Kirchick, whose studied intolerance of the LGBT rights movement, dislike of liberal gay men and antipathy towards feminism hardly makes him a hard-hitting interviewer, lets that — and, let's face it, quite a bit — pass in his breezy interview of the woman who wants to be the voice of a Republican generation. He apparently rather likes being liked by Meghan McCain for his gayness, as opposed to his actual personality.

What Kirchick doesn't like is how mean everyone is to Meghan McCain.

Not surprisingly, McCain the younger has drawn poisonous quips from the party's moralizers-in-chief, including conservative columnist Laura Ingraham, who dismissed her as a "plus-sized model" ("Kiss my fat ass," McCain retorted on an episode of The View), and Rush Limbaugh, who suggested that she follow Arlen Specter's example and leave the GOP. More surprising has been the scorn of liberal writers such as Judith Warner of The New York Times, who called her Colbert appearance "stupid" and "foolish." Much of this has to do with McCain's slightly girlie, conversational speaking style, which lacks the spit and polish of professional pundits and occasionally strays into gauche phrases and pat formulations.

It also has to do with the fact that she does a lot of fluffy interviews, repeats talking points from her father's campaign ad nauseum and gets on Colbert to tell the world how she likes sex and the GOP should stop being so prudish about it (a position I agree with, but that hardly brands her as the voice of a new Republican generation).

But, hey! She's pro gay marriage! I'm sure that's why so many Republicans dislike her. Kirchick is, naturally, convinced that McCain's pro-gay marriage stance is the source of her power."

But it's her position on gay marriage that has garnered McCain the most attention. In a speech to the Log Cabin Republicans, she said that "old-school Republicans" were "scared shitless" of the future and retreating further and further into an ultraconservative crouch.

No, it might be the fact that she was the official blogger of her father's Presidential campaign (and a damn sight better than Michael Goldfarb, I might add), that she's quite pretty, and a young woman in a political movement that is increasing white, old and male (see also: Michael Steele). That she's opposed to the party's position on gay marriage is hardly the only reason she gets attention, or else her dad's former campaign manager Steve Schmidt would have a Daily Beast column, too.

Kirchick has also decided the conservative pundit class hates her, too, because she's so good at connecting with young people.

It turns out those old-school Republicans are not only scared shitless of the future; they're scared shitless of her. Or, as media writer Michael Wolff put it, Meghan McCain "was a mild diversion during the presidential campaign....But empowered, she's turned into someone who actually wants a seat at the table, apparently unaware of the incongruity and awkwardness of a 24-year-old girl among the guys with their pants pulled up high."

Well, how about the possibility that they don't like having a 24-year-old at the table who doesn't want to run for office, has no campaign or political experience outside of blogging for her father and little in the way of a coherent political philosophy other than "everything my dad thinks, plus gay marriage" and who seemingly is as interested in her own celebrity as policy formation and base-building exercises trying to brand herself as a Republican thought leader? I mean, plenty of people aren't exactly pleased that everyone's kowtowing to Limbaugh like he's Republican royalty either, for many of the same reasons.

Kirchick, again, slips in a gay stereotype as he asks Meghan McCain why she never said a damn thing about same sex marriage the entire time she was blogging for her father.

McCain — a fan of Lucky Cheng's drag club in New York City where she gets her Lady Bunny fix — says that during the campaign no reporter bothered to ask for her views on the matter. Had they, she would have told the truth and not worried about further upsetting conservatives already wary of her father's maverick reputation. "I never would have lied," she says.

I mean, she's obviously all gay friendly, she goes to drag shows! And despite the fact that same sex marriage and Prop 8 came up through the campaign, never once did she think to write or say anything about it, but now it's her big bugaboo? That might be why people think she's using the issue to seek attention, other than professional jealousy, sexism or homophobia.

And in a week when some Republican members of the Senate have quoted Ricky Ricardo at the first Latina Supreme Court nominee, lectured her about racism and the need to show empathy to the poor, beleaguered white man and repeatedly invoked her Wise Latina comment and yet other people have begun talking about how Regina Benjamin might not be the right body type (for a woman) for a Presidential appointment and the Young Republicans elect an unreconstructed racist to lead their organization (and all of this barely a year after Hillary Clinton ended her run for the Presidency which was marred by over sexism, especially among Republicans), this quote rings pretty hollow.

