When one wedge issue just isn't enough

Poll numbers down? Bash the gays again.

Republican members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee chose that route today, voting for a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage despite the fact that its prospects for passage this year are roughly the same as Utah State's chances of going to the Rose Bowl. The committee also held the hearing away from its usual meeting place, which was the final straw that prompted a walkout by U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., a vocal opponent of the gay marriage ban.

Notably, today's hearing occurred in a tiny room off the Senate floor that lacked enough space for all of the committee members to sit down. In other words, senators essentially huddled into a closet to vote against gay marriage. Delightful.