I, Mitt Romney, Pledge to Use the Presidency to Be Extra-Nice to Gay Marriage Foes

Adam Serwer notices that three GOP presidential candidates have signed the National Organization for Marriage’s new pledge. “So they pledged to oppose gay marriage?” you ask. Well, yes. That and more.
Serwer focuses on the not-very-federalist idea of a president forcing a city to have a marriage referendum that its elected leaders don’t want to have. I’m fixated at the idea of the presidential commission. The “harassment” being referred to, if we’re taking NOM’s recent legal activity and arguments into account, includes public records reports and journalism about who’s donating to political campaigns. So this is a request for presidential candididates to give special protections to certain people based on their political beliefs. And presidential candidates, not wanting headlines like “GOP candidate disses marriage pledge,” sign on.
Misty water-colored memories: