Upcoming U.s. Election Potentially Historic Impact On Gay Civil Rights

[Jingthing]

I reckon there are at least FOUR U.S. elections coming up November 6 that are a big deal on the issue of U.S. gay civil rights.

The presidency of course being the big one. Barack Obama, the most supportive president of gay civil rights in American history (by far) vs. Mitt Romney a man who has pledged to lead the fight for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as heterosexual only. Either man who wins has potential key supreme court picks.

Then there are the state elections: Maryland / Maine / Washington state

In all three states now the side in favor of state gay marriage are leading in the polls. On election day surely at least one of them, possibly two or three will actually vote that way.

Previously, on statewide popular vote measures, there has NEVER been a win out of THIRTY times.

So in a few short weeks, the votes will be in.

[Jingthing]

OK, here's another one.

Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is slightly ahead in the polls to be elected as the first out lesbian United States senator. We've had out congressmen of course, but if she wins, she would be the first senator.

Edited October 19, 2012 by Jingthing

[isanbirder]

I think it's important also which vice-president you get. A heartbeat away from the Presidency! Both Ryan and Biden are Catholics, but Ryan is anti and Biden is at least somewhat pro.

[Jingthing]

I think it's important also which vice-president you get. A heartbeat away from the Presidency! Both Ryan and Biden are Catholics, but Ryan is anti and Biden is at least somewhat pro.

Biden is actually a champion of gay civil rights. Not somewhat at all. Ryan is a major foe.

http://www.politico....can-133253.html

That said, Obama and Romney both appear healthy enough. I'd be more worried about when Obama wins that Ryan will be a leading candidate for the presidency in 2016.

Historically, the VICE presidential candidate pretty much NEVER determines the winner of U.S. presidential elections.

Edited October 20, 2012 by Jingthing

[isanbirder]

I think it's important also which vice-president you get. A heartbeat away from the Presidency! Both Ryan and Biden are Catholics, but Ryan is anti and Biden is at least somewhat pro.

Biden is actually a champion of gay civil rights. Not somewhat at all. Ryan is a major foe.

http://www.politico....can-133253.html

That said, Obama and Romney both appear healthy enough. I'd be more worried about when Obama wins that Ryan will be a leading candidate for the presidency in 2016.

Historically, the VICE presidential candidate pretty much NEVER determines the winner of U.S. presidential elections.

Sorry! I was cautious about Biden simply because I didn't know more than that he was pro gay marriage.

I realise that the VP is not very important in an election.... but people do shoot presidents sometimes, so it's as well to know what would come next.

[LeCharivari]

The biggest difference between Biden and Ryan as Catholics is that Ryan sees it as his right/duty as a Catholic to inflict his beliefs on everyone else, regardless of their beliefs, while Biden sees it as his right/duty as a Catholic to respect that freedom of choice is a God given right regardless of his own personal beliefs and choices.

They both apply that to abortion rights as well as gay rights - Biden is, technically at least, far more correct as a Catholic and a Christian.

[Jingthing]

President Obama has released statements in support of the gay marriage equality sides of all three state initiatives this election cycle. That is definitely another first.

But there is more. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has been aggressively identifying himself with the pro gay marriage equality campaign in his state. What's different about that? Governor O'Malley is on a short list of likely democratic candidates for president in 2016. So Obama's role as best president for gay rights in history may be challenged by a President O'Malley.

The upshot of all this is that supporting gay marriage equality has amazingly evolved into good politics (beneficial for politicians, at least democrats).

Edited October 28, 2012 by Jingthing

[mogandave]

OK, here's another one.

Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is slightly ahead in the polls to be elected as the first out lesbian United States senator. We've had out congressmen of course, but if she wins, she would be the first senator.

I thought Clinton was first, no?

[mogandave]

President Obama will be reelected handily. His superior foreign policy, effective economic stimuli and liberal positions on gay rights and women’s reproductive subsidies rights make him a shoe-in.

And we have Hillary to look forward to in 2016. Get them shades out, the future is bright!

[Jingthing]

Anyway, election day is upon us, and the gay civil rights aspect of it is HUGE. We'll know the results soon enough.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/history-in-the-making-on-gay-rights/2012/11/05/d6f0ebe6-278c-11e2-b2a0-ae18d6159439_blog.html

Also on the ballot tomorrow: Initiatives that would legalize gay marriage in Maryland, Maine, and Washington State. These are a very big deal, and hint at the possibility of a long-term leap forward on civil rights.

...

Prominent gay rights advocate Richard Socarides notes to me that on Constitutional issues, the Supreme Court is generally hesitant to get out too far ahead of public opinion. Having gay marriage upheld by popular vote could help ease this hesitance. “Polls now show support for gay marriage, but we may have to prove this at the ballot box,” Socarides tells me.

[Jingthing]

OK, here's another one.

Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is slightly ahead in the polls to be elected as the first out lesbian United States senator. We've had out congressmen of course, but if she wins, she would be the first senator.

I thought Clinton was first, no?

No.

[endure]

Anyway, election day is upon us,

Even more exciting is the fact that it will soon be over for another four years!

