Bulwark Takes – "Watch the Anti-Gay Marriage Ad With Tim and Sarah"

Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Host: The Bulwark (mainly Tim Miller)
Guests: Sarah Longwell
Date: January 31, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Tim Miller and Sarah Longwell dissect a recent anti-gay marriage campaign ad, part of the so-called “Greater Than” campaign, which calls for a reversal of marriage equality and a ban on same-sex marriage. Tim and Sarah break down the rhetoric and arguments made in the ad, address its underlying homophobia, and provide both personal and political context for the current anti-LGBTQ sentiment. The discussion weaves in sharp critique, lived experience as gay parents, and commentary on ongoing hypocrisy in conservative politics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Return of Anti-Gay Rhetoric (01:00)

• Tim Miller introduces the segment by noting the re-emergence of public anti-gay marriage activism:
  • "The homophobes are back out the closet... They want to come back out into the open." (01:09)
  • The campaign frames marriage equality as harming children and calls for overturning Obergefell.

2. Hypocrisy and Distraction in Child Welfare Arguments (01:47; 02:42)

• Sarah Longwell’s initial reaction is a sharp critique of the selective outrage:
  • "On the week where millions... were super down to party with America's most notorious pedophile… But no, guys, we cannot focus on this because somewhere some gays might be raising some perfectly well adjusted children." (01:59)
• The hosts point out the hypocrisy of focusing on gay families while many high-profile heterosexual abusers remain overlooked.
• Sarah emphasizes the "Trojan horse" nature of these arguments, being less about children and more about targeting gay people (07:12).
  • "They're using this kids thing as a Trojan horse to demonize gay people." (07:12)

3. Breaking Down the Campaign Ad (02:57-04:16)

• The ad’s main claims:
  • Marriage should be "between a mother and father."
  • Children of same-sex couples are supposedly "less than."
  • Trope that "moms don't dad and dads don't mom."
• Tim identifies Michael Knowles of Daily Wire as one speaker, humorously noting, "he was in a gay porn one time." (04:16)

4. What the Research Really Says (04:36-05:30)

• Sarah quickly debunks the campaign’s claims with evidence:
  • "Research actually shows that kids who are raised in a loving family with two parents do great. And… if you really want to go deep on the science, you know who kids do best in overall with everybody? With lesbians with their two moms..." (04:48)
  • She humorously riffs on “double the moms” being “double the great things that moms do.”
  • Both agree two parents is important, regardless of gender or orientation; being a single parent is what's most difficult.

5. The Policy Fallacy & Single Parenting (05:31-07:50)

• Tim and Sarah point out that if these activists cared about kids truly needing families, they would target single parenting, absentee fathers, or child poverty, not gay marriage.
  • "If you did take that argument at face value... It probably wouldn't be banning gays from parenting… There are way more than a million deadbeat dads in the country." (07:55)
• There’s an acknowledgment that not all kids can or should have relationships with their biological fathers, especially in cases of abuse.

6. Realities of LGBTQ Families (08:32-09:48)

• Sarah highlights there are more lesbian parents than gay male parents—practically and culturally—and jokes about her own IVF experience.
  • "The scourge of lesbian parenting, I think, probably ranks really, really, really low in the harm category." (09:11)
• Reiterates that actual threats to children in society come from very different quarters.

7. Nullification Fantasies & Personal Stakes (09:48-10:59)

• Tim wonders what the real goal of these campaigns is: "Do they want to nullify our families, take our children from us, and give them to Russian families?" (10:44)
• Both reflect on the reality that their children are doing well with loving parents, and that for many, the “ideal” family structure was never an option.

