Next, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., wants votes on two perennial conservative causes: repealing the estate tax and giving Congress the constitutional authority to ban flag burning.
A meeting Monday at the White House with opponents of gay marriage will follow, then a full-blown debate and vote in the Senate on a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to the union of a man and a woman. In Saturday's radio address, Bush will urge support for a national ban on gay marriage. Call it nostalgia - or election-year jitters. WASHINGTON - When President Bush beat John Kerry in 2004, Republicans said a ballot initiative in Ohio to ban gay marriage sealed the election, drawing legions of conservatives to the polls.īush and Republican senators now will seek another dose of conservative magic to embolden their party's base.
Republicans plan controversial votes on gay marriage, flag burning