I mean this is really getting out of hand. And before it goes any further, we need to establish a few things that the Yes on 8 campaign seems not to understand.

The current state of marriage does not make the words "bride" and "groom" hate speech. Gays are not the same as unicorns. No matter what Tom McClintock thinks, gays are not dogs either. The notion- in this country of all places- that equality would be "armageddon" should be outrageous to anyone. And most certainly, eliminating human rights would not be the same as defeating Hitler. Just stop. But hey- Yes on 8: if you've got an actual point, let's hear it. No really. One that's true.

So far there isn't one. I'm actually a little surprised. Given the tens of millions being rushed to California by Mormons and the great monied patrons of the religious right and the lather being worked up, you'd think that somewhere there would be a reasoned argument. Even if it wasn't front and center. There's lying and there's fear mongering and there's divisiveness. I've gotten those messages. And it's all capped by the evocation of the most horrific genocide the world has ever known.

And then there's The Call. Leading untold thousands to my city on Saturday to pray for Proposition 8. You do that. I'd like to think that this will be a positive event, but nothing so far leads me to expect a break from the nonstop divisiveness and the out-and-out lying and the histrionics (not to run this into the ground, but in the world of rhetoric, a Hitler comparison is the last stop on the hyperbole express). I'm sick of it, and if that's what I can expect on Saturday, take it elsewhere. I'm sick of the lies, I'm sick of the blackmail of my local small businesses, I'm sick of this being considered a remotely appropriate level of political discourse, and most of all I'm sick of being told that people are not created equal. That's the entire point of this country existing. It's the very first self-evident truth. Don't get angry at me if you don't like it. Take it up with the Declaration of Independence.

So while Prop 8 supporters pile into Qualcomm to pray, the Courage Campaign is joining with other allies of equality and freedom calling for volunteers to stop Prop 4 and Prop 8. When Rick Jacobs emailed Courage members earlier today, he noted that "the religious right is calling Proposition 8 its 'decisive last stand,'" which tells you the stakes on this. If you doubt at all how seriously they're taking it, check out the Call video on the volunteer page. It's pretty shocking.

Look: this is how the religious right keeps winning elections. For all the (very important) stories of voter suppression and ballot box rigging and corruption, the fundamental strategy hinges on drowning everyone in so much vitriol and general negativity that they give up entirely and stay home. It can't work this time. We can't let it. There's simply too much on the line. At a time that it's almost hackneyed already to rally around hope and change, it's all the more vital that California stand up collectively and say enough is ENOUGH. Lying to us won't work. Trying to wear us down with the rhetoric of alienation will not keep us home. Trying to make us miserable will not keep us quiet.

6 days left. I'm spending my Saturday with Lou Engle and James Dobson because there's some question as to whether equality is a human right in this country. How can we allow this to be a debate any longer? Enough is enough. Do something. And if you have time, do one more thing. If we don't stop this crap now, then when?

Andrew Sullivan notes today that one of the biggest financial supporters of the Yes on 8 campaign is Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, who has pumped $450,000 into the campaign. Broekhuizen is the mother of Blackwater founder and owner Erik Prince and Bush Pioneer Betsy DeVos. She's also quite the patron of the religious right.   Read More »

Proposition 4 is another bad anti-choice proposal: parental notification, an automatic child abuse investigation if the young woman doesn't want to notify her parents and can't find a judge to approve. And if she is able to find a judge, the judge then has to declare her mature enough, and the judges have to make annual reports, county-by-county, on how many abortions are approved for young women each year.   Read More »