Ummm… Don’t book the church and the banquet hall and the block of hotel rooms for your big Iowan gay wedding quite yet. A judge has put a halt on the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Des Moines, just hours after the state’s first gay couple, college students, Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan, tied the knot.

I’m eager to hear what all the Presidential candidates shmoozing around Iowa have to say about all of this… Romney has been tooting his trumpet about it already. See the post below.

This story will evolve, of course. But you might want to hold off on ordering your wedding cake from that bakery in Des Moines just yet.

A court in Iowa ruled yesterday that because the state guarantees equal protection, gay marriage is A-OK.

It still needs to go to the Iowa Supreme Court, but this is a big victory. Couples are already marrying.

Happy day. Let’s all celebrate!

Mitt Romney, though, is trying to stomp all over us. Mitt Romney can’t let this go by like the rest of the candidates. No, Mitt Romney needs to say something. Even though Mitt Romney is the LAST person who should say anything, because he–of all people–knows first hand, as a governor of Massachusetts, that gay marriage there did absolutely nothing to harm heterosexual marriage.

What did Mitt Romney say?

Read more…

Hillary Clinton was Letterman’s big guest last night. The two talked seriously about Iraq and campaigning, and it was one of those moments when Mrs. C’s relaxed and affable nature shone through. You can read full details here and here, but for now… Check out her Top Ten list! (And get more here!)

Top Ten Hillary Clinton Campaign Promises

10. Bring stability and long term security to The View.
9. Each year on my birthday, every American gets a cupcake.
8. You’ll have the option of rolling dice against the IRS for double-or-nothing on your taxes.
7. Having trouble getting a flight and Air Force One is available -– it’s yours.
6. My vice president will never shoot anybody in the face.
5. Turn Gitmo into a Dairy Queen as soon as possible.
4. For over a century there have been only two Dakotas –- I plan to double that.
3. We will finally have a president who doesn’t mind pulling over and asking for directions. Am I right, ladies?
2. I will appoint a committee to find out what the heck is happening on Lost.
1. One more pantsuit joke and Letterman disappears.

What’s next? Larry Craig ringtones? Hillary hits Letterman. And Fred gets ready to make it official.

Just in case you need more Larry Craig info, you can now hear audio of his arrest by the Minneapolis cop. But was he entrapped?

Arianna Huffington’s pretty witty. Check out her post about what Hillary Clinton oughtta do when she hits Letterman tonight. Then submit your Top Ten.

Former President Jimmy Carter gives John Edwards props for his commitment to the issues of poverty and the environment. Carter says Edwards could “do well” in the big race for the White House.

Speaking of Edwards, he thinks you should get rid of your SUV. (Hmmm… I bet you’d look sharp in a Honda!)

Which Presidential candidate gets the most donations from gay folks? Well, it’s not Romney or McCain, that’s for sure.

And in Mitt Romney’s new ad, he’s running. And sweating! Is he fleeing the Larry Craig controversy? Sweating any ties he’s had to Craig. Nah, he’s just showing off how sporty and jock-tastic he is. And he’s asking his supporters to make his next ad… Er, you wanna crack at that?

Hillary Clinton is Ellen DeGeneres’ first guest this season. And she’s asking you to tell her what she should ask the Senator, in her own, very Ellen sort of way.

Write your Hillary question here.

The Hillary camp has decided this is a good idea…so they’re soliciting questions that Hillary should ask Ellen.

Ask your Ellen question here.

And hey, you might as well leave a comment and tell us what you’re planning on asking.

Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Dale Carpenter has a great rant on what he calls “ideological schizophrenia” in the GOP. They don’t mind us in private - they even have gay friends and may sympathize with gay bills - but they are anti-gay in public.

Carpenter says, in part:

The big, open secret in Republican politics is that everyone knows someone gay these days and very few people – excepting some committed anti-gay activists – really care. It’s one of the things that drives religious conservatives crazy because it makes the party look like it’s not really committed to traditional sexual morality.

So to keep religious conservatives happy the party has done two things. First, it has steadfastly resisted efforts to ease anti-gay discrimination in public policy, even when Republican politicians know better. I can’t tell you how many Republican staffers told me, for example, that their bosses privately opposed the Federal Marriage Amendment but would be voting for it anyway.

Second, to keep the talent it needs and simply to be as humane and decent as politically possible toward particular individuals, the party has come up with its own unwritten common-law code: you can be gay and work here, we don’t care, but don’t talk about it openly and don’t do anything to make it known publicly in the sense that either the media or the party’s religious base might learn of it. It’s the GOP’s own internal version of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”