Outside the Beltway

Outside the Beltway

Laura Bush Asks To Be Removed From Same-Sex Marriage Ad

Doug Mataconis
15

As I noted yesterday, a group in favor in same-sex marriage had come out with an ad featuring several prominent Republicans endorsing same-sex marriage, including former First Lady Laura Bush. Today, Mrs. Bush asked to be removed from the ad:

A pro-gay marriage group says it’s “sorry” Laura Bush wishes to be removed from its $1 million pro-gay marriage ad campaign that launched nationally this week on TV, in newspapers and online.

The former first lady’s spokeswoman said the Respect for Marriage Coalition, co-chaired by the Human Rights Campaign, did not ask permission to use a clip of her 2010 interview with Larry King saying, “When couples are committed to each other and love each other, then they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has.” The coalition says it appreciates Mrs. Bush’s remarks on the subject but will “now move to new and different voices,” and will begin running a new ad this weekend.

Currently, Mrs. Bush’s sound bite is featured in the ad along with clips of past administration officials of former President George W. Bush – who opposed gay marriage efforts during his time in the White House – voicing support for same-sex marriage, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Remarks from President Obama are also incorporated.

Mrs. Bush “did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated with the group that made the ad in any way,” the former first lady’s spokeswoman Anne MacDonald said in a statement, according to the Dallas Morning News. “When she became aware of the advertisement last night, we requested that the group remove her from it.”

To their credit, the group announced today that they were pulling the ad containing Mrs. Bush from circulation. I don’t think this is an indication that the former First Lady has changed her mind on same-sex marriage. Instead, I’d say it’s a reflection of the fact that, like her husband, she has largely retired from the “business” of politics.

Here’s the ad for those who missed it:

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15 responses to “Laura Bush Asks To Be Removed From Same-Sex Marriage Ad”

  1. James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb) Avatar
    James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb)

    To their credit, the group announced today that they were pulling the ad containing Mrs. Bush from circulation.

    To their credit?

    Spineless, man, spineless.

    did not ask permission to use a clip of her 2010 interview with Larry King

    I’d check with my lawyer, but I’m pretty sure it’s not Laura Bush who’d give the okay on the clip. And there’s also fair use considerations.

    I’d blow a big ole raspberry in Mrs. Bush’s general direction.

  2. swbarnes2 Avatar
    swbarnes2

    It doesn’t matter what’s really in her heart. She explicitly withdrew from supporting fairness and equality. She’s a Republican, it shouldn’t be news when a Republican First Lady declines to support a policy that the Republican platform strongly opposes.

    Next you are going to tell us that Bob McDonnell won’t be quoted in these ads either, right? What a shocker.

    1. Doug Mataconis Avatar
      Doug Mataconis

      She didn’t want her likeness used in an ad from a group she’s not affiliated with. I find nothing to criticize about that.

  3. James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb) Avatar
    James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb)

    @Doug Mataconis: It’s not that simple and you know it. That you find nothing to criticize in your over-simplified version of it is not surprising.

  4. Stonetools Avatar
    Stonetools

    I wonder if Doug, who expresseses support for gay rights and reproductive rights, will ever explain his vote for Governor Transvaginal Gay Hatred.

    Oh well, I expect him to vote for Cuchineli in due course, all the while swearing his support for gay rights and women’s rights.

  5. mantis Avatar
    mantis

    I don’t think this is an indication that the former First Lady has changed her mind on same-sex marriage. Instead, I’d say it’s a reflection of the fact that, like her husband, she has largely retired from the “business” of politics.

    How generous of you. All I see is cowardice.

    @Stonetools:

    Oh well, I expect him to vote for Cuchineli in due course, all the while swearing his support for gay rights and women’s rights.

    Of course. Libertarians and retired Republicans will profess their support for equality, but they won’t do one substantive thing to support it, and will in fact vote against it at nearly every turn through their representatives. Their support means nothing.

  6. swbarnes2 Avatar
    swbarnes2

    @Stonetools:

    I wonder if Doug, who expresseses support for gay rights and reproductive rights, will ever explain his vote for Governor Transvaginal Gay Hatred.

