Things You Don't Talk About in Polite Company

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So Who Is Against Gay Marriage? --According to this article, 52.9% of voters in conservative bastion Cincinnati opposed the gay marriage ban. The simultaneous repeal of a local anti-gay rights ordinance was pased with a huge shift of public opinion in white conservative regions. The latter effort was backed by business leaders and by the archbishop of Cincinnati, who said the measure was too severe. Still, African-American voters were in favor of keeping the gay rights ban.

What does this mean?

Well, Republican strategists who see morals and gay rights as a wedge issue to drive black voters away from the Democratic Party are right.

It also means that if you do want to press gay rights issues, it is most useful if you can cast it as something that will economically help all, not just homosexuals. Can partnership benefits help fix the health care system in a way that benefits all? Can gay civil unions lead to a reforming of the tax code dealing with multi-member households without creating a "marriage penalty" talking point?

People who say that it is the right and principled thing to do are completely missing the point of participatory democracy. It's a coming together of people who agree with the general way things are done for a variety of reasons.

(2:57 AM)