Andrew Sullivan and the Buggery Patriots

So he finally did it.  After months of hinting that he’d do so, Andrew Sullivan came out of the closet for John Kerry.  This completes his conversion into what I’ve dubbed a “Buggery Patriot.”  In The Crisis, Thomas Paine spoke of “sunshine patriots” who had abandoned the cause as victory began to appear doubtful.  A “Buggery Patriot” is an individual who believes (or, at least, claims to believe) in the success of the United States of America and its victory in the War on Terrorism but who is also fully willing to abandon the cause to advance the perversion of marriage or, to put it another way, to sanctify buggery under the law. 

I use the word “buggery” advisedly, as it is what we’re really talking about when we’re discussing homosexual marriage (at least, insofar as gay men are concerned). 

Now I know that Andrew Sullivan (and the rest of his lot) has a whole laundry list of complaints about the President.  But, I ask you this: did they view these complaints as sufficient to warrant a break with the President before the issue of gay marriage jumped to the top of the national agenda?  The obvious answer is no.  The even more obvious answer is that they adopted a number of miscellaneous liberal talking points in order to hide the true cause of their defections.

Let’s consider the following scenario.  “Person A” believes that the United States is in a war against monsters who will, if given the chance, murder millions of Americans.  Further, be believes that the incumbent President is the man to take this war to the enemy.  Then the President takes a position on a social issue (any social issue) the opposite of that held by Person A.  Afterwards, Person A violently attacks the President over their position on said social issue and, all of a sudden, is a supporter of the President’s opponent, an individual who they’ve already declared is unfit to wage the war in which Person A formerly believed.  What are we to conclude from all of this? 

Well, let’s review a little but of what Andrew Sullivan had to say about John Kerry before the gay marriage issue arose in earnest:

“Here's the choice we may face in November.  It's how John Kerry understands the threat of terrorism…. Back to the 1990s or post-9/11 Bush. Law enforcement versus war. It's a clear and important distinction. Let's put it at the center of this debate, where it belongs.”
-Andrew Sullivan, January 30th 2004

“Noam Scheiber unearths two constituent letters John Kerry wrote before the first gulf War. Kerry's position? Pro and anti. Just like this time. Can you imagine if he actually has to make a call as president?”
-Andrew Sullivan, January 29th, 2004

So, what changed?  The war certainly didn’t change: we’ve made the transition in Iraq and we appear to be on the way forward.  The terror threat remains.  So what changed?  In a word: buggery.  The President began to speak out more strongly on the gay marriage issue, so Sullivan bolted.

What does this mean?  One thing is obvious: it means that, to Andrew Sullivan, gay marriage is more important than winning the War.  That says something important.