Pro-Gay Marriage Forces Out to Elect More Maine Democrats

The Yes on 1 campaign needs to organize to defeat legislators who supported same sex marriage in the Legislature.

There are dozens of legislators who voted for same sex marriage who represent districts that voted strongly against same sex marriage.

One of the reasons that Democrats win is the interest groups on their side of the line work hard to help elect Democrats. It is time that groups on the right side of the line do the same.

2010 is a perfect time to target those who voted contrary to their districts.

We know what Jesse and his group will be doing. Will the Yes on 1 folks be doing the same?

Impossible. How in the world could Maine actually elect *more* Democrats????

And besides, all they really need to do is protect the Dems who are already in office. They passed it once, they'll pass it again.

What this comes down to is table setting for Equality Maine. If a single Democrat takes a seat from a Republican, Jesse will be able to claim that the tide is turning for the LGBT team.

It would be useful to know how many legislators from NO-vote districts voted against gay marriage. Not many, if any would be my guess. How will it play if the LGBT forces attack a legislator for voting the way his constituents voted? More likely to help than harm hm is my guess.

And how will those fare who voted for gay marriage in habitually Democratic districts the vote went 60-75% against?

Is Connolly THAT inept or is this just a fund-raising ploy?

There are dozens of legislators who voted for same sex marriage who represent districts that voted strongly against same sex marriage.

In Auburn,
Brian Bolduc (D) voted yes.
Deb Simpson, (D) voted yes.
Bruce Bickford, (R) voted no.

You know Dan, Charlotte is going to condemn us for this. ;-)

Yes on 1 should get behind some moderate Democrats in the next primary. A couple more Troy Jackson's in the Senate and this is no longer an issue.

It would be useful to know how many legislators from NO-vote districts voted against gay marriage. Not many, if any would be my guess.

#150, for starters.

Given the numbers of the general election last year, and those in favor of "yes on 1", I'd say we just need to elect DIFFERENT democrats. Betcha some repubs voted in favor of this at the legislative level. Dan has the numbers on this.

The last thing this state needs is more "moderate Democrats" (whatever that is, since the state's leading "moderate Democrat" blindly follows Pelosi).

We need a Republican governor who will veto this bill. As we saw, having a Democratic governor who says he's against it clearly doesn't mean much.

Can anyone find the roll call vote on the bill? Would be interesting to see.

That's not what they'll do.

I remember someone a young man who was a volunteer for or paid employee of Equality Maine (probably the latter) came to our house during the June 2007 special election in House district 83. The flyer he passed out had a sympathetic looking little boy and said something to the effect of "Deane Jones thinks everyone should have access to health care." It included a quote from Jones that said something like "good health care should not be limited to those with the ability to pay." I was Unenrolled at the time but my mom and dad were Democrats and I'm sure my mom had contributed some to Baldacci's campaign the year before. The guy from equality Maine may have just gone to houses where he thought the a populist/class warfare/whatever you call it message on health care would play well. But even with swing voters, in 2007 when Bush was President and not popular, a message like that which today might easily be seen as socialist may have seemed sensible. But the guy from Eqaulity Maine clearly wasn't focused on gay marriage. The health care issue will probably not play as well for Democrats in 2010, but special interest groups that favor Democrats will try to find some other issue to use on paid advertisements, and it won't necessarily be an issue that is the main reason that group is supporting the Democrats.

The legislatures are already far to the left of the people they represent. "Gay marriage" is merely a rallying point for those who want to push the legislatures even further left.

Lefties don't care about gay people, any more than they care for inner-city African-American kids. It's about manipulating voters and destroying the country.

Sad to say, the "Yes on 1" campaign is over and dismantled. But I do agree that organizing needs to be done to assemble another group which will unceasingly work toward keeping the principle at the fore. To steal a motto from the left: "Endless pressure endlessly applied."

And once again, I need to point out that this is not a Democrat/Repubican issue. It turns out, in fact, that very little in this nation is truly a matter of which party is right and which is wrong.

I don't know about anyone else, but charlotte's condemnation -- indeed, the world's condemnation -- is not really that big an issue for me.

Your wish is my command.

In Maine, the gay marriage issue is a Democrat/Republican issue. The Democrats in the Legislature voted for it in large numbers and almost all Republicans voted against it.

Does anyone have the complete text of Jesse Connolly's angry concession speech?

From the standpoint of strategery... well, let's look at it like this: EQME and its allies - and out-of-state funders - have already played this card. There was significant money brought in during the last legislative election cycle to support D candidates known to be potentially friendly to SSM ("significant" money in Maine House seats is cheap; five grand is enough to give one candidate a significant edge over an opponent who's running "clean"). That's one reason why Maine is targeted by national groups for this effort: buying votes here is cheap. So Jesse's comment isn't so much a declaration of war as it is a reaffirmation of the previous strategy, which very nearly worked.

In terms of raw numbers, the House would seem a lost cause (unless there are a significant number of D house members limiting out - which I haven't checked but suspect there aren't). Next time around, as was the case this time, the action will turn on the Senate and the gubernatorial races. So while it's clearly in the best interest of the state to minimize the D stranglehold on the House, it's essential to make sure that the Senate and/or the Blaine House drop into the R column.

Everything else is whizzin' in the wind.

Calling Paul Madore in Lewiston: Make this issue #1 in opposing Craven in the primary.

I do not see how this will help their cause. As long as we have a peoples veto alternative, electing more democrats will not help them. Unless of course they are attempting to elect more democrats as a punishment to the voters who appartently are rejecting the "progressive" movement....which it would be, what is the point?

