Cruising Senator Has Been Tough on Gay Rights

He joins Romney in rebuffing pledge backed by Bachmann

(NEWSER) - Tim Pawlenty released a statement today saying he wouldn’t be signing the “Marriage Vow” that got Michele Bachmann in so much trouble , the AP reports. Pawlenty said he supports “the core principles of the Family Leader’s Marriage Vow Pledge,” but that “rather than sign onto the words chosen by others, I prefer to choose my own words, especially seeking to show compassion to those who are in broken families through no fault of their own.” (Time has the statement here .) He joins Mitt Romney in refusing to sign . More»

Oath against gay unions is 'undignified and inappropriate,' says candidate

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney is rejecting an anti-gay-marriage pledge concocted by an Iowa Christian group, becoming only the second GOP candidate—after Gary Johnson—to do so. The controversial 14-point pledge, already signed by Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, calls on candidates to "defend and uphold" marriage as uniting one man and one woman, and to reject pornography, "comingling attracteds" in military accommodations, and Islamic law. More»

Lovechildren, gay affairs, and hookers, oh my!

(NEWSER) - From Eliot Spitzer’s $80,000 worth of prostitute action to Mark Sanford “hiking the Appalachian trail,” this decade has been ripe with political sex scandals. The Frisky picks the juiciest. Some of the slightly-lesser-discussed affairs:

• Mike Duvall: A self-described “family values warrior” in the California State Assembly spilled about his mistress—while miked—meaning that a whole bunch of politicians got to hear about his propensity for “spanking her.”

(NEWSER) - Mark Sanford’s affair stemmed from his love of a woman—and his love of the “dashing new version of himself he saw in her molten eyes,” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. Mark, the Sanford we knew, “was the self-righteous, Bible-thumping prig who pressed for Bill Clinton’s impeachment,” while “Marco, international man of mystery,” was “the un-self-conscious Lothario, canoodling with Maria.” More»

Ill. senator hopes to box in white Dems for 2010 campaign

(NEWSER) - Roland Burris doesn’t have much support in Washington or money in his war chest for a reelection bid, but he retains one reliable weapon, Politico reports: the race card. As controversy over his appointment has reemerged, Burris hasn’t hesitated to chalk it up to racial politics. A Burris consultant says “race has something to do with” the Illinois senator’s chilly reception in DC. More»