Something Bush knows nothing about: Owning up to political mistakes can be a valuable lesson in humility. - Sid was mistaken. It is not a GOP event.

I wish President Bush recognized that owning up to political mistakes can be a valuable lesson in humility.

Heck, I feel humble anyway, and thus admitting I made a mistake -- whether a political one or one on this blog -- comes about as easy as taking a compliment on a post. (And I thank those of you who complimented on the post that is the subject of this post.)

Anyway, as disclosed by the words in bold in the caption of one of today's post, I thought Saturday, March 12, was a GOP affair. This is reflected in my title to the post:

"A message to Chuck Bowen, Executive Director of Georgia Equality. - Call off the Saturday, March 12, saturation of the GOP's 'family day' event."

Additionally, it is reflected in that part of the post saying:

"Mr. Bowen, crashing someone else's party -- whether you are Garth Brooks or Chuck Bowen, and whether such party is for gays, straights, Philistines or otherwise -- on a special day hardy seems an appropriate way to advocate one's interest with the public."

The readers of this blog know that I routinely refer to Republicans as the Philistines.
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Well, I have learned that this is not a GOP family affair, but rather an affair for everybody, a day at the Capitol when the working man can be there, etc.
I had known that the Legislature was having a Saturday session sometime in the future, having read about it a couple of weeks or more ago and also watching Rep. Tyrone Brooks talk about it on Lawmakers, and about how our Jim Crow legislation was going to be taken care of on such day. I also glanced at the 3-1-05 article in the ajc noting this event would be held during this legislative session, but didn't pay much attention to the day.

But when I saw the Political Insider article in today's ajc nothing that the Republican leaders had designated a Saturday for "a 'family day' complete with a picnic on the Capitol grounds," and that a "group representing Georgia homosexuals said it intends to saturate the event with gay and lesbian families," I thought the GOP was having a special day for GOP families this weekend.

Frankly, if anyone read my post when it was first posted, you would have seen it was entitled "Call off the Saturday saturation of the GOP's 'family day' event." It was not until I received my first comment to the post that I realized that it was not this Saturday and that I might be mistaken in assuming it was a GOP affair. Thus I immediately added in the "March 12" to the caption so I would cause no further confusion to the readers of this blog.
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Since it is, as stated in the above-linked ajc article, "a rare Saturday session [being held on] March 12 so that families can watch their state government in action [and t]he legislators plan to recess by noon for an old-fashioned barbecue with the visiting families," I would consider this pretty much a wide-open invitation to the world.

Thus I stand corrected with respect to that part of my post being critical of Chuck Bowen, Executive Director of Georgia Equality, for planning on crashing a political party's party for families. To the extent one is in order with respect to the foregoing, I also extend a personal apology to Mr. Bowen.
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The comment I received noted in part:

"I do not see your point as to why it is wrong for gay and lesbian families to attend Family Day at the Capitol. Who is 'crashing someone else's party?' This is supposed to be a day for everyday Georgians to attend the legislature on a Saturday (a non-working day), to see how the process works, and to get to meet the legislators. Why should gay and lesibian families not be a part of this?"

As noted above, I agree that no one will be crashing anyone's party, and the world, and this most certainly includes gay and lesbian families, are invited.

The comment continues:

"I don't want to call your post homophobic Sid, but it straddles the line. I think, Sid, it simply comes down to the fact that you don't understand gay and lesbian issues. You really don't get it."

I respond to this comment by repeating the comment I made to a comment to my 12-27-04 post captioned "When the Dean speaks, the Democratic Party better listen, Part I. - Same-sex marriage & abortion. Part II is Sid's response to the Dean."

There I wrote:

"For the record Mr. _____, your comment is the first time I have ever had anyone say that I have 'hostility towards gay rights.'

"If you really believe that I have hostility 'towards non-christian rights' as you put it, I think it is you and not me that needs to consider whether you fit in and want to 'remain with the Democratic party.' I have a number of very close gay friends and acquaintances. And having been born colorblind, raised in a Christian family, brought up to respect the rights and feelings of others, I do my best to try to live by the Golden Rule and follow the words of the Master and Greatest Teacher of all times who tells us in Matthew 7:1 'Judge not, that ye not be judged.'

"Our Party is the only major political force that respects the rights of others to have different lifestyles and religious beliefs or the lack thereof. Such respect, however, does not mean we are forbidden in expressing our beliefs. And get ready. While you may not approve, we are proud of our Judeo-Christian heritage, and do not believe it is something on which the GOP has a monopoly."
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All of the above notwithstanding, I do the ajc's Political Insider was onto a message when it captioned its story:

"We hear that SpongeBob SquarePants has RSVP'd as well"

As noted in my earlier post of today, the Political Insider notes:

"[A] group representing Georgia homosexuals said it intends to saturate the event with gay and lesbian families."

As Baxter & Galloway wrote:

"Here's a party that just got more interesting . . ."

Had I not made the mistake I made in thinking this was a GOP event being held this Saturday, do I think it is appropriate for the gay and lesbian families to saturate the event?

I leave my response to your imagination.

I will tell you that other groups plan on trying to make an impression. For example, the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council, a unit of Georgia AFL-CIO, has put out a flyer -- a flyer I got this afternoon -- saying:

"Saturday, March 12th, It's Family Day at the State Capitol. Let’s Show Them What Working Families Look Like."

I also have been sent a flyer today that is being distributed by the Democratic Party of Georgia saying:

"Saturday, March 12, 2005, has been designated by the new Republican majority as 'Family Day at the Capitol.' This is a day for families to come together and watch a very short legislative session. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the crowd that arrived on 'Family Day' really looked like the families of Georgia? We think so. We're calling families from all over Metro Atlanta to turn out on Saturday, March 12.

"For those of you that are interested in going together in mass to show real working families, there will be a march (this is not a protest, but instead just to show our strength in numbers)."

"Come and help show the elected leaders of Georgia what real working families are all about."
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All of the above makes it sound like everyone in Georgia except me is going to be there.