On My Interview with David Krikorian

Long awaited post on my interview with Ohio's Second District presumption Democratic nominee in 2010, David Krikorian over at Rainbow Cincinnati. Your excerpt:

Krikorian dares to tell me, on one had, that he is the best hope for an LGBT friendly, electable candidate in the Second District, while, in the next breath, saying that he will not march in a parade and wave a flag. That kind of candidate -- he insists -- could never win the district, and hasn't yet. He speaks passionately that, no, he will never sign a Defense of Marriage Act; and then, when informed that no DOMA needs left to be signed on either the federal or state level, is willing to fess up to his own ignorance of all the issues and asks for more information.

As he gesticulated wildly with a soon-emptied coffee cup throughout our time together, I knew that I liked him and that he may be ballsy enough to win... and mayhap even do right by his queer constituents in the process.
Click here for the rest

As always, check out the excellent content at Rainbow Cincinnati by clicking on the link below.

2010 Election Update

You know my love of Jennifer Brunner, but, after my experience at the Ohio Democratic Party Family Dinner about a week ago, I started to wonder, due to the overabundance of Lee Fisher stickers and absolutely no Brunner stickers, about her candidacy (especially with GOP Senate candidate Rob Portman posting $1.5million in fundraising, Fisher at $900,000, and Brunner's numbers undisclosed). When I inquired, a Fisher worker informed me, with an ironic tone, that she had said it was inappropriate to campaign at the dinner. I wonder which was right, but there are still some rumblings, and she responded sharply on her website:

Ever since I decided to give up the security of what is widely regarded as a "safe" re-election for Secretary of State and instead run for the U.S. Senate, the political insiders in Columbus and Washington began actively discouraging my candidacy. "She can’t raise the money," said many. "You shouldn’t run for the Senate if the Governor supports Lieutenant Governor Fisher," warned some Washington insiders in January. "You need to take one for the team, even though I don’t think the Lt. Gov. can win in the general election," one Congressman cautioned. "I think you have the political skills to win this election, but you need the money,” said a political mentor...

I am in this race to stay.

For the second time today, I'll say it: Snap when you say that girl. Despite expected disparities in fundraising (word of mouth, no actual source, but I think I read it somewhere) in the previous quarter of FEC reports, polls are showing a dead heat in a Fisher-Brunner matchup -- 24-21 (Quinnipiac, 7/7/09) or 22-17 (Daily KOS/Research 2000, 7/9/09). Meanwhile, KOS/Research 2000 (same article) show Fisher and Brunner polling ahead their all-but-nominated Republican counterpart, former Bush OMB director Rob Portman, by 7 and 4, respectively, or by 4 and 1, depending on whom you listen to. Portman is actually closing the gap; Republicans are finding new candidates right and left in the flagging economy, as Obama's polls numbers continue to drop. In Ohio, it's under 50% for the first time since he was elected.

Meanwhile, Democrats still look solidly ahead (second source which also shows Gov. Strickland ahead of potential GOP candidate Rep. Kasich by 5%) for 2010, though it appears Steve Chabot will be challenging Rep. Driehaus for his OH-01 (that's, uh, Cincinnati, folks) seat back in the coming election.

And that's your long-delayed 2010 election update, thought I have something bigger coming likely in the morning.

Brunner on Marriage Equality

I love women in politics, it's why I supported Hillary Clinton... well, that and because she was awesome. In 2010, Ohio will be voting for a new Senator as current Sen. Voinovich has decided to step down. One of the Democrats running is current Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner... who unabashedly supports LGBTQ marriage equality and isn't afraid to say it.

From her recent post on the Huffington Post:

After a dreadful past eight years birthed by a process fueled by hatred (yes, Ohio decided the 2004 election, using the gay marriage ban as the ultimate wedge to drive a record number of evangelical Christian and conservative voters to the polls), we now have the chance to shape the foundation of this century to be one less violent, more compassionate, more responsible and accountable, and one full of opportunity and hope. A good start is to recognize family in all the ways it emerges, for a stronger social fabric that will support us as we pursue the founding ideals of our country for years to come.