"Homophobia is the last socially accepted prejudice," McCain says, repeating it for emphasis. So it's only natural that she also views the fight for gay equality as "my generation's civil rights movement."

McCain must walk in some pretty rarified Republican circles to have missed all the racism, sexism and sizeism that some seem to find more than just socially acceptable. But I guess since there's only one prejudice Kirchick really cares about, that's what's important.

Megan McCain Will Be Heard [Out]

Related: — [Yale Daily News]
Shorter James Kirchick: I Can't Get Laid Because Of "Liberal Intolerance" [Ezra Klein]
Will Someone Tell Feminists to Get a Sense of Humor? [Commentary]
Surgeon General Post Is A Big Job For A Big Lady [MSNBC]
Young Republican Leader Finds Racism LOL-Worthy [Gawker]
Young Republican Leader Audra Shay Is Crazy, Illiterate, Racist [Gawker]
Audra Shay, Facebook Hate Monger, Elected Leader Of Young Republicans [Gawker]

Earlier: Female Nominees Continue To Face Scrutiny Over Their Size, Weight

Klinghoffer joins the grand new tradition of social conservatives from bestiality-lover Rick Santorum to sister-schtupper Glenn Beck who view social acceptance of same-sex couples through the narrow prism of their own fantasies. At least Klinghoffer's don't involve the family pet!

Klinghoffer does, however, come in the company of another man, Joshua Berman, a professor who argues that without societal strictures condemning male-on-male anal sex, men would undoubtedly prefer it to heterosexual vaginal copulation. His evidence for this is the widespread acceptance of male homosexuality in ancient Rome.

It turns out that where homoeroticism is granted full social sanction, as it was in Rome, it flourishes — so much so, that one writer noted that the emperor Claudius exhibited an unusual trait: he was sexually interested in women alone!

Men, we learn from ancient Rome, will enjoy sex with other men, if there is no social censure.

Well, as Melissa McEwan of Shakesville points out, homoeroticism in ancient Rome was, more or less, limited to the upper classes and involved some pretty strict hierarchical rules: older men topped, younger, lower-status men bottomed. This is rather a far cry from fully consensual homosexuality, and was far more concerned with the sexual pleasure of who was on top.

Berman, with Klinghoffer right behind him, uses (and abuses) the state of male homosexual affairs to determine that male-on-male anal sex is so good that otherwise-heterosexual men would forgo vaginal intercourse all together if they could. Projection, anyone? His evidence, of course, is specious at best: a satirical play in which (one assumes) a woman offers her husband anal sex to stop having it with his boyfriend, and the man's refusal. From one ancient play, Berman and Klinghoffer extrapolate this:

The winners — big time — are homosexual men, because the historical record shows that they can expect their potential pool of partners to expand exponentially. Of note here is that this expanded pool of partners accrues to gay men, but not to homosexual women. At the risk of getting too explicit, I leave it the reader's basic grasp of anatomy to figure out why in ancient Rome a man who found pleasure in a woman, could also find pleasure in a man, while the record shows that a heterosexual woman rarely found sexual satisfaction in the company of another woman.

Basically, male-on-male anal sex is good for the top — and, again, the bottom is left out of the equation — and "the record" (not, obviously, including Greek poet Sappho) reflects that women can't get a good pounding from another woman, so lesbian sex is obviously inferior to penetrative vaginal intercourse.

Berman and Klinghoffer — as one assumes they often do offline — ignore the facts, namely, that many, many women get intense pleasure from cunnilingus and manual or gadget-driven stimulation of their genitalia; that some women — even heterosexual ones — actually don't achieve orgasm any other way; that women have also been known to enjoy anal sex; that some men achieve orgasm through anal penetration; and that not every guy who gets off from anal penetration is homosexual (see: pegging). Then there is this:

The losers from all this will be the vast majority of women. With full social sanction given to homoerotic activity, the historical precedent suggests that tomorrow's women will have a harder time finding and holding on to suitable men. As women will suffer, so will the vitality and stability of the nuclear family.

Klinghoffer, shaken to his core by Berman's revelation, doesn't understand how anyone could take that the wrong way. Or disagree! And he is so not pleased that people are being mean to him - on a blog - so he follows up his post about the joys of anal sex with one that, in effect, accuses gay men of being huge sluts and defines monogamy as "feminine."

