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Lay Off Mayor NewsomAs the saying from Network goes, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" As if "losing" the Election last week wasn't bad enough, now I have to sit and listen to people blaming San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for our electoral woes. Moral this and moral that. Values this and values that. Evangelicals this and evangelicals that. According to dictionary.com, morals arise from conscience or the sense of right and wrong. How can we expect anyone watching this election cycle to know exactly where the Democratic Party stood on the issue of marriage equality? While the Republicans had a clearly misguided stance, no one could accuse them of wavering in their bigotry. Don't blame Gavin Newsom. Mayor Newsom did something few Democrats are willing to do today. He stood firmly behind his beliefs and as a result I predict his margin will not only improve among liberals but moderate voters as well when he's up for reelection. You see voters don't necessarily want someone they agree with 100% of the time, they want consistency and commitment. We Democrats are easy to attack on moral issues (and many others) because we continue to nominate candidates that equivocate to appease the supposed swing vote. Equivocation equals weakness in the eyes of the voters whether or not this weakness actually exists. I'm not asking our party to deny the complexity of issues like George W. But if we refuse to nominate charismatic, plain spoken, candidates with clearly defined principles and beliefs last week's election is only a precursor of what's to come down the road. When half our Senate and House candidates campaign across the country saying they don't support FMA because they see it as a state issue it not only infuriates the right but confuses the middle and left. Republicans are left thinking our candidates support Gay Marriage and Democrats are left thinking they think the state should outlaw it. Where is the morality in this position? Imagine if you will our Democratic candidates saying they don't believe the Federal Government should sanction slavery because our FEDERAL constitution should never encourage discrimination. Further more, they believe our states should be left to handle this issue because, as the theory plays out, they are better suited to discriminate. I defy you to find a shred of logic or morality in this approach. If we can't stick to our progressive morals how can we expect to match the right on the moral issues? Had the Democratic Party been as clear and consistent as the Republican Party we'd be able to blame San Francisco... but we weren't. Until we are, we should all lay off Gavin Newsom.
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For crying out loud
Speaking as a sometime gay activist, I can tell you that I remain livid at the LGBT movement for pushing this issue in an election year.
First of all, the entire subject has obviously backfired badly, with 11 states now having constitutional amendments barring gay marriage, so our activities don't even have the one redeeming quality of success.
Second, last I checked, politics isn't about being on the right side of the issues at every single moment, but about winning elections to pass an agenda. The gay marriage debate would have been a good one to have in 2005 with President Kerry in the white house. In 2004, the only goal of the entire progressive movement should have been to get Kerry elected - but no, we had to go off on our quixotic quest to enact gay marriage in a few scattered locales, thereby handing the right wing a golden gift, and in the process setting back the entire movement for no gain whatsoever.
Once again, politics isn't about being right - it's about securing power and then doing what is right. The repugs know this - are we ever going to learn it?
I could not agree more.
The timing was terrible and those insisting on gay marriage right now, played right into the hands of the bushistas. The way that things fall right into place when Bush needs them and other things seem to roll right off him without leaving any stain, makes one wonder if there really are gods on Mt. Olympus who heartlessly play with men's lives for their own amusement.