Courting conservatives.(Insider Report)

"Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage," stated President Bush in his January 20 State of the Union address. Criticizing "activist judges" who "have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives," the president hinted that a constitutional amendment might be necessary to defeat the accelerating campaign to legitimize homosexual "marriage."

Casting the president as the valiant defender of marriage is central to the administration's efforts to retain its Christian Right con stituency. Shortly before the State of the Union address, Bush administration officials announced plans for "an extensive election-year initiative to promote marriage, especially among low-income couples," reported the January 14th New York Times. Administration officials who collaborated with conservative groups to craft the proposal "believed the measure was especially timely because they were lacing pressure from conservatives eager to see the federal government defend traditional marriage, after a decision by the highest court in Massachusetts. The court ruled in November that gay couples had a right to marry under the state's Constitution." A presidential adviser told the Times: "This is a way for the ...