Men are unruly in their passions, far more so than women with their natural affinity for monogamy. This is not a stereotype. It's reality. I suspect that women in the lesbian community would confirm that it is so. Normally, men's unruliness is somewhat limited by women. In gay culture, that's not the case at all. An important break on male sexuality has been removed.

Wait, so, even though men would be so entranced how awesome it is to stick your dick in another man's asshole that we need to prevent the social acceptance of homosexuality, access to pussy is now the reason men don't stick their dicks in other men's assholes more often? And here I thought if we just got the man a little bathroom sex, he'd leave us ladies alone.

How Women Will Be Hurt by Gay Marriage [Beliefnet]
How Women Will Be Hurt by Gay Marriage: A Postscript [Beliefnet]

Related: Excerpt From Santorum Interview [Associated Press]
In Things That Surprise Me [Shakesville]
Sappho [Wikipedia]

Earlier: "Conservatives: Just The People You Want In Charge Of Your Sex Life"

And so he made this incredibly disturbing, word-for-word video of Glenn Beck's lovingly-written incest fantasy from his book The Real America. Beck used his incest-erotica to fap to demonstrate why society should never tolerate same-sex relationships, which are far less erotic to him than boning his sister.

Drill Baby Drill, Ep. 1 - Beck In The Saddle [Andy Cobb via News Hounds]

• Dick Cheney thinks: The Gays should be happy with whatever states choose not to discriminate against them; Americans should be glad George Tenet didn't have worse intel about the link between Saddam and Osama; and the Guantanamo detainees should be happy we didn't summarily execute them. [Time, CNN, MSNBC]

• David Duke is mad at Rush Limbaugh for comparing him to that Latina Sonia Sotomayor. But he's not a racist! [ThinkProgress]
• Dick Cheney wouldn't have nominated Judge Sotomayor, but even Dick Cheney is smart enough not to call her a racistwhile he's trying to rehab his image. [Politico]
• Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, however, is not as smart as Dick Cheney. [Politico]
• Sotomayor begins the obligatory meetings-with-Senators today; let's hope she wore some comfortable shoes. [Politico]
• The Obama Administration denies that any of the images of American detainees subject to the ACLU release lawsuit depict sexual abuse, as was reported last week. Please note the careful wording. [Salon]
• The Administration also says that it decided not to release the photos because Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Malik objected and threatened to force us to withdraw even earlier than he planned, which is not nearly as dirty as it sounds. [McClatchy]
• Tom Tancredo staffer Marcus Epstein is a crazy-ass racist who assaulted a woman on the street last year because she was black, and he won't be going to law school now because of it. [DCeiver]
• Kim Jong Il's son, Kim Jong Un, who is 7 years younger than I am, will be taking over the nuclear-armed country of North Korea. This is gonna go well! [BBC]
• Eliot Spitzer has spent a lot of money on sex workers. [NY Times]
• Norm Coleman has spent a lot of money masturbating to his electoral fantasies in Minnesota courts. [NY Times]
• Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has finally learned how to relax and submit peacefully to our new Chinese overlords. [NY Times]
• You are correct: I have sex on the brain.

[Los Angeles, May 26. Image via Getty]

In the first photo, a woman who appears to be Prejean wears pink panties and looks over her shoulder while holding her breasts. Pop Crunch reports that Alicia Jacobs, a Miss USA pageant judge who criticized Prejean's views on gay marriage after the pageant, has seen all six photos and says the others are more revealing. She thinks the photos may have been taken after Prejean's breast augmentation, which the Miss California USA organization paid for.

Prejean, 21, originally said the photos were taken of her when she was 17 (which would make them child pornography) according to the clip from The Today Show below:

In a statement released this morning, Prejean didn't emphasize that she was a minor when the pictures were taken, but said, according to E!:

I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be. But these attacks on me and others who speak in defense of traditional marriage are intolerant and offensive.

The text posted along with the photo on TheDirty.com does describe Prejean as a "self-proclaimed bible thumper," and concludes:

So much for being a good role model for the state of California Carrie. Looks like your Dirty photo shoot makes you a sinner too.

Though the site makes jokes about Prejean's religion, it seems the intent was to attack the hypocrisy of her presenting herself as the poster girl for squeaky-clean traditional values, rather than mocking her belief in God. If Prejean were any other Christian Miss USA runner up, it's unlikely the photos would have generated much national interest or focused as much on her religion. But, if photos of another state pageant winner came to light, that woman's most likely response would be to apologize and relinquish her crown in disgrace. Though Prejean's attempt to frame herself as the victim of religious persecution is somewhat ridiculous, the pictures were obviously released to discredit Prejean by revealing that she's an ignorant slut because she's posed for a half-dozen semi-nude photos! (Uh, like many young women her age?)

