Seeing as how all of Iowa's homosexuals and state supreme court justices (probably at least bi-curious) decided to gang up on the poor, innocent straight people of the Hawkeye State and demolish their God-sanctioned marriages, the issue of gay marriage just might turn out to be a hot topic in the Iowa caucuses for the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.

The big, thick, throbbing question is, though: How much strategic homophobia is just the right amount of strategic homophobia?

Possible presidential candidates Charlie Crist (governor of Florida), Mike Huckabee (former governor of Arkansas), Jon Huntsman (governor of Utah), Bobby Jindal (governor of Louisiana), Sarah Palin (governor of Alaska), Tim Pawlenty (governor of Minnesota), Mitt Romney (former governor of Massachusetts), Mark Sanford (governor of South Carolina), and former Speaker Newt Gingrich are all against gay marriage.

The key difference: Crist and Huntsman favor civil unions for gay couples, while the other seven are against… The question is whether Crist's and Huntsman’s support for civil unions will ultimately cost them more votes than they will gain. A recent University of Iowa poll offers a mixed answer. According to the poll, 53% of Iowa Republicans wish to ban gay marriage and civil unions through a constitutional amendment. On the other hand, just 30% of Iowa independents — who have made up about 15%-25% of Republican caucus attendees in recent competitive contests — favor such an amendment.

To be honest, I really don't think this will still be such a big issue three years from now.

I'm sure the Lord will have rained upon DesMoines and upon Ames brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven long before the 2012 primaries.

Republican Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah is frustrated with his party and its "gratuitous partisanship"…

Huntsman's primary beef with the Republican minority is that, in his view, they haven't come up with new ideas and solutions, but are representing themselves as — to borrow a cliche — the party of "no."

"Right now, we are devoid of some of those big ideas that will allow us to become a governing party once again," Huntsman told the Times. "Until we get to that point, we are going to be sort of out there gasping for air, and that's where we are right now."

RNC Chairman Michael Steele fired back by "threatened to withhold party funds from three GOP senators who voted for the stimulus package."

Who's being gratuitously partisan now, huh?