[Jingthing]

Anyway, election day is upon us,

Even more exciting is the fact that it will soon be over for another four years!

Not exactly. Midterm elections in 2014. Could be more gay related initiatives and house/senate elections.

Also there is definitely going to be something happening in the supreme court fairly soon.

The political aspects of the American gay civil rights movement go on and on and on and on.

Sorry about that.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Jingthing

[endure]

Anyway, election day is upon us,

Even more exciting is the fact that it will soon be over for another four years!

Not exactly. Midterm elections in 2014. Could be more gay related initiatives and house/senate elections.

Also there is definitely going to be something happening in the supreme court fairly soon.

The political aspects of the American gay civil rights movement go on and on and on and on.

Sorry about that.

Oh dear. I'd already opened the champagne

[Jingthing]

OK, well, as predicted, history is made today in the American gay civil rights movement.

http://www.washingto...553f_story.html

Voters in Maryland approved the state’s same-sex marriage law on Tuesday, according to exit polls and early returns. It marked a historic victory for the gay-rights movement nationally, which had lost at the ballot box in more than 30 states.

The vote, which underscored the country’s rapid evolution on how marriage should be defined, means that gay couples can wed starting Jan. 1 in Maryland, which joins six states and the District where same-sex marriage has been legal.

The pro same sex marriage rights ballot measure won in MARYLAND. Before today there has never been a win by a popular ballot measure vote on this issue.

Not sure about the other marriage related races yet.

Also, Tammie Baldwin wins, the first openly gay or lesbian U.S. senator in U.S. history.

http://www.slate.com...g_wins_for.html

Along with the Obama win, not as close as people thought, I predict history will show November 6, 2012 to be the most significant election moving gay civil rights issues forward (to date).

Edited November 7, 2012 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Okie dokie. More results. A WIN for same sex marriage rights as well in the state of Maine. A reversal of a previous loss. Even more sweet.

Results from Washington and Minnesota pending. Even if bad news those places, still a great night.

[Jingthing]

Wow.

It's looking a sweep now.

In Washington state, it is looking like a probable win for same sex marriage.

In Minnesota, a different kind of win, a defeat of an attempted same sex marriage ban.

If all of this holds, the results are indeed beyond reasonable expectations. The national polling about the dramatic shift in public opinion towards approval of same sex marriage rights looks really real now.

[keemapoot]

This is good news. Luckily gays have a champion back in the White House, even though he can't do much to assist.

[Jingthing]

This is good news. Luckily gays have a champion back in the White House, even though he can't do much to assist.

He can do a lot to assist. Be there when the supreme court openings happen. He has already done more than any other president on a variety of other gay civil rights issues. Truth be told Obama has done more specifically to earn the gay vote than he has done to earn the black and Latino constituencies. He's a hero. Edited November 7, 2012 by Jingthing

[keemapoot]

This is good news. Luckily gays have a champion back in the White House, even though he can't do much to assist.

He can do a lot to assist. Be there when the supreme court openings happen. He has already done more than any other president on a variety of other gay civil rights issues. Truth be told Obama has done more specifically to earn the gay vote than he has done to earn the black and Latino constituencies. He's a hero.

Yes of course the S. Court nominations are biggies, but I wonder if Romney could or would have done more to set back gay rights than Obama can do to advance them? Or vice versa. Just wondering.

[Jingthing]

Happily, we'll never know. Romney supported the anti-gay constitutional amendment. He also did some personal things against gays that were really disgusting. OK, I wouldn't forget the violent bullying incident when he was 18 but more seriously as a governor, he overtly singled out children of legally joined same sex couples to legally challenge ALL of their birth certificates, potentially muddying their legal identity later in life. I think he had a mean streak fueled by both his religious "morality" and his obsessive drive to be president just to be president (acting out anti-gay stuff helped him politically within the republican party).

Edited November 7, 2012 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

OMG.

Even more successes I wasn't even aware of.

On top of all the other wins, success in one day so wide, so consistent is really mind boggling. It's taken a long time to get this far, but this is a real change in the culture. The right wingers call it culture wars. In the gay civil rights issue, there appears to be a sea change.

http://www.slate.com...u_realized.html

Iowa: This is the victory few people were paying attention to. Republicans worked themselves raw to take the state Senate, targeting Democratic Senate Leader Mike Gronstal in his western Iowa district. Rick Santorum made nearly weekly trips to the state to stump for Republicans. The potential prize: A new vote on gay marriage, which conservatives figured they could win. But Democrats have held the state Senate. And Justice David Wiggins, one of those who affirmed gay marriage, was retained.

New York: And this is the surprise: Democrats will take the state Senate, edging past suburban Republicans who seemed to be locked in. The National Organization for Marriage had published a three-part plan for repealing gay marriage there, starting with wins this year. They didn't get them.

I'm at a loss to think of any recent rout this decisive for any issue group.

Obama's leadership used to help pass the issue in Maryland, targeted at the large religious segment of the African American community which has traditionally been anti-gay civil rights:

Edited November 7, 2012 by Jingthing

[endure]

I think you ought to go out and celebrate Jing. A visit to soi 3 is in order!