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Loading ...Besen: End the popular vote on civil rights
I was up early to vote in Brooklyn Heights, and stood in a long line to cast my ballot. The Republican ticket never seemed to understand that hoards of real voters live in the “fake America.” For months, they ridiculed the urban as unpatriotic supporters of an exotic “Muslim” in a terrorist turban. Insulted by the slights, the city slickers were out in force to showcase their might.
By the time you read this column, the results will be in (unless my home state of Florida screws up another election). The victors will drink Champagne, while the losers will simply be in pain. In the case of gay people, it could be outright ecstasy, agony or somewhere in between. More than any year I can remember, there is a razor thin line between feelings of exhilaration and desperation.For example, what if Obama wins and the Democrats expand their majority in Congress – yet we lose the freedom to marry in California, Florida and Arizona? While my friends may cheer the rise of the Democrats, it will be difficult to fully enjoy the celebration if our marriages are subject to cancellation. Such bittersweet results will have us torn betwixt public affirmation of our politics and devastating defeat in our private lives.
No matter what happens in Florida, Arizona and in California with Proposition 8, the entire process is a travesty. What kind of nation let’s a majority of citizens vote on the most basic rights of a minority? Perhaps, we should drive this point home in the next election cycle by sponsoring ballot initiatives that ban Mormon marriage or Evangelical marriage. We could air millions of dollars of ads discussing polygamy or snake handling in churches. I think these bullies would be shocked to learn that they are not much more popular than we are in a beauty contest of belittlement.
What disgusts me is that $70 million has been spent on the California marriage battle. It is a fight that, in the end, will not impact a single heterosexual marriage, and this is proven by the fact gay people have already been marrying in California for five months – and the world has not ended.
When one thinks of all the orphans that could have been fed with the money used to attack gay families, it is hard to consider our opponents real Christians. Their priorities are so misplaced and skewed that it is appalling. The only things they genuinely seem to worship are political power and discrimination.
Indeed, Evangelicals need to revaluate their role in politics. Nothing has done more to sully their reputations and turn people off to their movement. For starters, it is difficult to admire a group that has willfully chosen Dan Quayle, George W. Bush and Sarah Palin as their political heroes. Shouldn’t they take a minute for reflection and ask why they are so enthusiastic about such fools and tools?
With the election results only hours away I listened to Fleetwood Mac’s greatest hits. I wistfully played “Don’t Stop,” to remind myself of the disappointing Clinton years that were squandered by an undisciplined president and a vindictive Republican Congress.
It is my hope that Obama can revive the unrealized idealism of the Clinton era. If anyone can do it, it is probably this charismatic, yet phlegmatic, figure that can fill stadiums. However, we must not forget that above all Obama is a politician. It is telling that the beginning lyrics of the next song on the Fleetwood Mac CD are “Loving you isn’t the right thing to do,” with the chorus – “you can go your own way.” In victory, Obama will indeed blaze his own trail and we may not always like where he goes. This is why we can’t rest at the grass roots level, even if Obama presides over a Democratic Congress.
McCain, win or lose, has severely damaged his reputation. His campaign has been so polarizing that I don’t see how he glues back this Humpty Dumpty with a Democratic Congress if he wins. Is he going to send his pit bull Palin to the Senate to mend fences?
The same can be said for Elizabeth Dole. Her ad accusing her opponent Kay Hagen of accepting “Godless money” because she spoke to an Atheist groups was disgusting. I think if I were in the same room as Dole, I’d need to immediately bathe to wash away the stench.
By now, you likely know if three states have chosen decency over discrimination. You know if we have turned towards the future or retreated to the past. If we have voted our fears, I truly fear for the future of this nation. Four years of Palin and McCain is terrifying – and that’s no urban legend.
Amen to Besen’s column on ending popular vote on civil rights issues. Why not vote to bring back slavery or to deny a woman’s right to vote or overturn Roe vs.Wade? No civil rights for Gays who pay taxes vs the churches which hate Gays and who pay no taxes! End these salacious and bigoted referendums now! End the tax exemptions of those churches (inc the R.C. Church)which engage in anti-Gay attack politics from their pulpits!
WE NEED TO END THIS WAR THEY SAY WERE FIGHTING FOR THERE FREEDOM AND WE ARE NOT FREE HERE TO LOVE AND PROTECT THE PERSON WE LOVE HOW CAN WE GIVE OTHERS FREEDOM AND NOT AT ALL BE FREE HERE. DON
Well, Wayne, we now do know. And the amazing thing to me is that we have to live with the fact that Obama’s supporters, with their newly claimed voting rights, came out in droves and voted against us in California.
He should have done better…he did not need to say he is against marriage in the debates. Political suicide? Please, he won in a landslide.
Now that group of new voters will carry the badge of bigotry throughout history. Just think of how the story line goes…oppressed groups are inspired by a leader from their ranks and the very fist thing they do with their newly claimed political power is to vote oppression.