Marriage equality's time is now.

Unbelievable and beautiful. Thank you for saying it.

On the flip coin, her Democratic rival for the nomination -- current Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher -- has not always been hot on marriage equality, though has made statements in the past in support of civil unions. Last week, he had this to say to the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

"The government should be focused on creating jobs, lowering health care costs and moving us to alternative energy, instead of trying to stop individuals who want to be in a committed relationship and take responsibility for each other."

It's not rainbow flag-wavin', hugely supportive, but it looks like a softening towards the issue, as WTTE reports.

And thanks to Jason from Out With it Already for the heads up!

Tyrone Yates Not Running for Senate

Texas Liberal, one of my favorite bloggers, is reporting that Tyrone Yates will not be seeking the Senate seat that Sen. Voinovich is leaving this year. Yates' statement:

After much consideration, and in light of the serious work of the legislature in this budget crisis, I have decided to discontinue my exploratory committee and not pursue a seat for the United States Senate at this time.

I had to face the choice of running for the U.S. Senate or working to find solutions to Ohio’s critical budget problems. I choose to go to work on Ohio’s immediate fiscal stress. I am determined not to advance a personal agenda over my deep commitment to the public business. My decision not to pursue the U.S. Senate at this time in no way diminishes the serious issues I care about faced by Ohioans and the United States.

I will continue to advocate for cleaning up our banking and financial system, repairing the housing and foreclosure crisis, re-establishing a broad manufacturing role for Ohio and American workers, and a strong foreign policy reflecting America’s best impulses.

I am steadfast in my view that the Democratic Party offers the best answers to these critical dilemmas and I will work with Ohio Democrats to win the U.S. Senate seat in 2010.

I want to express appreciation to the press and my deep thanks to everyone who supported my exploratory effort including Ohio Democratic Party Chairman, Chris Redfern.

The Democratic side is heavy with powerhouse state politicians, namely Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher. Both are very, very LGBTQ friendly.

Bunning Still in the Race

Despite previous reports that Jim Bunning has endorsed Tray Grayson for the Senate, and the possible indication that he's actually stepping out of the race, it seems the current Senator from Kentucky is still in the race.

At a dinner for Republican stalwarts in Kentucky, Bunning had these words about his political future:

Bunning touted his conservative credentials and congressional voting record and asked his fellow Republicans for support in the coming year. He reiterated his re-election plans.

"I am nobody's puppet. I am my own man," Bunning said during his remarks. "I hope and pray I can count on your support in the coming months. The battle is going to be long, but I am prepared to fight for my values. I hope you are with me."

I've said it before, I'll say it again: this man is an insane, and he's a genius, which makes him the most dangerous man for the Republican party today.

And when the nascent Bunning campaign explodes, it becomes a perfect opportunity for Mongiardo or Conway to step up to be the drama-free candidate for change. That is, unless Grayson pulls off a miracle. Regardless, Bunning is going to make such outrageous demands for the possible Republican nominee as to render him useless.

It's sick and beautiful.... almost exciting in a way. This is turning into an election soap opera for the ages.

2010 Ohio Senate Election Update

A couple of bits of news today about the 2010 Ohio Senate Election to replace retiring Sen. Voinovich. 

It's turning out to be a three way primary in the Democratic side between State Rep. Tyrone Yates (as yet not declared), Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher. A new Quinnipiac poll pretty much knocks Yates out of the running, but shows a pretty close dead heat between Brunner and Fisher. The poll says that Fisher is preferred at 20%, followed by Brunner at 16%, and Yates at 4%. Wah-wah.

Meanwhile, though, both Fisher and Brunner are ahead of the only announced Republican, former OMB director Rob Portman -- 42-31 in a Fisher-Portman mashup, and 40-32 in a Brunner-Portman mashup. In short: the Democrats look like they are ahead and the favorites, and Fisher holds only a slight (stastically insignificant) lead over Brunner. 

