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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Nov. 28, 2006 / 7 Kislev, 5767

Who will protect marriage in 2008?

By Kathryn Lopez


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The 2006 midterm elections may be over, but they are worth taking another look at before we become wedded to the wrong conclusions. Marriage was an issue on the ballot in eight states and was a winning issue in all but one. Voters in Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Colorado, South Dakota and Idaho all voted to protect marriage.


Although some prominent voices have highlighted marriage as a distraction issue that hurt Republicans in the long run, the GOP would be wise not to rush to divorce court.


Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation says: "The recent elections confirm a strong nationwide consensus that favors protecting marriage and opposes its judicial redefinition. The challenge is to translate that political consensus into a constitutional consensus in the face of increased congressional intransigence. The best way to do that is to make sure marriage is not only an issue but also a strategic component in the 2008 electoral map, which now includes the fact that over half of the states have protected marriage in their constitutions."


An embrace of the marriage-protection issue on the right could put Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a good position for the 2008 presidential primaries. As Republican governor of that liberal northeastern state, he's tried pushing back against gay marriage, in the one state where it has — thanks to the courts — become legal.


As his term was winding down post-Election Day, the state legislature there recessed a long-promised constitutional convention until Jan. 2, the last day of the legislative session.


At a subsequent marriage-protection rally on the Massachusetts statehouse steps, Gov. Romney voiced his outrage at legislative complicity in judicial tyranny. He said, "Last week, 109 legislators decided to reject the law, abandon the Constitution, and violate their oath of office. For the Constitution plainly states that when a qualified petition is placed before them, the legislature 'shall' vote. It does not say may vote, or vote if its procedures permit a vote, or vote if there are enough of the members in attendance. It says 'shall' vote."


He continued, "A decision not to vote is a decision to usurp the Constitution, to abandon democracy and substitute a form of what this nation's founders called tyranny, that is, the imposition of the will of those in power, on the people."


In contrast, the incoming Democratic governor, formerly an official in the Bill Clinton administration, has said, "I think the (high court) got it right." Gov.-elect Deval Patrick continued, ''I think all they did was affirm the principle that people come before their government as equals."


At the pre-Thanksgiving week rally in Boston, gay-marriage proponents booed as the Pledge of Allegiance was said and "God Bless America" was sung. It was an appropriate scene. As Maggie Gallagher recently put it on her marriagedebate.com blog: "They want their rights, do they care about yours?" In Massachusetts, the issue of gay marriage has not only been about the marriage issue itself, but also about issues like religious liberties: Can a Catholic group refuse to place children with a gay couple?


And whether he finds himself about to move into the White House two years from now, Romney's already contributed a great deal to the debate over marriage in America with the tone of his principled rhetoric. At a recent evangelical rally, the Mormon took back some of the left's monopoly on "the children." He said, "The price of same-sex marriage is paid by children. Our fight for marriage, then, should focus on the needs of children, not the rights of adults. In fact, as Americans, I believe that we should show an outpouring of respect and tolerance for all people, regardless of their differences or their different choices. We must vigorously reject discrimination and bigotry. We are all G-d's children. He abhors none of us."


Gay marriage isn't an issue most like to have to talk about. Any sense that people are being deprived rights rightfully makes many squeamish. But marriage is fundamentally what it is — between a man and a woman. As Romney put it in a letter to U.S. senators this summer as they were taking up a federal marriage amendment: "Americans are tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement, and we all wish to avoid hurtful disregard of the feelings of others. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage."


If conservatives can articulate that — something kinder and gentler than the caricature of gay-marriage opponents — we may just get somewhere. It's a pretty decent proposal for Republicans.

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