Prejean has already proven through her words that she's a poor spokeswoman for the anti-gay marriage movement. Posing for vaguely racy photos doesn't mean Prejean couldn't have an intelligent or articulate point about gay marriage, but not knowing much of anything about the policies she's advocating does. Christian conservative groups like the National Organization for Marriage have already shown they are willing to tolerate her ignorance on the issues, but it remains to be seen whether they will accept a spokeswoman who doesn't fit their view of how a "moral" woman should behave.

Exclusive: Miss California Carrie Prejean Exposed [TheDirty.com]
Miss California Nude Picture - Carrie Prejean Naked Photo Scandal [PopCrunch]
Miss California Denounces Racy Photo Leak [E!]

Earlier: Who Needs A Scholarship When You Can Get Sponsored Breasts?
Miss California Opens Mouth, Exhales Inanity
Celebrity Missives About Miss California Make Us Wish For World Peace

In the clip at left, Prejean stumbles through an interview with Van Susteren, who seems to have made it her mission to profile (and defend) controversial right-wing female beauty queens. Earlier in the day, Prejean gave a press conference on behalf of the National Organization for Marriage and unveiled her new ad for NOW, which will be airing in several states. Currently, the only way to watch online is to head to the organization's website, as gossip blogger Perez Hilton has forced the ad to be removed from YouTube.

Prejean said she was calling in to promote traditional marriage, but when Van Susteren asked her about civil unions she said, as transcribed by U.S. News and World Report:

You know what, Greta? I don't have the answers to everything. I'm not running for political office. I don't have the answers to everything, you know, in the world out there.

But I think that there should be rights for people, you know, especially in California. I think that people that are homosexual should have some rights, you know, hospital rights, and things like that.

Rights for hospitals and things like that - generous! Then, when Van Susteren proceeded to ask Prejean about gay adoption, the beauty queen seemed to think the anchor was trying trick her and scolded:

Greta, I am focusing on marriage right now, not adoption, not civil unions, just traditional marriage, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to promote that.

At the press conference earlier in the day (clip below, via Pandagon) Prejean didn't fare much better. She explained that she is passionate about her cause because "marriage is good" and "unless we bring men and women together children will not have mothers and fathers." Then, during the question and answer segment of her press conference, following a reporter's question as to whether Prejean will be going into politics she laughed and said, "I think that is a silly question." AT this point, we're just relieved that Prejean finds the idea of her starting a political career is as silly as we do.

NOM Launches "No Offense" Religious Liberty Ad Campaign! [NOM]
Why Carrie Prejean May Not Be An Effective Spokeswoman for the Anti-Gay-Marriage Cause [U.S. News and World Report]
Miss California On Presser: If We Don't Save Marriage Kids Won't Have Moms And Dads [Pandagon]

Earlier: Perez Hilton Forces NOM Off YouTube
Both The Beauty And The Blogger Make Beastly Representatives

NOM reportedly spent $1.5 million on a new campaign featuring Perez Hilton and Miss California Carrie Prejean, but Perez Hilton forced them to remove the ad from YouTube because they feature unauthorized clips from his video blog. [Joe.My.God. via World of Wonder]

• Sarah Palin appears on American Chopper tonight to laud the patriotism of Paul Teutul and his son, Paul Jr., as well as invite them to her fishin' hole. That's not a euphemism. [ThinkProgress]