And, finally, Rep. Zack Space has endorsed Fisher, thus removing another possible name from the Democratic primary, but raising my eyebrow ... after all, someone needs to be Lt. Governor. It could also be the Dems begging Space to stay in his district (SE Ohio), as the GOP is interested in taking on the district this round. 

That's Space in the picture there. He's the best looking of those mentioned :-).

Call for California Vote Growing for 2010

The call to take Proposition 8 back to the voters in California in 2010 -- not 2012 -- is getting louder. A lot has been made of Gavin Newsom's decision to run for Governor of the state, but you can't beat him when it comes to simplicity of the message:

"The right time is now," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told ABC News. "And if that means going back in 2010, I couldn't be more supportive."

"Wait almost always means never," he added, invoking Martin Luther King Jr.

Fabulous. As to the mistakes that were made last time around, new leaders have emerged that are already planning changes (from the same story):

"People are not going to let the people who ran the last campaign run this campaign," Rick Jacobs [of the Courage Campaign] said.

To address voter concerns about the impact that state-sanctioned gay marriage could have on religious institutions, the Courage Campaign is considering possible ballot language that would guarantee the right of any two unrelated consenting adults to marry, while simultaneously stating that churches have a right to decide for themselves whom to marry...

To make its campaign more personal and accessible, the Courage Campaign has convened workshops around the state to teach activists to "tell their story" about why same-sex marriage is important to them...

In addition to wanting to improve outreach to African-Americans, Jacobs is convinced that the "No on Prop. 8" campaign erred by not showing gays or lesbians in any of its ads.

"There were no pictures of gay people. The ads were all about fairness," Jacobs said. "This time, we're going to make it clear you're talking about real people."

Not bad -- exciting to hear, although I can't help but feel a wee bit of disappointment that Ohio won't be the first state to, per the voters, overturn a Defense of Marriage Act in 2012...

...which, increasingly, is a goal I'm thinking we should take on.

All three of the people running for the Democratic nod in the 2010 gubernatorial -- Newsom, CA AG Jerry Brown, and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- are supporters of same-sex marriage.

Bunning May Retire

Thanks to TheHill.com, via Electoral-vote.com:

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) has formed an exploratory committee to run for Senate with the consent of his would-be primary opponent, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), sources tell The Hill.

Bunning, who has angrily pushed back against talk that he would retire in 2010 at the end of his second term, met with Grayson on Wednesday in Washington. The senator has not announced his 2010 intentions but he made clear to Grayson that he would not begrudge an exploratory committee, a move sources said will allow Bunning to appear as a kingmaker...

Grayson, an up-and-coming GOP star, will give Republicans a much better chance of retaining the seat than Bunning would have. A statewide elected official who survived what was otherwise a good year for Democrats in 2007, Grayson has been laying the groundwork for a Senate bid, though he made clear he would not run against Bunning.

"I have no plans to run against Sen. Bunning. This exploratory committee will allow me to travel the commonwealth, meet with potential supporters and lay the foundation for a campaign," Grayson said in a statement.

I have this thought Bunning is playing this out to run against McConnell in.. 2012? Or perhaps Governor... Remember, Bunning is a political smarty-pants, and he's mildly insane. Which makes him dangerous -- and exciting.

Grayson, meanwhile, looks like a Senator -- very old school, very... well, I thought he'd be better looking.

Arlen Specter Switches Party

Arlen Specter becomes a Democrat in the 2010 election. And few people are surprised.

From his statement (via TPM):

When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party. But, I saw the stimulus as necessary to lessen the risk of a far more serious recession than we are now experiencing.

Since then, I have traveled the State, talked to Republican leaders and office-holders and my supporters and I have carefully examined public opinion. It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.

I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary.

...

My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords' switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change.

The whole filibuster-proof thing just became significantly easier.

