In yesterday's The Fix, Chris Cillizza poses the question: "Is Gay Marriage Still An Issue?"

Hey, let me take this one, Chris: Yes.

But let's back up a bit and see why Cillizza labors over whether or not one of the biggest issues the states are grappling with today is simply a sneaky non-issue in disguise!:

Twin decisions in Iowa and Vermont legalizing gay marriage over the past five days have reinvigorated the debate over same sex unions and raised questions about whether the issue continues to have the same political potency for Republicans as it did as recently as four years ago.

As recently as four years ago? Proposition 8, the legislation that overturned gay marriage in one of the biggest, gayest states in the union, was passed four months ago, dude. But continue:

By and large, however, Republican national leaders—-particularly those running for president—have condemned the recent decisions. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said the "definition of marriage should be left to the people and not to activist courts" while former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) called the decision "outrageously wrong" and said it revealed "judicial arrogance."

Conversations with a handful of high level Republican party strategists, however, produced a far more mixed view of gay marriage as a campaign issue.

Let's pick one of the anonymous GOP sources from the handful who suggests that gay marriage ain't no big thing:

Another Republican consultant said that the issue is a complicated one for GOP candidates in the context of a political campaign. "It's sort of a no-win," said the source. "You often need to be on one side of the issue to win the primary, then you're in trouble for the general."

Who is this consultant, and who is he consulting? No major party candidate—Democrat or Republican—has ever openly supported gay marriage in the primary or the general election. Barack Obama, socialist Democrat/Antichrist, supported civil unions but not gay marriage.

Thankfully, after a long discussion of whether or not this issue is an issue, Cillizza comes around: The issue is, in fact, an issue.

What seems clear is that as gay marriage becomes more prevalent in the country, the issue will almost certainly continue to animate the bases of the two parties—Democrats in support, Republicans in opposition.

Photo by nerdcoregirl.

In a bizarre case of if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em, Howard Ahmanson has jumped GOP ship in favor of joining the Democratic Party. You may remember Ahmanson from when he was the conservative Evangelical mogul who proved instrumental in funding California's Proposition 8. But that was as long ago as last year!

Ahmanson, who "characterizes himself as a social conservative and a fiscal moderate," says he left mostly because he disagreed with the Republicans' mantra of "No new taxes whatsoever no matter what." He does, however:

- oppose abortion and stem-cell research

- still believe that homosexuals are sinners in need of Christian healing

- will support Obama if he does anything that would traditionally be supported by the Republicans.

So why did Ahmanson join the Democrats? Some nonsense about how Independents are "cowards" who are "stereotyped as social liberals and fiscal conservatives," unlike Ahmanson, who is socially conservative and fiscally slightly less conservative.

Plus, it's hilarious! Now that Ahmanson has established himself as a Democrat, he gets to describe himself as "now a blue-dog Democrat for Bobby Jindal for 2012."

Nevermind, I love this dude.

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This time, it's the American Right to Life Action group repeatedly harassing Ann Coulter for her support of Mitt Romney, who is maybe pro-choice and also Mormon! (She gets pissed). This is all still relevant because Romney might come back in 2012 to secure his polygamous alien reign and abort your teenagers, or something.

Topics discussed: Post-election sex, Prop 8, making nice, hugging it out, Larry Summers, innate mathematical ability, Democrats vs. Republicans, girls vs. boys.

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