Ed Thompson Defends Marriage

In fact, he gave a pretty sweet speech on it, so I hear.

From the Capital Times:

Libertarian Ed Thompson, the brother of former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, told a crowd at the 14th annual OutReach awards banquet Friday night that Wisconsin will “draw a line in the sand” in November against prejudice by turning down a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and civil unions.

Thompson, a Tomah City Council member and restaurant owner who ran unsuccessfully for governor, challenged the crowd of about 250 at Monona Terrace to stand up against the “incredible hatred and bias that is ruining our country.”

He also accused politicians and religious leaders of using their power to manipulate people and use gay marriage as a wedge issue to garner votes.

“What happened to the separation of church and state?” he said. “The phonies and hypocrites in office talk about the sanctity of marriage and can’t see the love in this room.”

It’s good to see Libertarians reaching out to minority groups. We need to do more of this. Nobody yearns for liberty more than those who have had it least.

posted Jul 10th, 2006 by Stuart Richards
  • Michael H. Wilson

    Good for Ed.
    M.H.W.

  • Devious David

    Too bad that Christians are the most hate filled and evil people on earth, aside from their radical Muslim counterparts. Thompson is now safe to be hated. The gays that appreciate what he said comprise a whopping 1% of the electorate.

  • IanC

    DD — And yet when they get the ball rolling interesting things happen. lol

    Besides; what most traditionally democratic minorities fail to realize these days is that the democratic party has little interest in promoting them aside from using the “minority card” when it suits their goals.

    I correct myself; reports from this very site indicate that at least on the east coast, blacks are far, far more receptive to LP petitioners than their white counterparts.

    Of course, I also know why there are so few minorities in the LP. We pride ourselves on being the intellectually sound… and traditionally that’s a rather bigotted community. Having stood at gunshow boothes in AZ and watched whom other LP’ers called out to the most — and who they didn’t — there’s a definite melanin count involvement.

    Sadly I’m almost as guilty there. I’d like to say it’s because I cannot stand people who live entrapped by the culture of poverty — color be damned — but how do I *know*?

  • Devious David

    I’ll tell you right now that 100% of my activism outreach is one-on-one. Most of it is with blacks. They are far more receptive than whites and have a lot to add to the discussion.

    My angle is usually based upon how our financial system works. I like to talk about the markets and that’s what I know. Of course, explaining that the Democrats and Republicans are the same party with different uniforms is useful. Explaining the underlying reasons WHY seems to be a point of interest to the people I talk to. Transferring all this into political action is another thing altogether. Talk is cheap as they say.

    This is why the LP needs to take a more liberal, long-term, “movement” type of attitude. Make events oriented towards fun and the consensus interest of reducing government and expounding upon the benefits therein. The LP needs to become the party of empowerment and attitude alone has much to do with it. RLCers put too much emphasis on elections, the emphasis should be on ISSUES.

  • Stuart Richards

    Too bad that Christians are the most hate filled and evil people on earth, aside from their radical Muslim counterparts. Thompson is now safe to be hated. The gays that appreciate what he said comprise a whopping 1% of the electorate.

    Yes, I am a vehement roiling ball of perpetual rage. I despise and loathe pagans with every fiber of my being and I wish they would die.

    …either that or you’re generalizing like a mofo.

  • nemo
  • Devious David

    Yeah, yeah… I generalize often. I assume that libertarians are smart enough to understand when I am doing that. My remarks are not directed at ALL Christians. Just most. If I were as attractive a man, such as say, oh, Ann Coulter, you would probably be complimenting me on my “sharp wit” and whatnot.

    This brings me to my hypothesis of “Two Christianities”, which I may write a book on. It seems there is the true, contextualist libertarian Christianity and then there is the other, mainstream Christianity – the one that doesn’t seem to have a lick of reading comprehension. Which is explained well by understanding that most Americans are Christian and most Americans are educated in government indoctination camps. Thus, we have the mainstream, non-reading comprehension “we wouldn’t know what Jesus taught because it doesn’t suit us and we couldn’t read it anyway”, Jesus wants to bomb your mother Christianity.

  • Julian

    Devious David

    If libertarians are ever successful dismantling the welfare system, who will pick up the slack helping the needy? I guess it won’t be Christians as they have for eons as Christians are “the most hate filled and evil people on earth” to do any good deeds.

    I don’t believe that at all. It used to be the Jews and Christians in this country provided most all charity to those down and out and they still do. Big brother decided they could do the job better by taxing and spending to help the have nots. Be careful because if libertarians are successful in minimizing government, they will need the charitable Jews and Christians to take care of those that cannot take care of themselves.

    We cannot depend on Muslims because their charity does not extend further than to other Muslims. Generally, Jews and Christians do not discriminate based on a belief system when offering charity.

  • vforvandyke

    Julian: From Islamic Relief’s Katrina page:

    Islamic Relief immediately responded to the needs of the victims of Hurricane Katrina ”“ one of the greatest natural disasters in United States history. Islamic Relief has committed $2 million for Katrina relief projects, which include working in the affected areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and assisting evacuees in Houston and Dallas, TX. Islamic Relief’s relief and rehabilitation efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina represented its largest domestic operation in its history.

    I imagine you have a snarky comment at hand about that money only going to gas stations and convenience stores. Save it.

  • Julian

    Stephen Van Dyke

    You left out motels and hotels.