Jeb Bush Accidentally Made a Brilliant Argument Against Anti-Gay “Religious Liberty” Laws

[cbayer]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/05/19/jeb_bush_accidentally_made_a_brilliant_argument_against_anti_gay_religious.html

MAY 19 2015 7:59 AM

By Mark Joseph Stern


Jeb Bush speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua, New Hampshire,April 17, 2015.
Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Jeb Bush has an odd conception of liberty. As governor of Florida, Bush strongly opposed same-sex marriage, preferring to force committed gay couples to live as legal strangers with no ability to formally adopt their own children. As his presidential campaign warms up, though, Bush has taken a selectively expansive view of liberty. According to Bush, anti-gay business owners should have a legal right to refuse service to same-sex couples seeking to celebrate their relationship.

Bush’s support for anti-gay “religious liberty” laws are no surprise—unless you happen to have believed that silly BuzzFeed report that he would be “2016’s gay-friendly Republican.” What is surprising is that Bush framed his endorsement of such laws in a way that beautifully illustrates exactly why the usual argument for such laws is so fatuous. Take a look at his comment:

A big country, a tolerant country, ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating against someone because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs. This should not be that complicated. Gosh, it is right now.

At bottom, Bush is arguing that the law should differentiate between identity and conduct. He believes the state may protect gays from discrimination because they’re gay (identity), but not because they’re celebrating a gay relationship (conduct). Unfortunately for Bush, this argument fails quite spectacularly in the wedding context, because homosexuality is an identity defined by its conduct. To be gay is to be attracted to, and maybe marry, someone of the same sex. There is no more fundamental way to discriminate against a gay person than to refuse to serve them based on the fact that they are marrying someone of the same sex. That conduct is implicit in the gay identity. And by refusing to serve a customer because of his relationship, a business owner is inherently discriminating against him on the basis of his identity.

However, there is a context in which Bush’s identity versus conduct dichotomy works perfectly: religion. Religion includes both faith and exercise—the ability to believe and express faith, and the ability to exercise that faith. Congress originally passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it felt religion couldn’t be protected unless religious conduct, in addition to religious belief, was safeguarded. Bush believes that religious conduct must be protected in order to secure religious freedom. Yet he doesn’t understand that gay conduct (like getting married) must also be protected in order to truly banish anti-gay discrimination.

more at link

[struggle4progress]

2. I doubt Jebbie ever made a brilliant argument, even by accident

[cbayer]

3. Isn't that the truth, but what he did here is not going to please

some of the PTB's.

[struggle4progress]

4. Nobody will care. In deciding whether or not to support a candidate,

the GOP establishment will be interested in whether Bush can produce a viable campaign that will motivate R-leaning voters and whether he will support GOP establishment interests if elected

The question of gay rights excites a part of the R-leaning electorate, and the GOP establishment therefore will pander to bigots so far as that is useful -- but (frankly) it's a fairly cynical move on their part to do so, and a lot of them really don't take it very seriously, beyond that it gets votes from some suckers

Making statements, into which different people can project their own differing views, is a common form of political speech -- and that's all Bush is doing here: those who support discrimination will read this as saying Bush agrees with them; those who want to feel unprejudiced will read this as saying Bush agrees with them

A more detailed analysis of the "ideas" doesn't really provide any information: Stern is just wasting his own brains and breath trying to study the statement

[cbayer]

5. Good points. They may actually see this as an opportunity to move away from

the GLBT battle.

[struggle4progress]

7. Jeb Bush Takes Tougher Stance Against Same-Sex Marriage

Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida hardened his position against same-sex marriage in an interview that aired on Sunday, making clear he did not believe in constitutional protection for gay marriages — an issue now before the United States Supreme Court — and leaving out his past call for “respect” for gay couples ...
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/17/jeb-bush-takes-tougher-stance-against-same-sex-marriage/?_r=0

[cbayer]

8. I think my confusion is a reflection of his confusion at this point, lol.

[struggle4progress]

9. He's not confused about what he's doing. The second set of remarks were made

on the rightwing Christian Broadcasting Network's The Brody File -- so there he was playing straight to the fundamentalists

[cbayer]

10. So what you see him say will be a reflection of where you see him say it.

This is the danger of watching or reading one-sided sources.

[cbayer]

6. Here is an article by Sarah Posner on the same issue

http://religiondispatches.org/jeb-bushs-new-way-of-talking-about-gay-marriage/

I think analyzing his position may merit more attention than you do, but we shall see.

[rock]

11. Very nice

I am particularly drawn by the how gay identity and gay behavior are intertwined and that dumb bush* thinks that they are completely separate concepts!


* I call him that because the other brother (w) isn't smart enough to be called dumb.

[cbayer]

12. It's hard to believe that this country would even consider electing another one.

[safeinOhio]

13. Good news

they won't

[cbayer]

14. I never underestimate the rank stupidity of the american public.

I was in Europe at the time of Bush's re-election. I starting telling people I was from Canada.