Glenn Beck Defends Gay Marriage: Republicans Need To 'Expand Our Own Horizon'

Business Insider ^ | 12/11/2012 | Grace Wyler

[SeekAndFind]

Conservative firebrand Glenn Beck has joined a growing chorus of Republican commentators in defending gay marriage, laying out a strong case for ending government opposition to letting same-sex couples wed.

"Let me take the pro-gay marriage people and the religious people — I believe that there is a connecting dot there that nobody is looking at, and that's the Constitution," Beck said during a recent segment of his online talk show. "The question is not whether gay people should be married or not. The question is why is the government involved in our marriage?"

While Beck's defense of gay marriage may seem surprising, given his far-right political views and audience, it is actually not new. Earlier this year, Beck said that he has the "same opinion on gay marriage as President Barack Obama" and does not see same-sex unions as a "threat to America."

Still, Beck's public renewal of his support for gay marriage comes at a politically significant moment for the GOP, which is working to reshape its message to appeal to a changing electorate. A Gallup survey released last week found that 53 percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing gay marriage, a number that has been steadily growing for the past decade.

Moreover, by couching his support for gay marriage in a libertarian framework, Beck makes the case for the right to look past differences on social issues in order to broaden their coalition to include all limited government conservatives.

"What we need to do, I think, as people who believe in the Constitution, is to start looking for allies who believe in the Constitution and expand our own horizon," Beck said. "We would have the ultimate big tent."

[C. Edmund Wright]

You just undid three years of mutual respect. Bye

[C. Edmund Wright]

Please don’t post to me anymore. I am not reading a word of it, and I don’t want the pings.

[P-Marlowe]

Please don’t post to me anymore. I am not reading a word of it, and I don’t want the pings.

I think it is pretty obvious that you didn't read any of them anyway.

Merry Christmas.

Thanks for the interesting exchange.

BTW, Since you hate attorneys so much perhaps you might want to participate in our thread hijacking. To participate on this thread you must post some lawyer joke. I'm sure you have a lot of them saved up. You may even know one or more that I've never heard. Now is your time to free them from your mind's endless repertoire.

[xzins]

Oh, C’mon, CEW. I gave you the first round. If you’d get back on your logic game, you’d score. At this point, though, Marlowe’s the one playing the rational card, and you are clearly on defense.

There are those of us on FR who’ve known each other for pushing a decade or more. Marlowe is a survivor of the dreaded Calvin Wars on the religion forum of ca. 2000-2006.

[P-Marlowe]

There are those of us on FR who’ve known each other for pushing a decade or more. Marlowe is a survivor of the dreaded Calvin Wars on the religion forum of ca. 2000-2006.

FIWI, CEW is a newbie. He wasn't around for the Cal/Arm wars. The blood from that battlefield has long since fertilized fields of colorful and delicate flowers.

I do miss those days. I learned so much bashing swords with the GRPL's. I think we should have all been given doctorates in theology after the wars died down. There are a lot of really smart people on this forum. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to go toe to toe with all of them.

Now post a lawyer joke or I will exercise my authority as Lord Protector and....... I will do... something.

[xzins]

A North Carolina man was on the top of the world, a self-proclaimed smart guy who made money by finding the loopholes in laws. He bought a $15,000 box of vintage imported cigars and took out an insurance policy, just like he did for his other valuables, protecting them against hazards, including fire. Once he finished smoking the two dozen cigars in the box, he filed an insurance claim, stating that the cigars had been "consumed" by fire.

The insurance company took him to court but was ordered to pay the man his claim because his policy did not specify the exact nature of fire it covered or excluded. The man jauntily stepped into the bank with his check. However, the moment he cashed it, he was arrested, charged, and convicted of twenty-four counts of arson — one for each cigar. Unable to find a loophole, he was sent to prison for two years, where he met his demise in an argument over a book of matches.

(Now to ruin the story: Snopes declares it "False" and an urban legend.)

They do, however, post a link to country singer, Brad Paisley, who turned the story into a song.

"The Cigar Song"

Well I'm a sucker for fine Cuban cigars
The problem is I can't afford 'em
But last year I went and got myself a whole box
And just to be safe I insured 'em

[Chorus]
I took out a policy against fire and theft
And then I hurried home
With a fifty-cent lighter I sat on my back steps
And I smoked 'em one by one

Two weeks later I went to see that insurance man
And I handed in my claim
With a straight face I told him that through a series of small fires
They'd all gone up in flames

[2nd Chorus]
They reviewed my case and they had no choice
But to pay me for what I'd done
And I took that check and bought a whole new box
And I smoked 'em one by one

Two weeks later this detective shows up
Tells me that company's pressin' charges
One speedy trial later they locked me up
On twenty-four separate counts of arson

[3rd Chorus]
And now I sit and I stare at a blank brick wall
Lookin' back on what I've done
To pass the time I've got some ten-cent cigars
And I smoke 'em one by one
Yeah, I smoke 'em one by one

And here's the YouTube link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoBmCl-q_54

[xzins]

5.A lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates. To his dismay, there were thousands of people ahead of him in line to see St. Peter.

