminds us that this is a losing strategy for the Republican party.

I attended the Waterloo caucus and listened to people talk in the crowd and the candidates’ representatives make their final pitches. Virtually every one of the representatives spoke of their candidate’s solid commitment to social conservatism — support for life from conception to natural death and a fervent commitment to marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Certainly Rick Santorum’s meteoric rise in Iowa is due in large part to his consistent championing of social-conservative issues, especially life and marriage.

Ron Paul’s representative didn’t mention his views on marriage, and no wonder. His position on marriage is far out of the mainstream of Republican beliefs — not only has he said “sure” to gay marriage, he actually has advocated abolishing civil marriage altogether. Ron Paul was expecting to win Iowa, but he finished third. His failure to recognize and support the fundamental, foundational importance of marriage is a big reason for that. NOM ran television and online ads, launched tens of thousands of robo-calls, and mounted grassroots activities with our thousands of supporters in the state.

Social conservatives were heard from in Iowa. They propelled Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney — who along with Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Michele Bachmann signed NOM’s marriage pledge — to the front of the pack, and sent an important message to Ron Paul.

Iowa reminded the GOP elite that supporting marriage is a winning issue. Marriage won in Iowa, just as it has won in 31 of 31 state elections.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Same Sex Marriage | Comments (1)

Democrat Party Head: Marriage Amendment Would be "Un-American and Un-Democratic"

January 5, 2012 – 11:00 am

A reporter caught up with DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Iowa and asked her to respond to the fact that Rick Santorum supports a Federal Marriage Amendment.

She responded: "That would be unamerican, undemocratic and entirely unappropriate and unacceptable."

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Iowa, Marriage Election Watch, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (27)

Brian Brown Promises: Washington State Will Fight to Protect Marriage

January 5, 2012 – 10:30 am

Our President Brian Brown interviewed by Reuters in response to the news that Gov. Gregoire is supporting redefining marriage through the legislature:

...Brian Brown, president of the 800,000-member Washington, D.C.-based National Organization for Marriage, told Reuters his nonprofit group would lobby against gay marriage in Washington state.

"The people of this country believe that marriage is a union of a man and a woman," Brown said in a telephone interview. "I expect the legislature in Washington state will stand up for this commitment and vote to protect marriage."

Republican state lawmakers also criticized Gregoire's gay marriage proposal as a potential diversion from Washington's $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Republican state Senator Dan Swecker called the move "bad timing and a bad idea."

Gregoire, a Catholic, has not always been a public supporter of gay marriage, but moved the issue to the fore in May 2009 when she signed a bill granting domestic partners the same rights as married couples so long as they did not conflict with federal law. Voters narrowly approved the measure in a referendum later in the year.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Same Sex Marriage, Washington | Comments (2)

The Daily: Santorum's "Killer App" is Marrying Economics to Moral Values

January 5, 2012 – 10:00 am

Jonathan Last at the new web-only publication The Daily writes about the Santorum surge for a tech-friendly audience:

On Dec. 20, Rick Santorum polled at 5 percent in Iowa, placing him ahead of only the MIA Jon Huntsman in the state. Although Mitt Romney officially won the contest, Santorum captured 25 percent of caucus voters last night, essentially tying the “inevitable” Romney. Santorum came from further behind, faster, than anyone in caucus history. It was Rudy, Hoosiers, and the Miracle on Ice, rolled into one — the biggest electoral upset in modern primary politics.

And despite what some of the spinners are selling, the entire race is changed. Let’s work our way around the horn.

Rick Santorum: No money, no organization, no compelling personal story or shtick, Santorum surged by doing two things: He sold a vision of the country that embraced the culture war and conservative values and he formulated a populist economic plan that offered a different twist on the small-government line being taken by the rest of the field. And the real killer app was that Santorum found a way to marry his economics to family-formation and middle class mores.

The received wisdom is that Santorum can’t be a factor going forward, but it’s not clear why that’s true. He has a message. He connects with voters. Look at the exit polls and it’s clear that conservatives, evangelicals and tea party voters like him.

By NOM Staff | Posted in Election Watch 2012, Iowa | Comments (1)

A Hard-Left Case Against Gay Marriage

January 5, 2012 – 9:00 am

A lament against the domestication of "gayness" with an acute awareness that gay marriage is not just an individual right, but a social change:

"...Certainly, there were always members of the gay community who would rather not have borne the burden of existential difference, who would rather have stayed who they were while seeing society change in such a way that who they are might be allowed to count as normal. The domestication of same-sex desire is surely a good thing for these people. But their individual advantage does not mean that the world as a whole is not losing something, and it has been one of the great fallacies of the liberal defenders of gay marriage to assume that what is good for any given individual is for that very reason good for society. The loss we have in fact suffered is one akin to the loss of some mighty species of wild boar as it is bred downward into a fat, ugly, lazy, edible pig; or to the move of indigenous Amazonians from the rainforest into squalid urban slums."

Some interesting observations on how as marriage came to be seen as about love and the source of all happiness, it also came to be seen as work. Just as work is now suppose to reflect an urgent and creative passion:

"What is more difficult to understand, and what seems to invite only controversial theses, is the question of why the conception of marriage as love, on the one hand, and as work on the other, emerged together in the modern era. Some have argued that it was precisely the expectation that marriage should be sustained by love that brought the institution to a crisis, and brought us to a situation more absurd than Shaw could have imagined, where couples are expected to work in order to preserve themselves in the exhausting and abnormal condition in which they started out."

The author, a professor of philosophy at Concordia University in Montreal, attributes this to the capacity of capitalism to domesticate all other ways of being.

By Maggie Gallagher | Posted in Culture, Marriage, Same Sex Marriage | Comments (4)

WaPo: Santorum Wants Tax Code to Reward Marriage and Families

January 5, 2012 – 8:30 am

Suzy Khimm of the Washington Post's Wonk Blog:

Rick Santorum’s socially conservative brand has helped him break through with a last-minute surge in Iowa. But his agenda isn’t restricted to reimposing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,”outlawing gay marriage nationwide, or promoting prayer in public schools. Santorum also wants to use the federal tax incentives to promote traditional marriage and families.

“Tax policy as social policy” is the most distinguishing characteristic of Santorum’s tax reform platform. The Pennsylvania Republican wants to reduce taxes by tripling the child tax credit, which currently stands at $1,000 per child. Santorum also wants to reduce federal taxes that penalize married couples. Under the current tax code, some spouses who earn about the same salary on the middle-to-upper end of the spectrum pay more in taxes by filing jointly as a married couple than they would as individuals. Justin Wolfers explains further: “The U.S. has a household-based taxation system which subsidizes married families when one person stays home and taxes most people extra if they choose to marry and both work full-time. The average tax cost of marriage for a dual-income couple is $1,500 annually.”