The "divisive wedge issue" of gay marriage was supposed to split apart the Democratic base into religious groups unwilling to endorse the process and more liberal intellectuals opposed to the amendment, all while rousing the evangelical religious base of the Republican party in the hopes that moderates wouldn't be scared off. This tactic has failed. President Bush's endorsement of adding a constitutional amendment codifying discrimination has come to represent a new low in modern civil rights, and serves as a constant reminder to all voters of the depths his campaign is willing to stoop in order to be elected. It has scared off the more libertarian-minded members of the Republican party who do not believe in government intervention at the social level, and pushed erstwhile conservative "log cabin Republicans" like Andrew Sullivan into the Kerry camp. In addition, it has energized an unexpected constituency, (requires free registration) gay voters themselves, who are understandably angered at the prospects of their rights being trampeled and by being used as political pawns and are motivating to get the vote out for Kerry in swing states (no pun intended.)
Dana Perlman and Steve Bauer Feind arrived by plane from Los Angeles on Saturday morning, an hour before the weekend's big door-to-door voter mobilization was to begin. Christopher Labonte arrived Thursday from Washington, D.C. Julian High came from there on Tuesday.
The four volunteers are members or employees of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay, bisexual and transgender political organization. They were part of the largest get-out-the-vote operation Nevada has ever seen. While the Republicans across town had their own effort underway, the ACT coalition -- independent of, but working for the Democratic ticket -- had amassed a large collection of groups -- from labor unions, veteran and student organizations, and HRC, which has 600,000 members and counting.
The article identifies the gay community as comprising around 5 percent of the total electorate, though it is unclear where this number comes from. Even without any firm data on the actual numbers of self-identifying gay registered voters, a lowball guesstimate of 1% would still put them above the radar in an election as close as this one. In addition, not only has talk of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage angered many homosexuals themselves, but has motivated sympathetic heterosexuals as well.
Joe Reubens, a veteran of political campaigns, was hired by HRC as its Nevada field director four months ago. "I'm a straight man who joined the campaign because I'm offended that this man who ran as a 'uniter, not a divider' has proposed an amendment to the Constitution to protect his voting base at the expense of a demographic group," he said. "And from my experience, in this election cycle, many people feel the same way."
I know I do. I think on Tuesday we'll be surprised to see that a lot of others do as well.
Sadly, I think it's the gay marriage issue that knocked Missouri off the list of swing states and into the Bush's camp. After the primaries here, when Missouri resoundingly went on record as banning gay marriage, it was all but given up on by the national Democratic party, which decided to cut its losses and spend its efforts elsewhere. Now, on the eve of the election, it looks like Missouriis not only still a swing state, but one where Kerry has an edge. If things had gone a little differently, it might be a more sure thing for him here now.
(Not that I'm a Kerry supporter, but I do have a problem reelecting a candidate that's looted our economy to the benefit of a few of his cronies, all the while promoting a radically fundamentalist agenda.)
baudot said:
Sadly, I think it's the gay marriage issue that knocked Missouri off the list of swing states and into the Bush's camp. After the primaries here, when Missouri resoundingly went on record as banning gay marriage, it was all but given up on by the national Democratic party, which decided to cut its losses and spend its efforts elsewhere. Now, on the eve of the election, it looks like Missouriis not only still a swing state, but one where Kerry has an edge. If things had gone a little differently, it might be a more sure thing for him here now.
(Not that I'm a Kerry supporter, but I do have a problem reelecting a candidate that's looted our economy to the benefit of a few of his cronies, all the while promoting a radically fundamentalist agenda.)
It's tough to say, I think. The issue has helped energize the evangelical base, I'll give it that - but I stick by my guns that it's turned off a lot of moderate voters too. That and the fact that there are Republican-mounted efforts in 11 different states to make gay marriage illegal shows that this is not just a fluke, it's a concerted effort to disenfranchise a large group of people. It should be highly worrisome to everyone when multiple branches of the goverment work together to ensure that people lack a particular right.
God, and I have to vote on a proposed amendment to my state's constitution tomorrow as well -.- Voting No, of course, to strike down the ban, but I know it's gonna go through -.- Damn you Kentucky! >< Well, hopefully this'll bring it to the forefront as the abberrant civil rights violation that it is and will swiftly be taken off the books forever and ever and ever...Though probably not ;.;
legionnaire
Belgium
November 2003
NOV 01, 2004 02:02 PM