Infinitive Splitter

Oh boy. House Republicans yesterday failed to gather enough votes to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, despite its heretofore-unobvious potential for resolving the conflict in the Middle East:

Another Georgia Republican, Representative Phil Gingrey, said support for traditional marriage “is perhaps the best message we can give to the Middle East and all the trouble they’re having over there right now.”

Fortunately for the republic, they did much better on a vote today to prevent unhinged First-Amendment fanatics from taking “under God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance.  As Dennis Hastert knows, reverting the pledge back to its atheistic, pre-1954 form would go against “America’s founding principles,” like religious establishment.  And pandering to ignorant masses. You say Enlightenment, I say to-mah-to.

Finally, and just as vitally, President Bush today vetoed his first piece of legislation.  After nearly six years of mounting deficits, endless war, more poor, staggering health-care costs, widening income gaps, corruption, corporate malfeasance, and encroached-upon civil liberties, the policy he just can’t abide is the one that might offer hope to victims of spinal-cord injuries.

Already a week to be proud of.

Addendum.  See also, in the Post‘s “under God” story, this unfortunate which clause (emphasis added):

“We are making an all-out assault on the Constitution of the United States which, thank God, will fail,” said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.