We must learn to be careful what we ask for..because we got it. We got the religious bigots (who happen in this case to by hispanic Catholics and black evangelicals) to vote for the guy our community overwhelmingly supported.
What were we thinking?
Wayne, you also say they are not “real” christians..these people in power in the religious right. Of course they are! Christianity teaches hate, murder, patriarchical control, demonization of women. Why don’t we expect this? They are good little christians every one of them.
The only change for America that happened yesterday was that intolerance and bigotry now have a new face, but it’s the same old story. This is the last time I waste my vote on someone who doesn’t FULLY support equal rights for all citizens. I’m through settling. I’m through compromising. I’ve had enough.
“What kind of nation let’s a majority of citizens vote on the most basic rights of a minority?”
Wrong question. It isn’t what kind of nation, it’s what kind of states tolerate tyranny by the majority? The initiative process is a state process only. The framers of the U.S. Constitution intentionally made it very difficult for “the people” to pull this kind of stunt at the federal level.
Ironically, the initiative process, at least in California, was the dream child of well-meaning progressivism gone wrong and creating unintended results (for a quick summary, see Hiram Johnson – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Johnson).
“In 1911, Johnson and the Progressives added initiative, referendum, and recall to the state government, giving California a degree of direct democracy unmatched by any other U.S. state.”
I can’t lie, I held back tears last night as I watched both McCain’s concession and the surreal Obama victory speech. To be quite frank, I thought it was unreal, I thought I was watching political emotion porn, like the West Wing and day dreaming of a real President. I was not alone in my tears. I really want to cast aside my cynicism and pessimism and embrace this new religion of Hope and Change. But the only word that can describe my feelings is “bittersweet”.
I didn’t vote for Obama, in Massachusetts I cast my vote for Cynthia McKinney, but Obama would have been a close 2nd for me. One of the reasons(plural) that I didn’t vote for Obama was his tepid support of equality for gay and lesbian Americans. He opposes, I repeat, OPPOSES marriage equality, which is the most important issue to effect the gay and lesbian community in our history. He has played politics with our issues, while seducing our broken hearts with vague promises and pretty words. In California where 95% or more of African American voters cast their ballots for Obama, they also by a margin of 69% voted to erase a fundamental right of gay and lesbian Americans to wed. While so many in America and the world herald this messianic rise of Obama, because he’s African American, African Americans in California have proven themselves to be just as susceptible to collective bigotry as white anglo Americans. In fact, White Americans in California voted against Proposition 8 by 55% or more. But as angry, heart broken and bitter as I am, I don’t want to drink from the cup of resentment.
So what does this all mean? First, we should NEVER give up on marriage equality and regardless of the outcome of Proposition 8, we should churn ahead towards justice. Also, President elect Obama seems to be an ally, but one that needs constant lobbying and pressure. We never need to stop focusing on marriage equality. However we need to focus on passing a meaningful SONDA, we need to ban discrimination in all 50 states and vigorously enforce it. We need also to work across party lines, this means that we need Log Cabin Republicans and Lavender Greens working with us, just as much as we need Stonewall Democrats and the HRC. We need to focus on gay youth but we also need to address issues of gay elderly. Gays and lesbians are as diverse as America, we come from all backgrounds, social classes, religions and races. Therefore we cannot become beholden to one political party nor ideology, to pass meaningful legislation in America we need to go beyond any sorts of petty partisanship. And with all we have to do to catch up with the rest of the Western world, we need to get to work immediately. Not all Democrats in Congress are our allies and not all Republicans are our enemies, so we need to hold both political parties accountable. With the Democratic majority in both houses, we need to push HARD in the first few months of the Obama Administration for meaningful change. Obama has political capital, but alot of it is on credit and we’re owed as much as any group, so we d*mned well collect.
As we dream of the possibilities of change before us, as we watch and wait for that fateful day when Obama takes his oath of office, we need to learn from our victories as well as our defeats. To plagiarize shamelessly from Martin Luther King, “we will not be satisfied until justice flows over us like a mighty stream” nor will we “take the tranquilizing pill of gradualism”. Let us go back to San Francisco and Boston, but also to the small towns in red states, and keep hope while we work towards our goal. “Yes we can”.
Amazing comment! I wish they’d read it. no matter if the evil has been done now. It’ll make them think. I as a Christian know it’s God who will judge upon them in the end. May they be forgiven what suffering they caused on love.
Wayne, I love your article. That $70 million wasted on advertising is a travesty; whether win or lose. Where are our (both sides) priorities?
I believe we need to go back to basics, i.e. changing one heart at a time.
What you say is so right on, I rarely agree with you 100% of the time. This time I do. I would add one caveat, returning to the optimism of the Clinton era, that proved in many ways to be misplaced trust. We need a new optimism, a newer vision of possibilities that I think Obama can provide. I am thankful for change, I don’t want to spend my time looking backward in bitterness and nostalgia. I want to embrace the future.
