There were two fascinating things about the same sex marriage victory in New York on Friday night. First, the Democrats were united and crowing in victory, with Governor Cuomo seeking the limelight and the party. Contrast that with Governor Baldacci in Maine two years ago who signed the bill after publicly fretting. Second, the Republicans who had the power to block the vote in the NY Senate let the vote take place, knowing they would lose. Both point to the same thing: the view that same sex marriage is now popular enough that Democrats want to use it to get votes and money from their base. Big change. The more interesting thing was the Republican decision. I think the GOP wants to use gay marriage the way it has used abortion for years: as a rallying cry for the rubes, but without actually DOing anything that would upset their suburban, educated voters who really don't want to see abortion be illegal. "Choose life" is better than "Outlaw abortion." Even Sarah Palin seemed unable to grasp that being pro-life means wanting to outlaw abortion rather than just being sanctimonious about it. So that's where the Republicans are heading. By not actually making policy against gays, they open a space for some gays and moderates, and educated voters to cast their ballots for them despite their anti-gay rhetoric designed to attract the rural and uneducated voters. I know family members, for example, who are firmly pro-choice but vote Republican because the GOP allows them to practice this sort of cognitive dissonance.
I'll take it.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Same Sex Marriage Wins in New York
Posted by The Law Talking Guy at 7:43 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Good point, LTG. You're right. It would be nice if the Republicans didn't pander to bigots but if they must do it, it's nice that they've given up on taking meaningful action. I'm with you, I'll take it.
I think LTG said it right... The amazing thing here is to see how Gov. Cuomo and other New York Democrats proudly supported gay marriage. By letting the measure pass, the GOP has effectively taken a losing wedge issue for them off the table. (Pardon my mixed metaphors.)
The Democrats in Iowa have been openly acting to defend the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in that state - even after their electoral defeats in 2010. The Democrats are starting to realize that the whole "Bigots for Jesus" angle doesn't play in suburbs or even all rural populations and they can stand up to it.
Bigots for Jesus plays pretty well in many places, but it's kind of tapped out. Independent voters and swing voters are not really moved by it and the conservative anti-gay constituency is aging and gradually diminishing. Urban conservatives are also running away from Bigots for Jesus because that behavior has made them uncompetitive in every major urbanized state.
Post a Comment