Rubio, Rubio, Wherefore Art Thou Rubio? The Non-Romance Of LGBT Equality In The Last Week

Marco Rubio is neither for nor against the LGBT community. But he's definitely for the Christian Right.

Now take deep swig of bottled water and explain all of that to us again, Marco.

Actually, Marco has a problem 'splainin himself to everyone. If ever there was a candidate who looks confused while being "certain", it's Rubio:

With Bob Schieffer:

"I don't believe courts should be making that decision, and I don't believe marriage is a constitutional right," he added. "I also don't believe your sexual preferences are a choice for the vast and enormous majority of people. In fact, the bottom line is that I believe that sexual preference is something that people are born with."

By saying that being gay is not a choice is Rubio giving a hand the the lgbt community?  But yet be says that marriage in itself is not a constitutional right. WTF ? Don't discriminate, but don't give people rights, either.

Oh, but he DID say that he would attend a gay wedding. BFD.
But you can't talk nicey-nice to gays while courting the likes of Tony Perkins.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which lobbies against same-sex marriage, said socially conservative candidates in 2016 will face the challenge of "distinguishing themselves in a crowded field, so there are those who are going to try to solidify support early. Sen. Rubio has hit a stride where he's comfortable talking about these issues, even though some people in his party are not."

So ... in Iowa:

Rubio drew loud applause when he said the institution of marriage consists of one man and one woman.

Scheiffer To The Rescue:

In his appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, anchor Bob Schieffer introduced Perkins by saying “we have been inundated by people who say we should not even let you appear because they, in their view — quote — you don’t speak for Christians.”

The Cordileone Conundrum:

CBS SF reports:

In a written statement, the Archdiocese of San Francisco said other Catholic bishops from around the country will attend the March for Marriage, saying it allows Cordileone to “remain home and attend to the pastoral needs of the Church here at this time.”

Attend to the backlash from parishioners and prominent Catholics, that is. On more than three fronts, Cordileone has shown himself to be the anti-Francis: being divisive, moralizing, and hypocritical. 

“I suspect just because things have heated up so much that he has changed his mind,” said Brian Cahill, a former director of Catholic Charities, who was among about 100 local parishioners signing an ad in The Chronicle last week calling on Pope Francis to replace Cordileone. “Everywhere I go — even at a Catholic Charities fundraiser the other day — I run into people who say, 'How can I sign something like the ad in The Chronicle?’”

The ad Cahill is referring to was an open letter to Pope Francis asking him to remove the Archbishop because his policies were so divisive. That letter - and the resignation of Bishop Finn may have made Cordileone nervous and uncertain about  his own tenure. 

Yet Francis has made no move to censure Cordileone in any way, perhaps because he is afraid of losing the strongest link to America's Christian Right, pro-family sector.

Hate March 2015

"The outpouring of support from the faith and pro-family communities has been amazing, and is a reflection of how important we see this opportunity to demand of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court that they respect our values and our votes in support of preserving marriage as the union of one man and one woman," NOM President Brian Brown said in a statement before Saturday's march.

Amazing support? Do pictures lie? The group below included pro-same-sex marriage advocates. The estimate for the entire crowd: 10,000. Several thousand (mostly bused in for Rueben Diaz) is not terribly "amazing." And while NOM (National Organization for Marriage) has photo-shopped its gatherings to look bigger, this one doesn't seem to fill the Supreme Court mall.

Iowa

WAUKEE, Iowa —Several Republican presidential hopefuls are in the metro for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring Kick-Off event. The GOP contenders will offer their views on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues important to the Christian-Conservative constituency.
Gary Chidester, 65, of Lakesburg, said he had talked to most candidates even before the event, but remained undecided. He was most interested in hearing support for traditional marriage and opposition to abortion rights, adding: “As a Christian, when I’m holding my Bible and the words change in it, I’ll change.”

The people whole clung to their bibles as well were: Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, and Bobby Jindal. Strong supporters of RFRAs, these presidential hopefuls courted the Christian Right.

Marco Rubio was in good (if not entirely supportive) company.