Fundraising Good, Fundraising Bad

Nate Silver (of FiveThirtyEight.com) published a ranking of the best and worst fundraisers for the 2010 Senatorial Elections in the first quarter of 2009. Ohio and Kentucky make some interesting names for themselves:

Best Fundraising -- Incumbent

1. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
2. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY)
3. Harry Reid (D-NV)
4. John McCain (R-AZ)
5. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)

Worst Fundraising -- Incumbent

1. Roland Burris (D-IL)
2. Jim Bunning (R-KY) -- apparently the Mitch McConnell "get out of the race" shouting match is working
3. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
4. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
5. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Best Fundraising -- Challenger

1. Bill White (D-TX)
2. Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
3. Rob Portman (R-OH)
4. Alexi Gioannoulias (D-IL)
5. John Sharp (D-TX)

Worst Fundraising -- Challenger

1. Roy Blunt (R-MO) (TIED WITH) Paul Hodes (D-NH)
2. Jennifer Brunner (D-OH)
3. Peter King (R-NY)
4. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

In short: Bunning and Brunner are not doing well yet, whereas Portman is doing very well. Side notes in the store mark that KY AG Mongiardo (running against Bunning) is performing amazingly well, with OH Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (running against Brunner) performing adequately well -- about 4 times better than Brunner, but only raising about 60% as much as Portman.

It's no secret that I'm a Brunner girl, but I'll be interested to see the reported numbers from 2Q.

Gov. Patterson Withdraws Marriage Bill

Seriously, Gov. Patterson? After all the hooplah about personally taking it on, lobbying for it yourself, and the "what's wrong with proposing it and losing" approach?

From The New Civil Rights Movement:

In a disappointing switch, New York Governor David Paterson now says he will “go along with a plan by State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith not to put a same-sex marriage bill to a vote without knowing it would pass.” His introduction just one week ago of a gay marriage bill, which he asked be debated in the Senate regardless of whether or not it had enough votes to pass has met with much controversy. The governor’s response last Thursday was, “Silence should not be a response to injustice, and that if we take no action we will surely lose, maybe we’ve already lost.” Well, today it seems we’re closer to losing than winning.

A bill needs 32 votes to pass. State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has said, “I’m very concerned about putting a bill on the floor that’s going to be symbolism and not pass… . I’m going to count until I know that I have 32, if not 34, votes.” Last week, to overwhelming applause, Paterson described lack of marriage equality as “not a crisis of issues but a crisis of leadership.” There is no set date now on when or if the bill will be introduced and voted upon.

That "crisis of leadership," Gov. Patterson, now includes you.

I wonder what was said in those back rooms. I wonder what was threatened or promised. I wonder what deal was made to end this. I'm disappointed, Gov. Patterson. You have a lot of explaining and apologies to make ...

... and I think you just lost the LGBT vote.

On the flip side, here's an acceptable scenario, which would be perfectly fine if it were true: Gov. Patterson shelves the bill with the promise of widespread support from the Democratic party and an OK on his nomination for Governor -- that is, no primary challengers. In turn, the bill gets reintroduced in the legislative session after the election with universal support by the Democratic state Senators. That would be OK, but it's not something you can build a campaign on.

Gavin Newsom for CA-Gov

Image from the VentureBeat story
Gavin Newsom went to his online base today to announce his bid for the 2010 California gubernatorial (that's Governor, btw) race, using his Facebook site, Twitter, and YouTube in hopes of connecting first to the net-savvy Obama supporters.

Why does this matter, you ask? Because darling Newsom broke the law for gay folk -- that is, in 2004, he stepped and ordered the city clerks to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Rather than just say, "I support SSM," he said, "It's time, now." (These were the marriage licenses that led us to Prop 8, btw, but that's a whole other argument.) It was a beautiful few days when SF just started going with it.

And so, Gavin Newsom is going up to run for Governor of California -- early speculation, though, is that he will be up against a primary fight with popular senator Dianne Feinstein. I have a dilemma, then, I really like women in politics... but I really like Newsom. What's a queer gonna do?

Check out his YouTube announcement below...