• At last night's primetime press conference, Barack Obama said he thinks waterboarding is torture, regardless of what Sean Hannity or a bunch of self-serving, legacy-protecting GOP asswipes say. [Reuters]
• Condoleezza Rice says that since President Bush was fine with the waterboarding, and that obviously torture wasn't illegal, despite the fact that Nixon tried that excuse once and was excoriated until he had the good sense to die. [Huffington Post]
• President Obama is also concerned about Pakistan becoming more of a clusterfuck than it already is. See? He's paying attention! [NY Times]
• One thing he wasn't paying attention to last night was Fox News. [Politico]
• Republicans are pointing fingers at one another following Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter's departure from the GOP, with even Senator Orrin Hatch suggesting that GOP donor dollars might be better directed at defeating Democrats in general elections than defeating moderate Republicans in primaries with candidates that can't win general elections. Who I would ever pronounce Orrin Hatch the shining intellectual light of the GOP? [Politico]
• Despite what she may believe, Meghan McCain, is no intellectual light of the GOP. Also, people write her mean e-mails. [Daily Beast]
• Only 20 percent of Americans currently identify as Republican. [Plum Line]
• Which is, of course, why some GOP officials are trying to strip GOP Chairman Michael Steele of any actual power within the Republican National Committee. You can't be a token if you have any real power to change anything! [Politico]
• The prosecutions of the Bush Administration's biggest pro-torture advocates are apparently back on in Spain. [Daily Beast]
• The House passed a federal hate crimes bill for LGBT Americans yesterday, but not without Alcee Hastings reading a list of sex acts an unidentified GOP colleague tried to make sure weren't covered under the bill — including pedophilia, necrophilia and zoophilia. Yes, apparently there are Republicans who still believe that homosexuality is exactly like assaulting corpses and/or children and/or animals. [NY Times, Huffington Post]
• While that was going on, North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx called the Matthew Shepard murder a "hoax". [Huffington Post]
• In the meantime, the New Hampshire Senate voted to legalize same-sex marriage there, giving a metaphorical finger to assholes like Virginia Foxx and Carrie Prejean. [NY Times]

Wockner, whose bio says he's been reporting for LGBT outlets for 25 years, conducted a long interview with Prejean and, in between her stock answers about being sandbagged by Hilton and belief that marriage is a religious institution meant for a man and a woman, manages to get out the real reason she doesn't believe in gay marriage:

Rex: I understand that you were raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and I understand that you grew up knowing that you were always going to marry a guy, but you're heterosexual. Um, some people are born gay, maybe, you think?

Carrie: No, I don't think so.

Rex: OK, so now we're getting somewhere.

Carrie: I think it's a behavior that develops over time.

Rex: Why would someone choose it, given that if you choose that, you get discriminated against?

Carrie: Um, because obviously Perez Hilton doesn't think that there's anything wrong with it.

Rex: No, but if being gay is a choice, rather than something you're born with, why would you choose something that's going to lead to your being discriminated against? What would be the motivation?

Carrie: I'm not sure what the motivation would be.

That "behavior" is not loving someone of the same sex, or being attracted to people of the same sex; Prejean is strictly talking about sexual acts. In Prejean's apparently very limited mind, if you just randomly decide that you love discrimination and have no moral compass, you can train yourself to engage in and (one assumes) eventually even enjoy sex acts with people of the same sex, and thus you are a homosexual.

Yes, Prejean just reduced LGBT Americans to the actions of their genitals. Sexuality is, apparently, about intercourse — if you're gay. It's a choice rooted utterly in "behavior" rather than anything more innate — which, naturally, doesn't apparently apply to heterosexuality. Heterosexuality can manage to encompass to whom one is innately attracted and with whom one chooses to spend one's life with, and the feelings of love and attachment one has for another person. Homosexuality, though, that's just behavior.What a revolting point of view.

Pam Spaulding at Pandagon has a response that's a lot nicer than the one rattling around my head.

This makes it obvious that she doesn't have close friends who are gay or lesbian and in committed relationships back home. Same-sex couples simply want all the legal rights that Prejean would have if and when she chooses to marry sometime down the road. That they could decide to marry someone of the opposite sex (something always tossed out by the right), would not change the fact that who we partner with is about who we love-and the desire to nurture and legally protect that relationship-not about coddling the anti-gays by closeting one's self in a heterosexual fraud marriage, or submitting to "reparative therapy."

Prejean swears she has gay friends, though.

What Prejean also has now, according to Dan Gilgoff at U.S. News & World Report, is a new PR flack — Christian PR guru A. Larry Ross. Ross is a close friend of Prejean's pastor, Miles McPherson, who yesterday gave Prejean her own metaphorical crown., anointing her the new Queen Esther (man, is Sarah Palin gonna be pissed to lose that one) because, apparently, announcing herself as an idiotic, reflexively anti-gay American will save her chosen people (other idiotic, reflexively anti-gay Americans) from total annihilation at the hands of the Persians. Or something.