8. The Second Clip – Shifting the Marriage Debate (10:59-11:33)

• The ad claims same-sex marriage is about “idiosyncratic romantic desires” of adults and deprives kids of their “natural right” to a mother and father.
• Sarah bristles at the sexualization of marriage equality, emphasizing the real “desire” is for stability and family:
  • "Do you know what the desire is in the context of marriage? It's like to have a family and to create a stable home life and to make a lifelong commitment." (11:46)
• Tim adds:
  • "We could do the idiosyncratic sex stuff actually without the marriage… If your desire was to be a hedonistic gay… that would still be possible." (12:39)

9. Heterosexual Hypocrisy and Sexual Abuse (13:13-15:17)

• Discussion turns to the ongoing Epstein scandal and high-profile heterosexual abusers:
  • "There's a lot of idiosyncratic sexual activity happening in the heterosexual space and it's happening at the top of our government and it's fucking gross and illegal in various ways." (13:39)
  • They cite Elon Musk and others reportedly associating with Epstein (14:19).
• Sarah: "If you've got resources and you are focused on the welfare of children, there are a lot of kids that need help. There are a lot of now grown adults who were children who were abused who need justice and accountability." (15:17)

10. The Real Impact of Marriage Equality (16:11-17:21)

• Tim sarcastically notes one “negative outcome” is kids having to read “the Gay Penguin book.”
• Both discuss that, since marriage equality, the sky hasn’t fallen—the “kids are fine.”
• Tim emphasizes gay parents have often stepped up for kids abandoned by straight parents (16:19).

11. Shifting Targets: From Trans to Gay Rights (17:21-18:41)

• Sarah connects the ad’s timing to the current wave of anti-trans sentiment, suggesting the right is emboldened to expand attacks back onto gay marriage:
  • "The new level of animosity towards trans people… has created for these groups a sense of, like, ooh, we could go back on offense on gay people." (17:29)
  • She stresses that the public overwhelmingly supports marriage equality.

12. Political Implications & GOP Branding (18:41-19:33)

• Tim suggests the anti-gay marriage activists “look weird” and that this may backfire politically, driving moderate voters away from the Republican Party.
  • "If the basket of issues goes back to weird shit like this, I do think that's probably a political winner on the margins." (19:05)
• Sarah skewers the hypocrisy of “Christian” leaders in the Trump coalition, referencing Trump’s scandals:
  • "A bunch of the people who claim to be Christians… are part of the coalition with… the thrice married slept with the porn star, paid her off for her silence guy." (19:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "They're using this kids thing as a Trojan horse to demonize gay people." – Sarah Longwell [07:12]
• "If you really want to go deep on the science, you know who kids do best in overall with everybody? With lesbians with their two Moms. Damn it, you crush when you have two moms." – Sarah Longwell [04:48]
• "It's not like the choices between every kid, you know, growing up in Mayberry in the 1950s… that's not an option for some kids." – Tim Miller [06:21]
• "You could still do that. Like, if your desire was to be a hedonistic gay… that would still be possible." – Tim Miller [12:39]
• "There's a lot of idiosyncratic sexual activity happening in the heterosexual space and it's happening at the top of our government and it's fucking gross and illegal in various ways." – Tim Miller [13:39]
• "They're gonna do things that are 70-30 opinion favorably, which is like, gay marriage. The majority of Americans support it." – Sarah Longwell [18:00]
• "A bunch of the people who claim to be Christians… are part of the coalition with… the thrice married slept with the porn star, paid her off for her silence guy." – Sarah Longwell [19:33]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Return of anti-gay campaign/rhetoric: [01:00]
• Initial reaction (child welfare hypocrisy): [01:59]
• Breakdown of the ad's arguments: [02:57-04:16]
• Debunking with actual research: [04:36-05:30]
• Policy fallacies about family structure: [05:31-07:50]
• Realities of LGBTQ parenting: [08:32-09:48]
• What are these campaigns’ actual goals? [09:48-10:59]
• Sexualization of marriage equality debunked: [11:46-12:39]
• Epstein scandal and child abuse: [13:13-15:17]
• Gay marriage “negative outcomes” sarcasm: [16:11]
• Conservative attacks moving from trans to gay rights: [17:21-18:41]
• Political consequences for the right: [18:41-19:33]

Conclusion

Tim and Sarah provide a withering critique of anti-gay marriage efforts, combining personal experience, evidence-based rebuttal, and cutting humor. They highlight the real hypocrisy and misplaced outrage of the anti-LGBTQ right, reinforce the normalcy and positive outcomes of same-sex parenting, and suggest that renewed anti-gay activism is politically risky in a country where public opinion has shifted dramatically in favor of equality.

Episode mood: Sarcastic, frank, and sharply political, with humor and personal anecdotes highlighting both the absurdity and the real stakes of the current anti-LGBTQ push.