Patriotism and the same-sex marriage amendment
Posted at 11:29 AM on August 21, 2012
by Bob Collins
(21 Comments)
Filed under: Politics
The "I'm not saying, I'm just saying" style of commentary does not lend itself well to Twitter. Just ask Sen. Dan Hall who tweeted this last night...
Why is it you never see an American flag where you see a Vote No for the Mn
— Dan Hall (@SenatorDanHall) August 20, 2012#Marriage Amendment sign?#mngop twitter.com/SenatorDanHall...
The insinuation is pretty clear although in the aftermath of some reaction -- even within his own party -- the senator went literal with the explanation.
His defense is that he didn't actually say people who are against the same-sex marriage ban aren't patriotic.
— Dan Hall (@SenatorDanHall) August 21, 2012
@johnkriesel Everyone seems touchy when I give them my observation. U read into it what U want, but no one is calling anyone unpatriotic.
Comments (21)
That's one for the text books Dan Hall. Yes, a clear insinuation then a "hey why get so touchy!" response. I'm guessing by 2pm the tweet will be deleted and we'll have a non-pology "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" type of thing.
Better yet, he used the #mngop hashmark.
Funny that his campaign motto is "Faith. Family. Freedom". Apparently, "freedom" only applies to people he deems worthy of it.
Not insinuating anything there. Just an "observation".
I'm assuming some reporters are asking Dan Hall what he thinks the answer to the question in his tweet is. That should clear things up if all these touchy people have read something into his harmless observation.
It's like high school, but it's our State reps..
Wow.
Why are we in this basket and why is it so warm?
Good idea, Chris. I've emailed Mr. Hall to see what his answer is. If he answers, I'll post it here.
"Mr. Hall -- You asked a question that I don't know the answer to. Please answer it for me. Why DO you never see an American flag where you see a Vote No for the MN Marriage Amendment sign? Thanks. --Jeff"
And why are there so few Vote Yes signs? I've seen one, and now I have to go back and see if its good buddy the American flag is there.
Reminds me of another, but more famous, MN Republican.....
"I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under Democrat President Jimmy Carter. And I’m not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it is an interesting coincidence"
The voters will decide on both the fate of the Marriage Amendment and Senator Hall on the same day in November. Please don't forget to vote. You can't miss the polling places -- each one has an American flag displayed at the entrance.
Just a reminder that is currently is, and will continue to be regardless of the results in November, against the law for anyone but one man and one woman to marry each other. People who are opposed to two people of the same gender getting married can still hold true to their beliefs and vote NO in November. A NO vote is not a vote for gay marriages - it is a vote against changing the state Constitution. Not voting is the same as voting "yes", I believe.
// Not voting is the same as voting "yes", I believe.
Not voting (not showing up at the polls) has no impact on the vote.
Not voting on the question while submitting a ballot is the same as voting "no." To hold sway, the "yes" side needs a majority of the total votes cast in the election, not the majority of votes cast on the question.
Good points Jeff - but under votes (not filled out ) on the Constitution count as NO.
Have Mr. Dan Hall come and see me, I'll show him the Bronze Star and Purple Heart that allow him to say these things. Then he can hold the flag flown over the Arizona on our son's behalf, and the coffin flag and oh so much more.
Jeff Wilfahrt, father of CPL Andrew Wilfahrt, 552nd MP Company, KIA 2-27-2011, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Should the anus be used as a sex organ? Google First Scandal. When you get there, go to the top of the page and click on "Can you explain..." Please note: this website you reach will be deleted on November 1, 2012.
Why is it that when I see a Republican elected I never see someone who's interested in governing but instead works to make sure government comes to a halt?
Thank you, Jeff and Andrew, for your service to this country and for helping make sure that twits like Mr. Hall have the freedom to say the ill-informed and hateful things that they say.
I've had the dubious privilege of being a constituent of Dan Hall for two years. He is good at patriotic sounding, usually content-free, tweets but his personal conduct doesn't always conform to his statements.
Hall indicts the educational system by telling the story about how he was able to graduate from Minneapolis Roosevelt High School with only a 6th grade reading ability. He is also proud of being an All-American hockey player at Augsburg College.
Hall fails to mention that he never graduated from Augsburg nor how a student with a 6th grade reading ability even got into Augsburg (which coincidentally also exempted him from the 1972 draft - Hall had lottery #23 and everyone below #95 was called for possible induction).
I'm not calling him unpatriotic - to quote Dan Hall "U read into it what U want."
I believe 1972 was the next-to-last lottery. I was #67. Hall was #119 in 1972. He was #23 in the 1971 lottery, which didn't happen until August.
But I'm not sure your cutoff number is correct since only 49,000 people were drafted in 1972. For practical purposes, the draft was pretty much over.
But maybe.
It was a stupid, senseless, and wasteful war and some of the most patriotic people were the ones who protested it. I assume Mr. Hall was not in this group either.
For what it's worth, no flag
Bring Sen. Hall over to our house, where my husband--an Iraq vet--and I hang stars-and-stripes banners on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The banners are located right next to our Minnesota state flag. The flag is located just up the driveway from our Vote No sign.
Maybe we're overcompensating. I like to think we're extra-mega-uber-super patriotic, in case the MN GOP comes a-knockin and wants to see our patriotism cards.
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