Interview With Miss California, Carrie Prejean [Wockner]
Engaging Miss California With Reality-Based Questions About Equality [Pandagon]
Miss California, Carrie Prejean, Signs With Top Christian Publicity Firm [US News & World Report]
Miss California's Most Revealing Interview Yet, With Her Pastor [US News & World Report]

Related: Sarah Palin and the Jews [The Nation]

In the past week Perez and Prejean (with help from the 24-hour news networks) have refused to let the controversy die down. Each is taking advantage of the situation to further their respective careers, or as they would likely put it, to speak out on this important civil rights issue.

In the aptly titled MSNBC article, "OMG Perez Hilton! Won't You Please Shut Up?" Helen A.S. Popkin blames the internet for turning Perez Hilton (real name Mario Lavandeira), "the gossip blogger who built a career by drawing male genitalia and cartoon cocaine on celebrity photos" into the media's go-to spokesman on gay rights. She says that what everyone seems to be forgetting is that back in 2005, gay rights activists were actually at war with Hilton because he was using his increasingly popular celebrity blog to "out" celebrities he thought were gay but still in the closet.

Popkin references a 2006 Salon article, "Perez Hilton's Gay Witch Hunt," which explained how many believe his outing campaigns against Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris are what forced them to publicly admit that they are gay. Author Japhy Grant quoted Hilton as saying, "In my own way, subserviently, I am trying to make the world a better place."
Grant writes:

This raises the question: How does drawing cum stains on Clay Aiken's mouth, crudely scrawling the word "bottom" across a photo of Lance Bass or putting a call out to anyone who has "slept with Neil Patrick Harris" make the world a better place for gay or straight people? And what does it say about the mainstream press that it has adopted him?

Since then, Hilton has become more of a celebrity himself, which is why he was chosen as one of the judges for the Miss USA pageant in the first place. However, in interviews with most of the major news networks this week, Hilton eagerly took the opportunity to paint himself as a crusader for gay rights, commenting not only on the question he asked at the pageant, but advocating for gay marriage as a homosexual man. It's rarely noted in these interviews that the man who called Carrie Prejean a "bitch" and a "cunt" and continues to pepper his website with penis doodles hasn't been sanctioned by anyone as a spokesman for the gay community, or people who support same-sex marriage.

James Rainey points out in todays L.A. Times that Hilton originally seemed most upset that Prejean hadn't stuck to the pageant code and concealed her beliefs. He suggested she should have answered, "I should represent all Americans and I'm not here to talk about politics." But Prejean changed her tune as well once it became apparent that her answer was becoming much more than "a YouTube moment." She originally lamented to Fox News, "If I had any other question, I know I would have won." By Tuesday, she had realized, "I think that I was the one that was blessed enough to get this question ... I am so blessed that I was able to speak my mind, my thoughts, my convictions in front of millions of people."

Just imagine what would have happened if a contestant representing some other god-forsaken state had gotten the question! We just wish it would have gone to the 2003 Miss California, Nicole Lamarche, who is now a pastor. In one of the most eloquent commentaries on the issue, she explains that the section of the Bible that condemns gays contains many rules most Christians no longer follow. "The truth is that it is difficult to know for sure the intentions of the biblical authors, but we do know something about God," she writes. "Those of us who know God through Jesus of Nazareth know that he went to great lengths to express God's love to people who were labeled as outcasts."

Prejean has been embraced by Christian conservatives, despite the fact that she, like Hilton, has little qualification to represent an official stance on gay marriage. She's never said that she spent many hours considering the issue before forming her opinion, that's just "how her family raised her." Maybe before making Prejean the spokeswoman for their cause, those against gay marriage should check out radio host Jay Smooth's hilarious video blog below (via Feministing), in which he explains that Prejean's answer was so poorly phrased that it can actually be interpreted as a statement in favor of same-sex marriage.

OMG! Perez Hilton! Won't You Please Shut Up? [MSNBC]
Perez Hilton's Gay Witch Hunt [Salon]
When Opportunity Knocks, Beauty And The Blogger Take It [The L.A. Times]
The Truth About Perez Hilton & Miss California [Feministing]
Quotables: Nicole LaMarche [Evil Beet Gossip]

Earlier: Celebrity Missives About Miss California Make Us Wish For World Peace
War Of Words: Miss California Vs. Perez Hilton

Obviously, we care about gay marriage. It's just unfortunate that the latest installment in the pro/anti debate was spurred in the most ridiculous manner possible: a standoff between a celebrity blogger and a beauty queen. Now, even celebs who remained silent during discussions of state propositions that would have actually, like, changed something, are sharing their opinions on same-sex marriage. And of course, Carrie Prejean's inalienable right to give a prejudiced answer at a beauty pageant must be defended. Below, we break down the flurry of celebrity responses - whether for PR or for parity - to Miss California's answer. Even if this isn't the case for Hollywood C-listers, consider this the last we have to say on the subject.

