Ben Quayle Couldn't Say 'I Do'

With all of the recent court decisions on the sanctity of marriage, it is becoming increasingly necessary for conservatives to lay the groundwork for a Constitutional amendment on marriage - once and for all defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. It's incredibly sad that we as a society have reached this point in morality, but what's important is that men and women around the country support a Constitutional amendment to put these activist judges and groups in their places.

Believe it or not, Congressional candidate Ben Quayle could not decide whether or not he supported such a Constitutional amendment ..... just two months ago. When given the opportunity to check a support or oppose box on the Center for Arizona Policy voter guide questionnaire, Quayle instead left the boxes blank, opting to write his rational for the action in some empty space. Mr. Quayle stated that he believed that the Defense of Marriage Act was sufficient to protect marriages, and in his opinion, Constitutional amendments to defend marriage were not correct applications.

Does this mean that Ben Quayle is not conservative because he refused to support - or oppose - a Constitutional marriage amendment? That would be stretching things, but it does raise some questions as to whether or not Mr. Quayle could take a principled and courageous stand in Congress.

Around the time the Vernon Parker campaign pointed out Quayle's lack of conviction on this issue, Quayle sent out a press release calling for a Constitutional amendment to define and defend true marriage. Problem is, he left out the fact that he previously could not say he supported the amendment in the first place. This appears to be nothing more than additional misleading tactics enacted by Ben Quayle.

While Ben Quayle does not appear ready to give yes or no answers to some of the toughest issues of our day, Vernon Parker is - and has been - standing firm on his conservative principles for years. Vernon opposed Governor Brewer's proposed tax increase earlier this year so he started a campaign committee in an attempt to stop the sales tax increase in its path. When most of the candidates for Congress in this race jumped on other politicians' anti-illegal immigration bandwagons, Vernon came up with his own plan -a plan that showed that Vernon Parker could think for himself. And now, with the recent Prop 8 ruling in California, Vernon was one of the first to come out and condemn what had occurred.

Constituents of Arizona's Congressional District Three need a Representative who knows what he believes, and who is willing and committed to act decisively on that which he believes. Vernon Parker has shown that he walks his rhetoric. Ben Quayle has yet to show the constituency that he can do the same.