To his surprise, St. Peter left his desk at the gate and came down the long line to where the lawyer was, and greeted him warmly. Then St. Peter and one of his assistants took the lawyer by the hands and guided him up to the front of the line, and into a comfortable chair by his desk.

The lawyer said, “I don’t mind all this attention, but what makes me so special?”

St. Peter replied, “Well, I’ve added up all the hours for which you billed your clients, and by my calculation you must be about 193 years old!”

[sauropod]

That’s funny raght thar.

[xzins]

A certain lawyer was quite wealthy and had a summer house in the country, to which he retreated for several weeks of the year. Each summer, the lawyer would invite a different friend of his to spend a week or two up at this place, which happened to be in a backwoods section of Maine. On one particular occasion, he invited a Czechoslovakian friend to stay with him. The friend, eager to get a freebee off a lawyer, agreed.

Well, they had a splendid time in the country, rising early and living in the great outdoors. Early one morning, the lawyer and his Czechoslovakian companion went out to pick berries for their morning breakfast. As they went around the berry patch, gathering blueberries and raspberries in tremendous quantities, along came two huge bears, a male and a female. The lawyer, seeing the two bears, immediately dashed for cover. His friend, though, wasn’t so lucky, and the male bear reached him and swallowed him whole.

The lawyer ran back to his Mercedes, tore into town as fast has he could, and got the local backwoods sheriff. The sheriff grabbed his shotgun and dashed back to the berry patch with the lawyer.

Sure enough, the two bears were still there. “He’s in *that* one!” cried the lawyer, pointing to the male, while visions of lawsuits from his friend’s family danced in his head. He just had to save his friend. The sheriff looked at the bears, and without batting an eye, leveled his gun, took careful aim, and shot the female.

“Whatdya do that for!” exclaimed the lawyer, “I said he was in the other!”

“Exactly,” replied the sheriff, “and would _you_ believe a lawyer who told you that the Czech was in the male?”

[xzins]

WASHINGTON STATE ATTORNEY SEASON AND BAG LIMITS

1300.01 General

1.Any person with a valid Washington State hunting license may harvest attorneys.
2.Taking of attorneys with traps or deadfalls is permitted. The use of currency as bait is prohibited.
3.Killing of attorneys with a vehicle is prohibited. If accidentally struck, remove dead attorney to roadside and proceed to nearest car wash.
4.It is unlawful to chase, herd, or harvest attorneys from a snow machine, helicopter, or aircraft.
5.It shall be unlawful to shout “whiplash”, “ambulance”, or “free Perrier” for the purpose of trapping attorneys.
6.It shall be unlawful to hunt attorneys within 100 yards of BMW dealerships.
7.It shall be unlawful to use cocaine, young boys, $100 bills, prostitutes, or vehicle accidents to attract attorneys.
8.It shall be unlawful to hunt attorneys within 200 yards of courtrooms, law libraries, whorehouses, health spas, gay bars, ambulances, or hospitals.
9.If an attorney is elected to government office, it shall be a felony to hunt, trap, or possess it.
10.Stuffed or mounted attorneys must have a state health department inspection for AIDS, rabies, and vermin.
11.It shall be illegal for a hunter to disguise himself as a reporter, drug dealer, pimp, female legal clerk, sheep, accident victim, bookie, or tax accountant for the purpose of hunting attorneys.

Bag Limits

1. Yellow Bellied Sidewinder 2

2. Two-faced Tort Feasor 1

3. Back-stabbing Divorce Litigator 4

4. Big-mouthed Pub Gut 2

5. Honest Attorney EXTINCT

6. Cut-throat 2

7. Back-stabbing Whiner 2

8. Brown-nosed Judge Kisser 2

9. Silver-tongued Drug Defender $100 BOUNTY

10. Hairy Civil Libertarian 7

[xzins]

A man walked into a bar with his alligator and asked the bartender, “Do you serve lawyers here?”.

“Sure do,” replied the bartender.

“Good,” said the man. “Give me a beer, and I’ll have a lawyer for my ‘gator.”

[P-Marlowe]

A local United Way office realized that the organization had never received a donation from the town's most successful lawyer. The person in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute.

"Our research shows that out of a yearly income of at least $500,000, you give not a penny to charity. Wouldn't you like to give back to the community in some way?"

The lawyer mulled this over for a moment and replied, "First, did your research also show that my mother is dying after a long illness, and has medical bills that are several times her annual income?"

Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbled, "Um ... no."