Voting for Marriage Equality in Ohio

From the Buckeye State Blog about the Fisher-Brunner marriage bit:

I’ve realized something. Someone who’s willing to compromise on this issue before even stepping up to the fight will accomplish absolutely nothing. I think it’s more than past time for a take no prisoners push on this issue. For too long Democrats have been able to skirt around it by taking the middle ground, while the Religious Right has shown no such tolerance on the other side of this issue. If Lee Fisher won’t come out in support of gay marriage now, you can bet he’ll only fight half-heartedly at best for civil unions.

Hoo-fuckin'-rah. Thank jeebus someone is willing to say it.

Also of note in marriage news:

• Maine takes up the marriage debate tomorrow, expecting an all-day session in a 7,000 person stadium in expectation of a large turnout. 
• A surprising poll out of Siena College tags support in New York for equal marriage to be at 53% -- with only 39% responding in the negative. Nate Silver of FivethirtyEight.com runs the numbers and finds that, even if the numbers are high, other polls all tell the same thing: a plurality of New Yorkers support equal marriage.

But, remember, according to the Dem leadership, it's not time yet.

Brunner vs. Fischer: Marriage Equality

Picture from Law Dork, 2.0
Back to the upcoming (2010) election for Senate, the Gay People's Chronicle (out of Cleveland) talks about an important difference between the two declared Democratic candidates -- Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner -- for the US Senate: marriage equality. From the Chronicle:

Both [Fisher and Brunner] have longstanding relationships with the LGBT community and have used their political careers to help advance equality, making it difficult for those who vote on those issues to pick an early favorite.

That may be changing, however, as marriage equality has emerged as the issue separating the Democrats.

Brunner favors it. Fisher doesn’t, but is open to being convinced...

Brunner unequivocally believes that same-sex partners should have the right to marry. She does not put any qualifications on it, nor attempt any equivocation. It is a belief she has held publicly since 1989.

Fisher said, “I am in favor of civil unions, but I have questions about marriage.”

In his defense, Fisher, later in the article, indicates that he is still forming his opinion, specifically stating that he's not sure "whether civil unions will be sufficient or not." I think that's a credit to him. However, I am proud of my girl Jennifer for stepping up to the plate so early in support of full equality.

A few others are hinting at a run in 2010, but nothing has been made official. Tyrone Yates, for example, is currently campaigning but has not declared.

Election 2010: OH-GOV, KY-SEN

The Ohio Daily Blog gives us the heads up to a Washington Post piece that indicates Congressperson Tim Ryan will "run" for Lt. Gov. Wait ... I thought, in Ohio, the Gov-Lt. Gov. ran as a ticket. Am I wrong on that one? Sabrina Eaton, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer confirms that Ryan is being considered. But it may just be a lot of rumor-mongering. We bloggers are good at that.

And we have two Democrats sort of announced for the Kentucky Senate seat against embattled Republican Jim Bunning: Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo (who has been endorsed by Gov. Beshear) and Attorney General Jack Conway (as yet unconfirmed, but he's floating it).

Meanwhile, the Republicans remain adamantly opposed to endorsing Bunning, but I have no news for that one. I just think it's still funny.

Cincy Dems and Other Bits on Election 2010

I've been really lax this week -- it's been crazy, crazy, crazy in my life here in Queer-world. I apologize for not keeping up with the world... but I promise I've got a couple coming through. Including, but not limited to, the follow-ups on the Chris Finney situation.

The Election itself for 2010 is awfully quiet. I got to meet a possible City Council nominee for the Dem's this past weekend -- he was making the rounds at a few gay meetings to introduce himself and shake hands -- and he was cute enough. Seemed supportive, overall, but I didn't get a chance to really ask him a lot of detailed questions. I'll be sure to talk more about him once the Dems, Reps, and Charterites give their nods.

The biggest thing out there is an interesting article from the Cincinnati Enquirer on State Rep. Tyrone Yates and (possibly) Commissioner Todd Portune entering the Senate race for Ohio, against the growing field that already included Jennifer Brunner (D), Lee Fisher (D), and Rob Portman (R). It's starting to look like an all-out brawl, though the Dems are looking nicely to pick it up.