    Oh well, I expect him to vote for Cuchineli in due course, all the while swearing his support for gay rights and women’s rights.

    I don’t think this framing is quite right. It’s not just about what Doug feels in his heart, or says. It’s about the effects his actions, actions like voting, have. Doug supports anti-gay bigotry with his votes, no matter what he does with his mouth.

  7. An Interested Party Avatar
    An Interested Party

    Terribly ironic considering what Jon Huntsman has just done…I wonder when most conservatives will turn around on this issue like they did with the Civil Rights Movement…well, those that actually did turn around anyway…they really need to realize that they are on the losing side of history…

  8. Timothy Watson Avatar
    Timothy Watson

    Instead, I’d say it’s a reflection of the fact that, like her husband, she has largely retired from the “business” of politics.

    When, exactly, did she retire? The clip in the ad is from 2010.

  9. george Avatar
    george

    @mantis:

    How generous of you. All I see is cowardice.

    I think what she’s doing is wrong, but I have to admit that when others call her a coward I tend to feel more sympathetic to her. Is that your intent? Or do you have a secret window into her mind that lets you know her reasons, and decide upon cowardice among the hundreds of reasons that might exist for her decision (some arguably worse than cowardice, some more benign).

  10. mantis Avatar
    mantis

    @george:

    I think what she’s doing is wrong, but I have to admit that when others call her a coward I tend to feel more sympathetic to her. Is that your intent?

    No, but I don’t really care how people feel about Laura Bush.

    Or do you have a secret window into her mind that lets you know her reasons, and decide upon cowardice among the hundreds of reasons that might exist for her decision (some arguably worse than cowardice, some more benign).

    No secret window, and I might be wrong, but what I see there is someone who does not have the courage of her convictions, assuming they are convictions at all. Why else would she publicly express support for gay marriage in a national television interview and then object to people repeating her words?

    In any case, your sympathy or lack thereof for Laura Bush makes no difference to me, and it makes no difference in the struggle for gay rights.

  11. James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb) Avatar
    James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb)

    @george:

    “I have to admit that when others call her a coward I tend to feel more sympathetic to her. Is that your intent?”

    Really, George? If that influences your sympathies so much, then you must be really torn up about at all the gay couples who can’t get married…

  12. grumpy realist Avatar
    grumpy realist

    Hmm. Makes me wonder if she would have let the clip run if she had been asked about it beforehand?

  13. george Avatar
    george

    @James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb):

    Really, George? If that influences your sympathies so much, then you must be really torn up about at all the gay couples who can’t get married…

    I think what Bush thinks about gay marriage is largely irrelevant, because I think she has basically zero influence on their status. Which means I feel quite free to feel sympathetic for someone who’s being called a coward by people who’ve probably got no idea why she made the decision she made.

    If she was an elected official, or someone who searched for publicity then her “no comment” in this case would seem negative (not necessarily cowardly, it might mean she was anti-marriage for instance, or thought all gays should be drawn and quartered – silence can mean a lot of things). But someone with no influence one way or another who wants to stay out of it – don’t really have a problem with that. Beyond that, I think most people would be annoyed to see their name being used in an ad without being asked first, and I guess I feel sympathy for that as well, because she’s not someone who’s either an elected official, or who goes about trying to get her name on the news.

    I reserve my disgust with elected officials who are against gay marriage, since they’re the ones who are supposed to following the will of the people.

  14. James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb) Avatar
    James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb)

    @george:

    “I reserve my disgust with elected officials who are against gay marriage, since they’re the ones who are supposed to following the will of the people.”

    Good call.

    I’m just saying…..you show up on CNN, you might also show up in some ad on Youtube. That’s life in this day and age. If this was some video taken at her home or surreptitiously like the 47% tape, then maybe she’d have a complaint. But basically what happened here is that her appearance on Larry King Live was quoted. I can see why she’s upset, but to the rest of us….big deal. Don’t go on CNN then.

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