In an interview yesterday with Stephen F. Hayes of the Weekly Standard, Arizona Senator John McCain discussed requirements for potential running mates. In response to a question about pro-choice Republicans, McCain had this to say:

I think it’s a fundamental tenet of our party to be pro-life but that does not mean we exclude people from our party that are pro-choice. We just have a–albeit strong–but just it’s a disagreement. And I think Ridge is a great example of that. Far moreso than Bloomberg, because Bloomberg is pro-gay rights, pro, you know, a number of other issues.

Note that McCain isn’t talking about having a problem with someone who favors gay marriage or gay adoption. This is pro-gay anything. In only slightly other words, McCain requires that the Vice President of his administration be anti-gay.

After McCain’s interview last month with The New York Times I shouldn’t be surprised. In it he said had this response to a question about gays adopting:

I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.

That’s a faulty ‘whereas’ and faulty logic for the ‘therefore’ in order to come to the faulty and, yes, bigoted conclusion that gays shouldn’t be permitted to have families.

The evidence is clear. A McCain administration, God help us, would be virulently anti-gay. If this is what McCain says to the press, I can’t imagine how hostile he must be in private.

I don’t generally advocate single-issue voting, but I’ll make an exception this time around. A vote for John McCain is a vote for the restriction and reduction of basic civil rights. America can’t afford that anymore.