In Maine, the gay marriage issue is a Democrat/Republican issue.

Sounds like you've changed your mind, Dan. During the Question 1-2 battle, you once said that the GOP needed to stay clear of the fracas and not make it a partisan issue. I'm too lazy to search for your posts - it's football Sunday - but I think my memory is correct.

Not too long ago, I questioned why no Republican leader came out and endorsed Question 1, considering that marriage is defined as a union between one man and one woman in the party platform.

So now that the battle is over, the GOP wants to participate in the victory parade. IMHO: They don't deserve to.

It is not a good strategy to interject partisan politics into the middle of a tight referendum campaign. Letting the No side say that right-wing Republicans were pushing for a Yes vote would not have helped the campaign.

Reminding the voters that you were on the right side of an issue and your opponent was on the wrong side is another thing entirely. But even in that context, I would do it with a focus on the candidates not parties.

Many Maine people are upset that we just had this big fight. Letting people know why we had the fight -- Democrats (and Peter Mills) passed the bill -- is good politics.

Nothing at all inconsistent about my comments on this issue.

Jim Campbell of Newfield voted for it. No surprise there. He's carried the Dem's water on just about every controversial vote. My only saving grace is that I believe he is termed out this time.

Letting people know why we had the fight -- Democrats (and Peter Mills) passed the bill -- is good politics.

Rosen wimped out, voting Absent, and Rector voted with Mills...

Rosen voted correctly three times on April 30th. He was not at the State House on May 6th when the final vote on enactment was held. Your critcism is off base.

Rector voted the same way as his district.

Mike -

If political endorsements meant much the No on 1 side would have prevailed, no? The Yes on 1 campaign saw no advantage in political endorsements. Several GOP legislators helped us during the campaign - we did not seek their endorsement of Yes on 1. The Senate/House LD 1020 enactment votes show the Democrat/Republican divide on this issue. But, as I say, Yes on 1 saw no gain in promoting that political divide during the People's Veto campaign.

Best,
skf

Exactly. But promoting the difference during a legislative campaign is another matter entirely.

Editor's Note: Boston-based Human Rights Campaign was a top backer - bucks/manpower - of the No on 1 campaign.

www.wgme.com
Governor Baldacci Honored For Supporting Same Sex Marriage

Despite voters overturning Maines same sex marriage law, the man who signed it, Governor John Baldacci, was honored Saturday for doing just that.

In Boston, Baldacci was awarded for his support of gay marriage by the Human Rights Campaign. And even though Maine voters overturned the law, Baldacci says he's proud of the effort supporters put behind it. Baldacci received the human rights commission marriage equality award for his support on the issue.

Posted: Saturday, November 14 2009, 08:27 PM EST

http://www.wgme.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wgme_vid_1352.shtml

So Governor Baldacci was afeared his legacy would be the mortally wounded state economy, and it turns out he will long be remembered as the governor who lied to constituents about his principles, bucked his own church on the matter of sin, and signed in a bill that he knew very well was not something the Maine citizens were adamantly against.

Well done, Governor. Well done.

Scott and Dan,

I agree completely that during the recent referendum it was not the time to make this a partisan issue. The 2010 elections are the time to use this against Democrats in "Yes" districts. Also, the eventual GOP candidate for Governor should most definitely use this against his Democratic rival. Unlike 2006 & 2008, Republicans are going to have the wind on their backs for the coming cycle. This issue could further help though.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind seeing some inter-Democratic primary challenges on this issue. I want this issue to be dealt significant political damage - one way or the other.

Jesse is right on the money. Both sides will try to do just that...elect more representatives that support their position. I will work hard to do just that.

Robert..you can't come up with anything better then to assume my opinion? Again, that really has not served you well in recent posts.

Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009
From: "Betsy Smith, EqualityMaine"
Subject: Continuing to Protect Maine Equality

Jesse Connolly was right when he said our opponents were way off base to view the vote in Maine as a harbinger of what lies ahead. While the numbers favored our opponents on Election Day, we have by no means lost the campaign to win marriage equality.

This campaign began nearly four years ago when EqualityMaine and our coalition partners began changing hearts and minds on why marriage matters for all Maine families.

Through your incredible efforts, and the efforts of thousands of other volunteers and donors, this campaign produced an historic win in the Legislature this spring, and moved ever closer to winning marriage at the polls this November.

We are encouraged, inspired and ready to finish the job. And we're counting on you to join us.

EqualityMaine is hosting a series of Community Conversations across the state in December, where we'll debrief the campaign and discuss next steps in winning marriage equality in Maine.

Please save the date for one of the following Community Conversations:

Sunday, Dec. 6 - Augusta
Monday, Dec 7 - Ogunquit 
Tuesday, Dec 8 - Ellsworth
Wednesday, Dec 9 - Lewiston/Auburn
Thursday, Dec 10 - Bangor
Tuesday, Dec 15 - Portland 

While we wanted a different outcome on Election Day, the journey for equality is rarely as smooth as it should be. We will build on our success of having the Legislature, Governor, and 48 percent of Mainers who support marriage for all Maine families.

I hope you will continue to stand with us.

Betsy Smith
Executive Director
EqualityMaine 

P.S. If you haven't yet, please take a moment to share your feedback on the campaign. It is important for our work in the future. http://www.surveymonkey.com/VRJFFN7

We are encouraged, inspired and ready to finish the job. And we're counting on you to join us.

Ka-CHING!