You’re absolutely correct that we need to somehow stop this popular voting on the civil rights of minorities. But how? I don’t see how we can get a majority vote to stop doing this from the very people who love to do it.
You say that Evangelicals (and let’s not forget Mormons and Catholics) need to re-evaluate their role in politics. Why should they? They are accomplishing exactly what they want to do! It’s foolish to think they will voluntarily stop.
Here’s another great idea that I am at a loss as to how to actually accomplish. Most state constitutions are too easy to modify. We need to raise the bar. The founders of our federal government had the right idea. Our state governments need to make it so that 2/3 of both state legislature houses and 3/4 of the voters need to approve a state constitution amendment.
But on this day, I am too disspirited to hold any hope that any of this will happen. (I live in Arizona.)
Wayne, I couldn;t agree more concerning civil rights being a voting issue. I’m sure you know by now what our bigoted Florida has done to us. Hopefully your current state of residence will make better choices. I’m tempted to find another state to call home as well.
P.S. Love Fleetwood Mac!
Obama may have won in a landslide this election, but there will lots of memebers of the LGBT who will not support him for re-election. Obama will become the current Jimmy Carter until a Republican is elected in 2012.
Help me celebrate the passage of Prop 8, 102, Initiative Act 1 and Amendment 2!
November 5, 2008.
Today I no longer have to drive my Father-in-law to his Chemotherapy treatments. It doesn’t matter that his glaucoma is so severe he can’t see two feet in front of himself. It doesn’t matter that he is too deaf to hear what his doctor has to say about his medical treatment. It won’t matter when he is too nauseous and weak to get out of bed. Who’s going to help pay the bills now? Not me. Not today. Today, he’s not my family.
Today I no longer have to feed or clean my Mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s. It doesn’t matter that she can’t even walk from her bed to the bathroom. Who’s going to pick her off the floor to disinfect and clean her scraps and bruises? It doesn’t matter that she’s no longer able to control her bowels and bladder. Who’s going to change her clothes and bedding when she defecates and urinates all over herself? It doesn’t matter that she no longer knows where the pots and pans, the dishes and utensils are located. Who’s going to make her breakfast, lunch or dinner because she can’t remember how to turn on the stove or even punch in the time on the microwave. Not me. Not today. Today, she’s not my family.
Today I no longer have to babysit for my Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law’s children. It doesn’t matter that they might want to go out for dinner or see a movie or need some quiet time for themselves. I don’t have to drop their kids off at school so they won’t be late for work. Who’s going to take their father to the doctor for his weekly Chemo? Who’s going to help their Mother with Alzheimer’s? Not me. Not today. Today, they are not my family.
Who’s going to foster, adopt, and care for all the abandoned and unwanted children born to over privileged and irresponsible heterosexuals. Not me. Not today. Today, they are entirely your problem.
Who’s going to vote for future funding for your children’s education and healthcare? Not me. Not today. Today, you have to pay for your kids well being all on your own.
Who’s going to help out the economy by paying their fair share of marriage taxes? Not me. Not today. Today I have even more disposable income to spend on myself.
Today, I was legally declared incapable of having a loving, caring and committed relationship with the person I love most on this earth, the one person who has shared my bed and home for the last thirty years. Today, the people voted that I have should have no legal or moral obligation to care about any other individual except myself.
Today, is not a good day to ask me for any favors. Today, I’ll have no problem telling you what to do or where to go.
Tomorrow, well, we’ll see.
We need more and more people to be pointing out the hypocricy of these so called “value voters”. They spew out vile and divisive remarks and then tell everyone how holier they are over others.
Just so it is understood, I do not have any kind of anger toward Christianity on its own merit because there are some good teaching within it as well as so many other religious beliefs around the world. No, I have anger toward those who would use the name of a religion to interfere with the basic human rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Of course that is so long as achieving those ideals doesn’t cause harm to another.
Bright Blessings,
Rev. Draigh Lunara
Ordained Wiccan High Priest
He’d BETTER pay us back by appointing 30 year old ACLU and HRC lawyers to the Federal Courts, including the Supreme.
If he wants to give us this wink and a nod thing about being against gay marriage, that’s fine, he’d just better shape a court like the one that through out interracial marriage bans.
If he’s lucky enough to have one of the Conservative Justices die or leave office under his reign, I just hope to god that his “spirit of bipartisianship” doesn’t cause him to appoint a con for a con and a lib for a lib, effectively changing NOTHING.
If I don’t see his people sending some sort of “gift basket” to our community, at least letting us know that they know the score, soon, I’m done. I give up on trying to change this country. I will retreat inward, and seriously think about leaving. Seriously.
Even though me and my family were HUGE supporters of Obama, I don’t know how much more I can watch of one minority rejoicing in this new day of freedom, this new America of Hope, a new America without division and without fear….only to find that 75% of black women voted against my right to marry the person I love!…Can someone explain this to me? Anyone?
Knowing that without Obama on the ballot, we probably would have at least saved California. I’m crushed. Truly crushed.