Anti-Carrie Prejean, Pro-Gay Marriage

• E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic Twittered on Tuesday that "I know i'm a journalist, and i should be objective ... but she is an ignorant disgrace and she makes me sick to my stomach." [Fox News]
• Perez Hilton's fellow judge and former Miss Nevada, journalist Alicia Jacobs blogged: "I can tell you that it GREATLY affected me & the final score I gave Carrie Prejean. ...Personally, I was STUNNED on several levels. First, how could this young woman NOT know her audience and judges? Let's not forget that the person asking the question is an openly gay man, at least 2 people on the judges panel are openly gay. Another judge has a sister in a gay marriage. Her very own state pageant director, KEITH LEWIS is an openly gay man who has been a very generous benefactor of hers...in many ways. Did I mention I was STUNNED? I was also personally insulted & hurt. [Alicia Jacob's Stage 3 Blog]

Pro-Carrie Prejean, Pro-Gay Marriage

• Though California pageant co-chair Keith Lewis initially criticized Prejean, he now says, "I support Carrie's right to express her personal beliefs, even if they do not coincide with my own." [Fox News]
• Miss Kansas Emily Deaver was asked the same marriage equality question once in a pageant. She says beauty pageant questions are hard, but, "I answered that I believe people should have the choice on who they marry." [Kansas CW]
• Kristen Dalton, the newly crowned Miss USA says, "I'm proud of [Miss California] for speaking from her heart, and she's passionate and what she believes in, and she's proud of herself," but "I think that all couples should be able to be recognized legally, and they should be able to enter into a union. Whether or not it should be defined as marriage, I don't know, I'll leave that up to the politicians." [Perez Hilton]
• Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler wrote on her MySpace blog that she doesn't hate Miss California, but, "She lost the crown because she wasn't able to convey compassion for ALL the people that as MISS USA she would be representing. and if YOU like it or not, gays and lesbians make up this country as well. THIS is why we have judges so they can find the RIGHT woman who obtains these qualities." [Shanna Moakler's MySpace]

No Comment On Carrie Prejean, Pro-Gay Marriage

• Perez Hilton's fellow pageant judge Holly Madison twittered in reponse to Moakler "[Y]ou did a great job tonight mama! where is the party now, cause I am so upset." [Fox News]
• In response to Perez Hilton asking what she thought of gay marriage via Twitter, Britney Spears tweeted: "Love is love! People should be able to do whatever makes them happy!" [@BritneySpears]
• Heidi Montag responded to Perez Hilton, tweeting: "God says in the bible that we should love our neighbor and he created us all as equals. I know in my heart that gays and lesbians should have the same government rights that Spencer and I will when we get married. So, yes, this blonde Christian believes in gay marriage and I hope to one day go to YOUR wedding, Perez!!!" [Perez Hilton]
• Miley Cyrus reponded with the following tweets: "i second that!!! wow heidi is smart!!! shes amazing." Then, "Jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! thats like a daddy not loving his lil boy cuz hes gay and that is WRONG and very sad! like i said everyone deserves to be happy." And finally: "i am a christian and i love you [Perez] - gay or not. BECAUSE you are no different that anyone else! we are all gods children! i am not saying this so would be nice on your site (though that would be nice jk;) but because the LORD has spoken 'love cuz god loves'." [Perez Hilton]
• Jewel, in response to Perez Hilton: "I believe in liberty and freedom for all I believe in gay marriage and the right to bare arms and tabacco! Each free to choose" [@jeweljk]
• Joel Madden tweets: "P! I believe everyone on this planet deserves Equal rights to their own pursuit of happiness." [@JoelMadden]
• DJ AM tweets: "I am 100% FOR gay marriage. It should just be called "marriage" I don't even understand why it has EVER been a question."[@DJ_AM]
• Miss Vermont Brooke Werner: "Everyone has the right to their own actions, but I totally disagree with Carrie. I have a very different perspective on gay marriage and I would never have said what she said." [Fox News]

