Worst web site in world apparently thinks gay marriage should be 'top 3 priority' for next president

Of all the things that demonstrate just how pathetic Washington has become, few resonate more than when you realize some of the people everyone else in Washington takes seriously. And it's hard to think of a better example than The Worst Web Site In The World's Mike Allen, who is regarded by the Beltway crowd as a force of nature, but in fact offers consistently stupid and dishonest tripe that not only tells you nothing, but is designed to leave impressions that are about as far removed from reality as a thing can be.

Mike Allen is a dishonest, substance-averse creep. And it would take nothing less than that very combination to come up with the rot he offered late last week about Ted Cruz. To hear Allen tell it, Cruz goes around telling conservative voters he is going to fight against gay marriage, but in liberal New York he downplays the issue. And all this arises from a "secret recording" someone made at a fundraiser:

The recording was provided to POLITICO by an attendee at the fundraiser, held Dec. 9 at the Sullivan & Cromwell law firm on Madison Avenue. The contribution levels were $10,800 to be on the host committee, $2,700 to attend a VIP reception, and $1,000 for lunch. The donors were generally moderate to liberal on social issues, and largely conservative on fiscal and national-security issues. During the question period, one of the donors told Cruz that gay marriage was one of the few issues on which the two disagreed. Then the donor asked: “So would you say it's like a top-three priority for you — fighting gay marriage?” “No,” Cruz replied. “I would say defending the Constitution is a top priority. And that cuts across the whole spectrum — whether it's defending [the] First Amendment, defending religious liberty.”

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Soothing the attendee without contradicting what he has said elsewhere, Cruz added: “People of New York may well resolve the marriage question differently than the people of Florida or Texas or Ohio. ... That's why we have 50 states — to allow a diversity of views. And so that is a core commitment.”

Now the only way you could conceivably think this is a story is if you regularly read intellectual vomit like Politico. For one thing, no one - not even the biggest gay marriage opponent or those like me who are concerned about the fascism associated with this movement - thinks "fighting gay marriage" should be a "top-three priority" for the president of the United States. That's the dumbest thing I ever heard. What's more, you'd have to be a total moron to think Cruz contradicted himself here. He said the same thing he always says, which is that gay marriage should be a matter for the states to decide. Yes, he disagrees with it as a moral question, but as a policy matter his problem is with the Supreme Court presuming to decide this matter for all 50 states. That's been his position all along. Even Allen isn't quite stupid enough to not understand that, but he finds a clever way to present this as a problem even though he knows it isn't:

In a recording provided to POLITICO, Cruz answers a flat “No” when asked whether fighting gay marriage is a “top-three priority,” an answer that pleased his socially moderate hosts but could surprise some of his evangelical backers. While Cruz’s private comments to a more moderate GOP audience do not contradict what the Republican Texas senator has said elsewhere, they demonstrate an adeptness at nuance in tone and emphasis that befits his Ivy League background. Indeed, the wording looks jarring when compared with the conservative, evangelical rhetoric he serves at his rallies, which have ballooned in size and excitement as he has moved to the front of the pack in Iowa.

What the . . . ? An "adeptness at nuance and tone and emphasis"? The "wording looks jarring"? Only if you're a dishonest clod like Mike Allen who is looking to start a controversy. Ask Cruz's evangelical supporters if they expect him to take some sort of action as president to ban gay marriage. I'm sure there are some who are ignorant enough about the working of government to think that's possible, but most understand entirely that this is not a matter for the president to directly solve. The reason gay marriage argues for a Cruz presidency is that it demonstrates the importance of policies - especially Supreme Court nominations - that demonstrate respect for the Constitution. Do yourself a favor, not only this day but every day of your life. Don't read Politico. The only thing that can happen if you do is that you grow increasingly stupid with every word that invades your brain. If someone absolutely must read what they're writing for the purpose of ripping it to shreds, let Rob and me take those bullets. We get paid for it. Your brain deserves better than exposure to Mike Allen, and Ted Cruz certainly deserves better than to have such a lowlife even mention his name.