The House today failed to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Never mind that the vote was a complete waste of time and taxpayer money because the Senate had already previously rejected the amendment. Republicans in the House felt they had to grandstand on the issue to please their religious base.

“Be assured this issue is not over,” said House Speaker Dennis Hastert in ominous tones.

Proponents claim the amendment is necessary because they seem to think there are “activist judges” everywhere approving gay marriage right and left: “We must not allow an institution of such great importance to be arbitrarily redefined for the entire nation by a small number of unelected judges,” said Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa.

Of course that ignores the fact that several state supreme courts have ruled against the issue just in the last two weeks alone. It also ignores the fact that over 45 states have already amended their constitutions or have laws to ban gay marriage.

When a law isn’t necessary but its proponents insist on passing it anyway, then let’s call it for what it really is: spite. Hopefully Americans will be smart enough to see this week’s ridiculous GOP “American values agenda” for what it really is: a stupid distraction from the nation’s urgent needs–from energy prices to skyrocketing healthcare costs to poverty to Katrina recovery to Iraq.

It’s no secret, though, that the GOP is out of answers and out of its league in continuing to govern. A failure of ideas and imagination means the GOP has no choice but to focus on these divisive issues in the desperate hopes of motivating people to vote for them at the polls.

What a pathetic excuse of a party.

Tags: american-values, congress, gay-marriage, religious-right, republicans, us-house-of-representatives