Gov. Corbett: Gay marriage is like marriage of siblings

[pghdude28]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

People always tell me to step out of my "East End Bubble" when I tout our city as being progressive, but the fact remains that nearly 100% of the people I know here in the East End ARE progressives, and we East Enders comprise more than half the city's population. In the Democratic mayoral primary Bill Peduto touted himself as being a "progressive" while his supposedly formidable opponent said he was "still evolving" on issues like same-sex marriage. Guess what? Peduto crushed Wagner by a double-digit margin (including in many areas OUTSIDE the East End). The embarrassing "God, gays, guns" old yinzer types that formerly would have launched Wagner into mayorship are dying off and being replaced by children who, while potentially not "progressive", are certainly much closer to center politically than their parents and who want to see Pittsburgh on the same level as Portland, Austin, Boulder, Asheville, Ann Arbor, Ithaca, Minneapolis, etc. on the national publicity radar to help entice new residents (including entrepreneurs) to move here and continue our renaissance.

I grew up in an upper-middle-class suburb of Scranton, which in and of itself is considered a "Democratic stronghold". It's served as the home at one point or another to PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Vice President Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton, all of whom are progressive Democrats. Nevertheless Pittsburgh blows Scranton out of the water in terms of being forward-thinking and intellectually-enriched. Since the cities are otherwise so comparable in terms of background, history, and composition I often tell people that Pittsburgh is like "Scranton on steroids---while waving a rainbow flag and smoking cannabis instead of beating you over the head with a Bible".

While places like Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Lancaster County, Williamsport, the Central Susquehanna Valley, the Laurel Highlands, the PA Wilds, Cranberry Township, Endless Mountains, etc. may be "clinging to God, gays, guns", I find that there are still plentiful other parts of the state (beyond just Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) that are helping to pull us into the 21st Century. Places like State College, Lewisburg, New Hope, Bethlehem, Milford, Harrisburg, and even Erie. The majority of those "red" areas are declining while the "blue" areas are either stabilizing or growing.

I hope one day we can get out of this red vs. blue mentality. Many of us agree with views on both sides. Is red really a bad thing and is blue a good thing? I think the younger generation is much more moderate and progressive in terms of social issues, putting them more in the "blue" category. However, there is a split in terms of economics, taxes, job growth, and the appropriate size of government. That's where you will see some clinging more to the libertarian wing of the Republican Party.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by pghdude28

I hope one day we can get out of this red vs. blue mentality. Many of us agree with views on both sides. Is red really a bad thing and is blue a good thing? I think the younger generation is much more moderate and progressive in terms of social issues, putting them more in the "blue" category. However, there is a split in terms of economics, taxes, job growth, and the appropriate size of government. That's where you will see some clinging more to the libertarian wing of the Republican Party.

I'm socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I don't believe the Bible has any place in legislative discussion in a nation that isn't a theocracy. Score one for the Democrats. I also don't believe in perpetually spending more money than you earn, building up debt that will have to be paid off by our posterity. Score one for the Republicans. I really don't fit in anywhere. I just wish Republicans would stop being such knuckle-dragging knuckleheads and back off the same-sex marriage fight because I'd probably ally myself to them otherwise. Their party is doomed if they don't back off the "God, gays, guns" mantra because the majority of younger people today (the future electorate) couldn't care less about those things. I happen to like (most) of Governor Corbett's fiscal policy because he's had to make very tough (and unpopular) decisions in terms of spending cuts in order to make us more fiscally-sound. On the other hand when he opens his mouth he perpetuates the "Pennsyltucky" stereotype by comparing my long-term relationship to incest.

[Clint.]

What makes it even more ridiculous is that he apparently thought it was an improvement on the administration's previous analogy, which was comparing two gay adults to two children filing for a marriage license, which, although still somewhat negative at least wasn't completely demeaning.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'm socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

Not a winning strategy, if you were running for office statewide. The real trend is against fiscal conservatives, as the number of recipients of government programs has really gone up in recent years in Pennsylvania.

This is particularly in the center of the state, they reached their economic peaks a hundred or more years ago and are in very long term economic slump. The population in Bradford, PA, e.g., is less now than it was in 1880. There are few African Americans in those areas, because there was little sense in moving to a place during the great migration period, that didn't have much need for labor.

If both parties had the same view of the social issues, and the only differences were fiscal, the Democrats would do a whole lot better and the Republicans wouldn't stand a chance when all the votes were counted.

[JustinCaseIII]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'm socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I don't believe the Bible has any place in legislative discussion in a nation that isn't a theocracy. Score one for the Democrats. I also don't believe in perpetually spending more money than you earn, building up debt that will have to be paid off by our posterity. Score one for the Republicans. I really don't fit in anywhere. I just wish Republicans would stop being such knuckle-dragging knuckleheads and back off the same-sex marriage fight because I'd probably ally myself to them otherwise. Their party is doomed if they don't back off the "God, gays, guns" mantra because the majority of younger people today (the future electorate) couldn't care less about those things. I happen to like (most) of Governor Corbett's fiscal policy because he's had to make very tough (and unpopular) decisions in terms of spending cuts in order to make us more fiscally-sound. On the other hand when he opens his mouth he perpetuates the "Pennsyltucky" stereotype by comparing my long-term relationship to incest.

Anyone who consistently wants to raise taxes is not 'fiscally conservative'.