* This week, Congresswoman Judy Biggert was asked about her vote for the Paul Ryan budget plan, which Democrats have decried as a radical proposal that would “end Medicare as we know it.” Biggert has always campaigned as a moderate, so this Ryan vote was somewhat out of character for her. Her explanation…
“The Ryan budget is right because it’s a plan. It’s on the table. And let’s, let’s, we have to move ahead, we can’t just sit there and keep on the spending.”
Pro Same-Sex-Marriage PAC Backs Candidate Who Equates Gay Marriage With Bigamy, Polygamy
American Unity PAC, a Republican super PAC aimed at expanding support for same-sex marriage, was announced with great fanfare in June. But it may not be living up to the hype: one of the congressional candidates it’s supporting with hundreds of thousands in TV ads is not only publicly opposed to same-sex marriage, she also just equated the practice with polygamy and bigamy.
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) may not be what the establishment who fawned over American Unity PAC had in mind when the group was announced.
At a press conference after a debate Wednesday night, Biggert explained that she’s “close” to supporting same-sex marriage rights, but is “not there yet.” Then she said the issue is best left to the states, equating same-sex marriage laws with the universally-accepted illegal acts of bigamy and polygamy.
“It is a state issue,” Biggert said. “We don’t have polygamy and bigamy and all of these things in the federal government. It’s the states that take care of that.”
Biggert didn’t “equate” the two issues. Marriage, in all its forms, has historically been regulated by the states. Moderate Republicans have in the past several years opposed federal bans on gay marriage. This isn’t exactly new stuff. It’s only in relatively recent history that a push has been made for a federal law to allow gay marriage at the state level. Biggert says she’s moving in that direction, but is not there yet.
* In other news, Charlie Cook has moved this race from “Tossup” to “Lean Democrat.”
