i wonder how many people voted Yes on california’s odious proposition 8 in the mistaken belief that Yes meant Yes, i am in favor of gay marriage?
quite a few, i suspect.
there were also likely many “whatever” votes — citizens who may have known nothing about prop 8 and its implications. let’s not forget how many first-timers crawled out of their surf shacks to vote this year. i’ve heard a lot about how it was the african-american vote that doomed prop 8, those black family values… which seemed to make sense at first, but not after doing a bit more reading on the numbers and percentages involved. there simply aren’t enough black people IN california (los angeles notwithstanding) to have tipped it.
unfortunately, obama did not help on this one. he has stated before that he is not in favor of gay marriage, though he didn’t (as far as i know) speak directly to this proposition. i can understand why, politically, he wouldn’t have support this during the brual presidential campaign, and insofar as it helped him to win the election i am glad he did not: we need him in the white house. however, obama is otherwise huge supporter of gay rights — in addition to publicly calling for the repeal of DOMA (the horrid federal defense of marriage act brought to you by none other than bubba clinton) his newly stated white house employment policy goes even further:
meanwhile, back in sacramento, the governator is now furiously backtracking on his commitment to the log cabin republicans that he would fight for the passage of p8. he was worried that failing to support it would cost him with the republicans. guess what, arnold? you bet on the wrong fucking horse.
most people don’t lay awake nights dreaing the onset of queer nuptials. i don’t think even most right-wing republicans really give a flying fuck about it one way or another (unless they’re gay themselves) in their heart of hearts. it’s just political shorthand. i believe this to be true about abortion rights as well. otherwise it makes no sense: “i’m a right-wing republican because i believe in the sanctity of life” just doesn’t cut it with such a warlike group. more than half a million dead in iraq, and you respect the sanctity of life? not unless you’re out on the barricades trying to stop YOUR leader from perpetrating HIS (oil) war.
i digress.
apparently gay marriage is also ecumenical shorthand for the mormons who, with their millions of dollars in donations and their fairly evil advertising campaign, were the single biggest force behind the passage of proposition 8. and they are about to get their asses handed to them for it, as lawsuits seeking to remove their tax-exempt status have already commenced, and a boycott of the mormon’s big money hotel chains (including the marriot, did you know that?) is just getting started. spread the word about that boycott if you can. there’s also some talk about boycotting sundance, which is unlikely to fly. good. let’s not throw away the baby with the bathwater, shall we?
there was a huge, noisy, peaceful civil rights march in san francisco this weekend protesting prop 8. i don’t get how a confusingly-worded constitutional amendment makes it onto any ballot for a simple majority vote (a two-thirds vote is required by law for constitutional amendments, and revoking the rights of a huge class of citizens is a constitutional amendment if ever i saw one).
here’s a few minutes of that glorious mayhem:
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politics in the zeroes also has a great flickr photostream on the march.
and speaking of protests, what the fuck is harry reid thinking? there is no way, NO WAY, joe lieberman should retain any seat of power in congress. if reid doesn’t act on this, then HE should be removed. it’s time to take the gloves off, democrats. and don’t hide behind obama, either, the way chris dodd is trying to do: barack needs you to do this for him and he needs to remain above that fray. he’s got bigger fights to win with the white house. don’t you politicans know how to read between the lines? just grow a pair and get it handled, guys.
ugh. i’m exhausted with this sad shit. i’m gonna go hang with michael moore for a while and watch people all over the country dancing in the streets on election night.
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Wasn’t the “don’t ask, don’t tell” a Clintonian product as well?
In other news of confusingly worded propositions, here in Arizona we had one for “payday loan reform” brought to you by–you guessed it–the payday loan people! It was tricky, because a “yes” vote seemed to be for reform, yet a no vote–to keep existing law on the books–provided for the *outlawing* of usurious payday loan issuers. As confusing as this seemed, the people of Arizona voted this one down.
As far as gay marriage goes, with Proposition 8 getting all the attention, it may have been overlooked that Arizona voted in a *consitutional amendment” defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, despite the law against gay marriage already existing on the books.
And so it goes.
i found you through Collin and really like the passion on your page! i keep shifting toward Obama on tv because it makes me feel ridiculously happy, vs the feverish stupor i usually end up in from ‘the news’.
maggies last blog post..Anne Sexton, I Could Have Been Your Daughter
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