Originally posted at Daily KosCrossposted from Daily Kos by Request
Right now, someone on the ground in Maine is swearing like a mother----. The damn router went down again. Or a volunteer didn't show up when they were supposed to. Or someone printed the wrong walk sheet with the wrong script and forgot the map and canvassers got lost and oh sh*t tomorrow is election day and time is running out.
Someone else is looking for that first meal of the day. Four cups of coffee and half a stale donut from yesterday's supply donated by some volunteers can only get you so far into the afternoon. It wouldn't be quite so bad if not for that 2-3 hours of sleep you've been getting a night this whole week. And if your phone would just stop ringing for five minutes maybe you could get a bathroom break. Except that the field office ran out of toilet paper last night, and no one has had time to get more.
And yet, victory is within your grasp. The race is so close. But you can feel the energy - this campaign is different. You can rewrite the story of marriage equality at the polls.
You know exactly what you need to do between now and the poll closing tomorrow. Get. Out. The. vote.
Posted by Bruce Bourgoine who also writes opinion at Kennebec Blues
A clear connection unites these issues. Beyond the debates of who, what, when, and where lays the essential interwoven question of why we ought to reform health care and why we must guarantee equality for all. The answer rests on choosing that which is morally right and affirming that "we hold these truths to be self-evident."
On their website, Stand for Marriage Maine (S4MM) has this nugget:
The People's Veto of Gay Marriage - Question 1 - needs your financial contribution. Your support will help us stand up to the vast network of wealthy homosexuals with seemingly unlimited resources from places like Hollywood, New York and Massachusetts. Washington, D.C.'s largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization has already pledged to spend as much as $5 million to try to defeat us.
And no one group has donated even $1.6 million, let alone $5 million, to the NO on 1 campaign. But these sorts of facts never seem to bother the morals of those behind the Yes campaign.
MARRIAGE AFFORDS unparalleled rights and benefits to people who commit to long-term relationships. All people, regardless of sexual orientation, should have an equal right to marry under the law. On Election Day, Maine voters should vote "no'' on ballot Question 1 and respect the rights of their neighbors and fellow citizens to live how they choose.
Supporters of the ballot initiative argue that same-sex marriage erodes heterosexual marriage, but experience has proven them wrong: Since Massachusetts legalized gay marriage five years ago, the state has seen its divorce rate, already the lowest in the nation, decline further. But that hasn't stopped supporters of the initiative from making other wild claims. No, gay marriage is not being taught, alongside spelling and long division, as part of the public-school curriculum in Massachusetts. No, an equal right to civil marriage has not rendered Massachusetts genderless.
Religions differ in their beliefs, customs, and ceremonies about marriage - none of which will be affected by a new Maine law that deals only with civil marriages. If Question 1 fails, churches and other religious groups could still refuse to perform same-sex marriages. But the law would ensure that courts will continue to marry gay and lesbian couples.
The law signed by Governor John E. Baldacci in May recognizes that legalizing gay marriage is a matter of fairness. A civil union, the governor said, is not equal to a marriage. Just as the state of Maine would not deny the equal rights and protections of the law to its other citizens, it should not deny them to gay people who wish to build stable families. A vote of "no'' on Question 1 is a vote for equal protection of the laws, a guarantee in Maine's constitution and in the country's that all citizens should defend and embrace.
I was reared in the Catholic Church, and while I am now an atheist (as is my father), many in my family hold the Church in high regard (my mother included).
The Catholic Church, like any large institution, is not a monolith, despite claims from supporters and detractors alike. It has many facets, some large and dull, some small and bright.
Yolande Dumont is one of the latter, methinks:
Sounds like Raymond and Rodney are too. Funny how an apple doesn't fall far from a tree.
The NO on 1 campaign has a new ad out, one that directly addresses the tactic of fear being used by opponents of equal marriage:
Fear. That is all the opponents have. Fear that allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry will mean that "homosexual marriage" will be taught in schools, which is code for "your children will be turned into gay monsters by their teachers."
As part of its campaign in support of the Question 1 ballot initiative, Stand for Marriage Maine has aired several television ads claiming that unless the law is repealed, same-sex marriage could be taught in schools.
Gendron and Maine education officials have said that the law will have no impact on curriculum decisions. While Stand for Marriage Maine has defended the ads as raising legitimate questions, the campaign to defend Maine's same-sex marriage law has accused the opposition of employing distortion and scare tactics to sway public opinion.
But in response to continuing questions from the media and the public, Gendron sent a letter to Attorney General Janet Mills on Wednesday asking for an analysis of the law and any legal ramifications of a Massachusetts court decision referenced in the ads.
"The commissioner felt it would be helpful to put this issue to rest," education department spokesman David Connerty-Marin said Wednesday night.
Stand for Marriage Maine (S4MM) could have requested that the AG determine the impact of LD 1020 on the public schools here, by why do that when it's easier (and less risky to their argument), to spread rumors that it will? Bob Emrich, one of the founders of S4MM, let's it be known just how much they want to obfuscate the issue:
"Commissioner Gendron asking Attorney General Mills for an unbiased opinion on Question 1 smacks of a political stunt," Emrich said. "Hopefully, Attorney General Mills will not allow her department to be misused in such a manner."
Perhaps he will ask the attorney general from a state more sympathetic to his cause for an opinion on Maine law.
(From the diaries - my thanks to Joe for cross posting this - promoted by Gerald Weinand)
I posted the first anti-gay ad in Maine this morning at gay.AMERICAblog.com. It looks like something out of the 80s. One example of a distortion is that the Associated Press never issued a headline with the term "Homosexual Advocacy Group" as this frame indicates:
That headline only exists on anti-gay, wingnut sites like CNS.com. It's not from the Associated Press. We know the AP gets really irritated over use of its content. What will AP do when its content is distorted in a homophobic t.v. ad?
Don't forget: The Bishop of Maine is financing this effort. He ordered a second collection this past weekend. The Bishop's top aide, Marc Mutty who has been detailed to run the anti-gay campaign, claimed they "could have raised as much as $100,000 to $300,000." (Meanwhile, the Bishop is shutting down parishes and trying to launch a capital campaign because of the dire financial situation of the Diocese.) The Catholic Bishop of Maine learned something from the Mormons who funded the anti-gay Prop. 8 in California last fall. He's "lying for the lord," too.
According to an email from No on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign manager Jesse Connolly:
Today, our opponents launched their first TV ad -- and not surprisingly, it's full of the same sort of distortion and fear-mongering that was so successful in passing California's Prop 8. They've already bought $700,000 in airtime -- that means every voter in the state will see their ad at least 20 times.
$700,000 for this ad alone. The Bishop is going all out. We can win this one, but our side needs the resources. No on 1/Protect Maine Equality needs resources to counter the lies. Donate here. We can't let the lies win this time.
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