In another move to shove all but the most conservative out of the party the GOP platform committee voted today to reject an amendment supporting Civil Unions for both straight and gay couples.

Rhode Island delegate Barbara Ann Fenton introduced the amendment, saying:

“As a Roman Catholic, there’s nobody in this room who believes [more than I do] that the definition of marriage is between one man and one woman,” she said. “But those are my religious beliefs, and this country was founded on the separation of church and state.”

“At 31, I don’t see people because of the color of their skin and I don’t recognize them by their sexuality,” she added. “For my own generation, a lot of times homosexuality is not the biggest deal in the world. And that’s OK.”

The conservative delegates listened to what she had to say and then promptly shot her idea down with some calling civil unions “counterfeit marriage”

I have a number of friends who are very conservative both politically and religiously. They are generally opposed to marriage equality and we have largely agreed to disagree on this issue.

Yet not one of them is opposed to the idea of civil unions. Not one. They all support the idea that a committed couple should be able to inherit from each other, visit each other in the hospital, etc. For them the idea of denying a loving couple such things is an anathema to the very concept of a loving faith, let alone a proper role for government.

When asked for my political philosophy I often jokingly say I am not sure if I am an independent leaning Republican or a republican leaning Independent.

Between Akin and platform views like this, I am wondering how much longer the word Republican will remain in the description. This is a painful thing for me to consider because I am very much in the mold of the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan.

But I am not sure such a party exists anymore.