Republican Marilyn Musgrave is the U.S. Congresswoman from the Colorado 4th District, which encompasses Fort Collins, Greely, and much of the state's eastern plains. She's an uber-supporter of Dubya's policies , (which by itself is deeply disturbing and speaks volumes about the sort of person she is). She's also been named by BeyondDelay.org as one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress. Quite an achievement for someone only in her second term.
However, Congresswoman Musgrave's main claim to fame is her pet cause, (read, "obsession") namely a U.S. Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. She's been the main sponsor of the proposed amendment in the House in recent months, although she's failed so far. Nevertheless, she's still beating that horse.
How important is it to her to prevent gays from marrying?
At the Family Research Counsel's "Values Voters Summit," Congresswoman Musgrave said,
But, you know, when I was in the last weeks of my last campaign, you know what I was thinking? Where’s our side? What are they doing? And I believe that when you’re in a cultural war like this, you have to respond with equal and hopefully greater force if you want to win this battle. But this battle is the most important issue that we face today, and what an honor it has been to serve in the United States Congress and carry the Marriage Amendment.
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The future is grim unless we do what we need to do to win this battle.
More important than the Iraq war? More important than school shootings? More important than budget deficits? More important than rampant corruption in Congress? Keeping gays from marrying is more important than all that?
The good news is that Congresswoman Musgrave's single-mindedness seems to be working against her.
Musgrave’s Priorities at Issue in Increasingly Close Colo. 4 Race
By Greg Giroux
1:10 PM; Sep. 28, 2006
Colorado’s 4th Congressional District has been Republican “red” for decades. But continued debate over Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s staunch social-issues conservatism, and the emergence of Democratic state Rep. Angie Paccione as a solid challenger, have prompted CQPolitics.com to change its rating on this year’s 4th District contest to Leans Republican from Republican Favored.
While the political demographics of the district continue to provide Musgrave with a tangible edge, the ratings change indicates that the race is now considered highly competitive and that an upset by Paccione is a more plausible possibility.
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A main thrust of Paccione’s campaign is that Musgrave has become so consumed by her signature social issue — a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage — that she has failed to work on important issues for the district.
“She’s had a very singular focus on this wedge issue, and that’s been all that she does,” Paccione said in an interview. “She doesn’t do anything for the district. I call it the ‘Musgrave fatigue.’ People are tired of her — they’re tired of the fact that that’s the only thing that she’ll push.”
“Let me tell you, the people without health care in Colorado, they couldn’t care less about the federal marriage amendment. Couldn’t care less,” added Paccione, who strongly opposes the amendment. “The kids that want to go to college and can’t afford it? They couldn’t care less about the federal marriage amendment.”
I'd be astonished if Musgrave actually loses in this ultra-red district, but the fact that it's even up for grabs speaks volumes. The fact that Congresswoman Musgrave's obsession with banning gay marriage seems to be hurting her is also telling.
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