Pro-Carrie Prejean, Anti-Gay Marriage

• Former Miss Delaware and president of The National Black Pro-Life Union, Day Gardner, says that "The judge should have applauded the fact that Carrie spoke her honest opinion rather than lie about her views." [Christian News Wire]
• Bill O'Reilly supports and agrees with Carrie Prejean. Shocking. [Perez]
• Alabama state representative Jay Love, plus every member of the Alabama House Republican Caucus and some Democrats: Drafted and/or signed a resolution priaising Carrie Prejean for standing by her beliefs. [Montgomery Advertiser]

Earlier: Miss California Doesn't "Believe" In Gay Marriage ("No Offense")
War Of Words: Miss California Vs. Perez Hilton

For those who've been living under a daytime TV rock the past few days, here's the story: the 21-year-old Prejean, a contestant from Califronia, was asked by Hilton during the pageant,

"Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?"

Prejean answered,

"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

A stupid answer, to be sure, as the large majority of Americans actually cannot choose between "opposite" or same sex marriage, and because she basically inarticulately advocates for a federal Constitutional amendment to prevent it ("in my country") despite the fact that the question specifically referred to state legalization.

Hilton suggests that Prejean should have given a more wishy-washy answer — a decent, if annoyingly political one:

"Hm. Perez, that's a great question. That's a very hot topic in our country right now. And I think that is a question each state should decide for themselves because that's how our forefathers designed our government, you know. The states rule themselves and then there are some laws that are federal."

Kind of a stupid answer, when put in those terms — but it's about as responsive as most pageant answers, which the Today show's Matt Lauer characterizes as "questions that allow the contestants to pray for world peace and tell how much they love puppies and kittens."

Prejean, naturally, is hurt that Hilton is calling her names but is sticking by her answer as a matter of faith. However, Hilton, who initially apologized, decided not only to stick by his assertion that she's a "dumb bitch" but proceeded to all but call her a "dumb cunt" on MSNBC.

In other words, the woman who lost a pageant because she doesn't believe in equality for LGBT Americans is coming out smelling like roses for sticking by her beliefs, while those of us who despised her answer may be lumped in with someone who apparently believes that the best way to change the hearts and minds of those against same sex marriage is to insult them with misogynistic characterizations, like "dumb bitch". Thanks, asshole. Whose side are you on again?

Did Miss California's Answer Really Cost Her the Crown? [Fox News]
Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion, But… [Perez Hilton]
Miss California: I Stand By Gay Marriage Remark [MSNBC]
Exclusive: Carrie Prejean Says 'God Was Testing My Faith' With Gay Marriage Question [Fox News]
Miss Congeniality Mishap [MSNBC]

• Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy took time out from fixing the nation's health care system and recovering from brain cancer to throw out the first pitch of the season at Fenway Park yesterday. [Politico]

• Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' conviction was officially thrown out yesterday, too. The prosecutors are under investigation for misconduct. [Washington Post]
• Arlen Specter threw it out there that he likes Rush Limbaugh, has never, ever smoked pot and would really like to stay on as the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania. [ThinkProgress]
• The Congressional Oversight Panel thinks we should throw out the bailout plan, fire the bank managers and liquidate the banks that are failing despite all our financial assistance (AIG, they're looking at you!). [Bloomberg]
• GM is taking their advice in advance and planning a bankruptcy filing. [Reuters]
• The state of Hawai'i would like Obama to let bailed out execs travel to Hawai'i on the company government dime because tourism is down. Talk to the airlines, Hawai'i, it's not the hotel expenses I can't afford. [LA Times]
• Congress members Barbara Lee, Laura Richardson and Bobby Rush — himself last seen accusing everyone of "lynching" now-Senator Roland Burris by suspecting some shady goings-on with his appointment — met with Fidel Castro and his wife this week. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is gonna be pissed. [NY Times]
• Al Franken is still totally the winner of the Minnesota Senate race and Norm Coleman is still a fucking poor loser. [Wall Street Journal]
• The fundies' new talking point is that the only reason states are legalizing same sex marriage is because gay people are all really rich. First, off, fuck them and their class warfare. Second off: if this is true, I hereby firmly commit myself to lesbianism and would like my monocle now, thanks. [ThinkProgress]