Republican Cognitive Dissonance

Earlier this week, secretary of state Condi Rice and First Lady Laura Bush attended a State Department ceremony for the new global AIDS coordinator. His name is Mark Dybul. Money quote from USA Today:

At a State Department ceremony this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warmly acknowledged the family members of Mark Dybul, whom she was swearing in as the nation's new global AIDS coordinator.

As first lady Laura Bush looked on, Rice singled out his partner, Jason Claire, and Claire's mother. Rice referred to her as Dybul's "mother-in-law."

There you have it. Among decent elite Republicans, there is often great acceptance of gay people as individuals, and of their families and spouses. "Mother-in-law" is itself an affirmation of marriage for gay couples; and the secretary of state just used those words. And yet her party officially regards gay unions as, in James Dobson's words, a prelude to the "destruction of the earth". So which is it, guys? Let us know some time, will you?

(Photo:  J. Scott Applewhite, AP.)