Who needs The New York Times any more, now that we have Yahoo News? Here are some highlights:
Miss California may have lost her shot at becoming Miss USA after expressing her opposition to same-sex marriage but she’s nevertheless emerged as a star. After getting booed by the beauty pageant crowd and berated by one of the contest judges Sunday, Carrie Prejean is suddenly a conservative sensation, a poster girl for the right who has bloggers, talk show hosts and Republican pols singing her praises. Prejean’s beauty contest saga began Sunday when competition judge and openly gay blogger Perez Hilton asked her if she supports gay marriage.
Hilton later said in a video on his blog that Prejean’s answer did not sink her chances of winning, though his disdain for her was unmistakable.
“She lost not because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage. Miss California lost because she is a dumb [expletive].”
The reaction among conservatives, who embraced Prejean as a martyr for the cause, was equally strong.
Prejean has taken full advantage of her newfound stardom, becoming an almost hourly fixture on cable news—and Donald Trump, the owner of the Miss USA contest, has also fuel the story by throwing his weight behind it in an effort to promote the pageant and himself. Trump is scheduled to appear on Fox News’s “O’Reilly Factor” Thursday night to discuss the controversy.
Conservative blogger Matt Lewis of Townhall.com concluded that Prejean seems destined to turn up on the campaign trail.
No doubt.
But this is a serious issue, is it not?
Should or should not people with same sex attraction enjoy the full fruits of citizenship as people with opposite sex attraction?
Where else should we see one of the central debates of our time played out, if not at the Miss USA pageant?
This cuts right to the heart of our idea of what it means to be a human being in a free society, does it not?
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