Phyllis Schlafly, the woman who has spent her life campaigning against the existence of healthy, happy women, said some Christmassy words about gays the other day:

Many social conservatives, such as Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly of Ladue, refuse to believe that a majority of Americans would support gay marriage.

Always remember that “many social conservatives” also believe that the earth is 6,000 years old.  Cf. Phyllis’s mindnumbingly stupid spawn.

Obama’s shifting position [on marriage equality], she said, “is the story of politics: An aggressive well-funded pressure group can achieve goals contrary to what the majority of people want. I think same-sex marriage would be a terrible mistake. I don’t think there are any good arguments for it.”

As to the first part, it seems to me like the Religious Right falls more squarely into the category of “aggressive well-funded pressure groups achieving goals contrary, etc.” Meanwhile, the tide is turning toward full acceptance for LGBT people, and has been for years. As to the second part, Phyllis’s contention that she “doesn’t think” there are any good arguments for marriage equality, when squared with her lifelong crusade against women’s rights, suggest to me that perhaps she should be spending more time in her kitchen in Ladue and less time talking about grown-up stuff with strong, liberated men AND women. Don’t like that construction? Can’t have it both ways, Phyl.

Gays, she said, are already free to live together. “Nobody’s stopping them from shacking up,” she said. “The problem is they are trying to make us respect them, and that’s an interference with what we believe.”

Actually, no, you old bat, gays don’t give a damn whether or not you respect us. It’s a question of whether or not you respect the fact that you live in a society which is more secular than you will ever understand, in a nation that, despite your son’s functionally illiterate barking to the contrary, has been officially secular since its founding.

Deal with it.

Also, Schlafly lives in Ladue?  If you’re not familiar with St. Louis, Ladue isn’t exactly a “socially conservative” area.  I mean, it’s perfect for fundamentalist demagogues who have somehow managed to rack up millions of dollars over the years fighting for a transmogrified bastardization of Jesus and stuff [Ladue is expensive, you see], but it’s also next to Clayton, which is gay gay gay gay gay [and also expensive].  How does old Phyl manage to go out in public, surrounded as she is by reality in all four directions?  And really, what would Phyllis Schlafly think of a woman making the kind of money Phyllis Schlafly has made?  It’s almost like she’s a hypocritical old crank living out her golden years, watching the world regard her life’s work, laugh, and move on, never to return.