Former Vermont governor and current Democrat National Committee Chairman Howard Dean continues to demonstrate that any wacko can run Vermont -- or the Democrat Party.

In a ruling today, New York's high court decided that there in no "right" to gay marriage in that state's constitution. This prompted Dean -- who is obviously one of the sort that perfer the oligarchical rule of the judiciary over the benighted lawmaking of a representative government -- to go nuts.

"As Democrats, we believe that every American has a right to equal protection under the law and to live in dignity. And we must respect the right of every family to live in dignity with equal rights, responsibilities and protections under the law. Today's decision by the New York Court of Appeals, which relies on outdated and bigoted notions about families, is deeply disappointing, but it does not end the effort to achieve this goal.

"As that essential process moves forward, it is up to the State legislature to act to protect the equal rights of every New Yorker and for the debate on how to ensure those rights to proceed without the rancor and divisiveness that too often surrounds this issue."

But wait a second, didn't Dean appear on the "700 Club" just months ago and say something completely different?

Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean has contradicted his party's platform and infuriated gay rights advocates by saying the party's platform states "marriage is between a man and a woman."

Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean, appearing on the Christian Broadcasting Network, erroneously stated that the party's 2004 platform says 'marriage is between a man and a woman.' Christian conservative Pat Robertson is host of the program.
"The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says marriage is between a man and a woman," Dean said May 10 during a "700 Club" program hosted by conservative Christian leader Pat Robertson on his Christian Broadcasting Network.

That statement contradicts the Democratic National Committee's official stance, adopted in 2004. The '04 party platform indicates that marriage is an issue that should be left to the states to resolve, taking no position on whether or not states should marry same-sex couples.

"We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families," the platform says.

Dean apparently thought that A) "700 Club" watchers are stupid, and B) no homosexuals or liberals are assigned by various political watchdog groups to monitor the "700 Club."

But there's something deeper going on here with Dean's Democrats -- a deep-seated hostility to religion.

I know some will take issue with me conflating gay marriage and Christianity, but I think it's pretty safe to say that a majority of people opposed to gay marriage base that view largely on their religious beliefs. I know that Maggie Gallagher and others often present arguments from a secular perspective to push back against gay marriage, but the foundation for much of the opposition to gay marriage is a religious one, whether it be the Bible, the Torah or the koran.

The loony left is ... well, loony ... but they recognize that religious conservatives (aka evangelical Christians) oppose their gay marriage-abortion-on-demand-socially liberal policies -- and a new poll shows just how large the anti-(serious)-religion base of the Democrat Party is.

According to cross-tabulated data I have received from Bloomberg, 37% of self-identified liberals say they would vote against an evangelical Christian candidate for president; 38% of self-identified liberal Democrats would do so. Democrats as a whole are significantly more likely to vote against an evangelical Christian candidate for president–over a quarter (28%)–than either Republican or Independent voters. And barely a majority (53%) of all Democrats would vote for an evangelical candidate for president.

I used the qualifier "serious" before because that's the easiest way to separate a Bob Casey Jr. from a John Kerry. While I disagree with many of the positions of both of these men, Casey at least appears to be serious about his religious belief. Both are Catholics, but only Casey sticks to the church's teachings across the board. Kerry has said his faith is integral to his policy decisions -- except where it diverges with Democrat Party orthodoxy, Kerry is pro-abortion-on-demand.

Less insane Democrats realize that they can't consistently win elections in America when they show Howard Dean levels of disdain and outright hostility to religious believers. Many Democrats still poll well in so-called "mainline churches," but those Christianity-lite houses of worship have been steadily declining in attendance as evangelical churches have experienced growth by leaps and bounds. If the Democrats want to win the presidency, they'll have to find a way to reach out to religious communities while at the same time keeping their crazy base supportive -- and muzzled.

With Dean as party leader, that's going to be an impossible tightrope to walk.