The lawyer interrupts, "or that my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair?"

The stricken United Way rep began to stammer out an apology, but was interrupted again.

"or that my sister's husband died in a traffic accident," the lawyer's voice rising in indignation, "leaving her penniless with three children?!"

The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, said simply, "I had no idea..."

On a roll, the lawyer cut him off once again, "So if I don't give any money to them, why should I give any to you?"

[P-Marlowe]

****Yours, as usual, were contentless and mere vehicles for your vanity and bile.*****

Hey LJ, here are just a few CEW gems he has posted to fellow freepers like you and me just in the last day:

***************

Your desire must be to demonstrate your blithering ignorance, and your lack of reading comprehension, and on that you succeeded.

But now I also agree that you are a phariseeical jerk.

No, what it means is that I am intelligent enough to understand that this issue is not a two sided issue - and you are not.

You are so phariseeical and shallow that your brain cannot contemplate that.

I am really beginning to loathe the self righteous phariseeical legalistic fundamentalist big government jerks - who are under the ignorant spell that being the most stridently extreme on social issues is the definition of conservative. It is not. Ansel, you have a very demented and wrong definition of what being “to the right” means. Not only that, but you have a very shallow way of analyzing what is going on.

This leaves you a judgmental, yet unintelligent, purveyor of your ideas.

The only thing that angers me is a combination of ignorance, arrogance, and self righteousness. Not righteousness mind you, but SELF righteousness. This ticks me off regardless of the underlying issue.

Another thing is poor reading comprehension, which you also have, if you think I laid it to social conservatism. I did no such thing.

And yes, you are guilty of all four problems that irritate me.

Let me try and help you out with your obvious problem with reading comprehension.

You really can’t read at all, can you. I mean seriously, you can’t comprehend two or three words in sequence and figure out what they mean when you get to the end.

I can’t write slow enough for you to keep up.

he has a serious comprehension deficiency, made worse by a paranoid streak, all made more obnoxious by a self righteous attitude.

Go take some serious remedial reading lessons. And I’m now done with you til you can show me a certification of 8th grade comprehension or better.

No, you didn’t. Further, you put more words into my mouth to fit your paranoid self righteousness. Actually, I don’t even think you are trying any more.

Figures you’d be a lawyer. That entire profession is unable to read anything except through the obtuse world of left brained, type B, bureaucratic filters to the point that the gist is always missed. So I’ll amend 8th grade comp and change it to hyper literalism to the point of misconstruction and non sequential interpretation. When this mixes with your paranoia and your self righteouness, your fantasies include all kinds of evil subversive imaginations that have no root in reality.

I can tell I’ve stumbled into a butt boy parade.

***********************

Nothing like ad hominem attacks from self promoting pseudo intellectuals to keep the threads lively, eh, LJ?

BTW you haven’t posted a lawyer joke yet. Get with the program.

[little jeremiah]

LOL! My kind of joke, simple.

[little jeremiah]

Wow! Those comments were all from today!!!??

I think he needs to start smoking weed, and I am totally serious.

Here’s my only lawyer joke; I am very bad at knowing any jokes.

Q: What do you say when a bus full of lawyers drives off a cliff while on the winding Coast Highway. into the deep ocean?

A: A good start.

[ansel12]

You missed his post 204, it was a doozy of rage and foulness, it was a tirade about me that the moderators removed, I think post 191 (removed) was one of his directed at me also.

The homosexual agenda has a few dedicated supporters here.

[P-Marlowe]

You missed his post 204, it was a doozy of rage and foulness, it was a tirade about me that the moderators removed, I think post 191 (removed) was one of his directed at me also.

Yes his posts have been.... interesting. It seems to me that Mr. CEW cannot countenance anyone who isn't as intelligent as he thinks he is, and that would include everyone on the planet except him.

I've looked over his posts for the last few months out of curiosity and I've noticed one very interesting thing about them. He really doesn't have much to say about anything. He has a short fuse, however, when he is challenged on any point and his reaction to anyone who disagrees with one of his points is to accuse that person of either having a reading comprehension problem (like he did to you and me) or accuse us of being stupid or deliberately ignorant.

I guess he thinks he is better than most, if not all of us knuckle dragging freepers.

I get the feeling he probably dresses better than we do. I picture him with a pipe, a bow tie, a corduroy jacket with elbow patches and a carnation in his lapel with reading glasses at the end of his long nose and a permanent frown glued to his countenance.

Now you can't leave the thread until you post a lawyer joke. This thread has been hijacked and them's the rules.

[little jeremiah]

I picture him weighing 400 pounds. All brain, of course.

[ansel12]

I vote that we all just post various truths about lawyers, but out of politeness, pretend that they are jokes.

[GOPJ]

How about marriage between brother and sister? Or one man and four women?