Reince Priebus, the Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), yesterday on Meet The Press said that gay people deserve respect — just not from the GOP. Priebus said that marriage is only one-man, one-woman, and while gays “deserve dignity and respect,” the definition of marriage cannot change, and same-sex marriage is not a civil right. That’s not “dignity and respect,” folks.
“Mariage has to have a definition, and we just happen to believe it’s between a man and a woman,” Priebus says. He just “happens to believe” that, so  therefore, millions of gays and lesbians are to be denied their civil rights because the GOP “just happens to believe” something. The only weaker argument Priebus has made was his “war on caterpillars” war on women comment. Priebus actually makes you long for the days of Michael Steele ignorance and stupidity.
Priebus says gay “deserve dignity and respect” but not marriage.
Square that circle.
Now watch this very carefully:
Priebus, who has been caught lying before, couches his comments in the “I believe” context:
“I think that most Americans agree that marriage … has to be between a man and a woman.”
Priebus may think that, just like Priebus may just  “happen to believe” that marriage is ‘between a man and a woman,” but poll after poll after poll shows he’s wrong. We can’t technically say “lying” since he “thinks” this, but we know he’s wrong.
Now, here’s where Priebus gets into big trouble with his GOP fellows.
Pam Spaulding put it well:
I expect that the professional anti-LGBTs will not like what head of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, had to say about employment nondiscrimination and the LGBT community Sunday on Meet the Press. Host David Gregory managed to get a pretty clear declaration that Priebus won’t be about to weasel out of once Bryan Fischer and Tony Perkins blow a gasket:
DAVID GREGORY:
But do you believe that gays and lesbians in America deserve equal rights?REINCE PRIEBUS:
I think they deserve equal rights in regard to, say, discrimination in the workplace, issues such as, as Mitt Romney has pointed out numerous times, hospital visitations. I mean I think that for the sake of dignity and respect, sure. But if you’re defining marriage as a civil right, then no. I don’t believe that people who are same sex should be able to married under our laws.
Let the fight for ENDA begin!
Spaulding also calls Priebus out for his “Jim Crow” comments:
On the matter of marriage equality, Preibus gave some tortuous responses, using predictable “this is the way marriage has always been†and thus it should remain the province of heterosexuals. The other, more offensive defense for institutionalized bigotry is the “Oppression Olympics†argument for supporting a constitutional amendment to bar gays and lesbians from marrying — that this fight for access to marriagedoesn’t rise to the level of civil rights because the LGBT community hasn’t suffered enough violence in order to deserve it.
REINCE PRIEBUS:
I think there’s a big difference between people that have been murdered and everything else that have come with Jim Crow than marriage between a man and a man and a woman and a woman. Here’s what we agree on. Is that people in this country, no matter straight or gay, deserve dignity and respect. However, that doesn’t mean it carries on to marriage. And I think that most Americans agree that in this country the legal and historical and religious union, marriage has to have the definition of one man and one woman.
And let’s just remember, Priebus keeps saying he doesn’t want to talk about LGBT issues. It’s no wonder why.
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