Gay Marriage as Political Dogma? I Just Like the Waffle Fries

Who would have thought that a simple purveyor of chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and milkshakes would be caught in a giant political firestorm?  Even better yet, who would have thought that this fast-food company would be the catalyst to a major political party creating an historic platform in the wake of said controversy?  While I figured that there might have eventually been some backlash to this company’s position regarding homosexual relationships, this is hardly news.  I mean, the company in question here, Chick-fil-a, is a self-anointed conservative-Christian company.  They are going to have conservativeChristian views.  Why are people surprised?

My surprise doesn’t even stop here.  Actually, after hearing that the Democrats are going to take the step and make marriage equality a cornerstone platform plank, I’m surprised with the amount of power Chick-fil-a actually has in potentially guiding public policy.  All of this based on essentially a misquote taken from Chick-fil-a CEO Dan Cathy.  Cathy was never asked a question about gay marriage, rather he was asked if he supported traditional families and he said, yes, he did.  That was it.  From all of this, cities are threatening to ban chicken sandwiches, people are up in arms and babies are crying.  None of this is news and any other year besides this one, no one would have given this much thought.  Being 100 days before an election however, this is political gold.

While the Democrats will never admit it, a better opportunity couldn’t have been given to them.  The Chick-fil-a issue (greased up by the media) further galvanized supporters from both sides of the issue and both candidate camps have used this to their advantage.   It was only this weekend that the DNC decided to add marriage equality to their platform.  The Daily Kos reports:

"Retiring gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who sits on the committee, told the Washington Blade on Monday that the 15-member panel unanimously backed the inclusion of a marriage equality plank after a national hearing over the weekend in Minneapolis, in which several
witnesses testified in favor of such language.  “I was part of a unanimous decision to include it,” Frank said. “There was a unanimous decision in the drafting committee to include it in
the platform, which I supported, but everybody was for it.” [...]

A DNC staffer, who is familiar with the process and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the language in the platform approved on Sunday not only backs marriage equality, but also rejects DOMA and has positive language with regard to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act."

Granted, the Democrats didn’t get hit with a policy lightning bolt as soon as this Chick-fil-a controversy broke.  This is a policy that has long been in hopper, especially the piece coming out against DOMA.  Here in DC however, timing is everything.  Major anti-gay controversy breaking around 100 days before the election?  Democrat supporters galvanized against the non-remarks of a chicken pusher? Days of nearly non-stop media coverage?  There was no better opportunity than to capitalize on this upsurge in the party base than this.

So there you have it.  A company that specializes in a boneless chicken breast sandwich and waffle fries has managed to single handedly shape a major part of the platform of the national Democratic Party 100 days before the 2012 federal elections, at least insofar as marriage equality is concerned.  How?  By doing really, nothing.  Good for them.

Maybe the guy with the falafel cart down the street won't say something about how Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel... oh, nevermind.

Man, I love those waffle fries.