However, sadly enough for Yates/Portune is that Cincy Dems do not have a strong history on the state-wide scale, from the Enquirer:

There just haven't been many in the past 40 years, as Democratic primary elections have been dominated by northeast Ohio where the highest concentration of Democratic voters lives.

The last Cincinnatian to win one of the major state offices was John Gilligan who won the governor's office 39 years ago. Even after he won it, he couldn't keep it - he lost his bid for re-election four years later.

Jerry Springer, fresh off his stint as Cincinnati mayor and council, ran in the Democratic primary for governor 1982, but came in third in a field of three.

Cincinnati-area Republicans have never had that problem - the region has produced plenty of GOP statewide candidates, from former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and former secretary of state J. Kenneth Blackwell to former state treasurer Joe Deters.

For decades now, Democratic candidates for any of the state's constitutional offices - governor, secretary of state, auditor and treasurer - and the state's two U.S. Senate seats tend to be from parts of the state other than Cincinnati and southwest Ohio.

But there are some signs that may change soon.

"I'm not saying we have gone completely blue in Hamilton County, but everything has been moving in our direction in the last few elections,'' said Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman Tim Burke, pointing to Barack Obama's win over John McCain in Hamilton County and Steve Driehaus' ousting Republican incumbent Steve Chabot in the 1st Congressional District last fall.

A lot of the outcome is hinging on the economy -- and once very popular Gov. Strickland is starting to sink in the polls because of it (threatening his cozy position, but no one has really stepped up yet to take it on, except for a minor State Senator from Cuyahoga Falls -- please don't let me eat those words).

And all of this matters, of course, because 2011 is the redistricting year -- EEP! This is the year to be in control.

Oh, and the other big news is that Jim Bunning in Kentucky continues to plug on. I'm actually starting to respect the old curmudgeon, going up against the establishment and all that. I'm impressed. But, of course, anyone who takes on Mitch McConnell in a nasty, to-the-political-death fight very much in public is my hero. You know what the respectability of McConnell becomes should Bunning win the election.

More on Bunning

I just love covering this man, and Electoral-vote.com keeps feeding me so I'm perfectly happy to report.

Electoral-vote.com's take on the latest news:

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), had a poll taken in February and has refused to release the results. Normally, politicians release their internal polls when they are favorable and hide them when they are not. When reporters asked about the poll, Bunning said "If you paid the 20 grand for the poll, you can get some information out of it." Actually, we do get some information from his statement: polls of this kind apparently cost $20,000. (Emphasis mine. -- QC) This incident puts another nail in Bunning's coffin. The Republicans will now probably do anything to get rid of him as they perceive him as very vulnerable.

HA! I wonder what the poll said. Can we get a pollster to run one and see what it says? PLEASE.

Of course, the site left out the best part of the quote, when Bunning told reporters that it was none of their "goddamn business." Signs the man may be in trouble? When he starts cussing at reporters. My uncle always said he won an argument when the other side started swearing.

Gay Marriage Debate

A great article came out on CNN.com that talked about the use of the economy in the same-sex marriage debate. I'll say it again: using the economy as an actual reason to pass gay marriage is secondary to the justice debate. More importantly, I don't think it's all that true. Gay marriage can certainly add some cash to the economy, especially in the early states, but not enough to completely alter it.

But I'm sure the florists/etc. are more than happy to get the business.

It even highlights a bit from State Sen. Paul Koering (R-MN), the openly gay politician who will not be voting for that state's equal marriage bill:

Koering says that, politically, it takes the focus away from the budget and the people who have lost their jobs, homes, or both and compares it to asking for a new football stadium in this economy when the old one is still usable.

"I know that's not a good analogy [and] the gay community is saying it's equal rights and it's the right thing to do, and I understand that. But you have to understand how politics ... works," Koering says. "The electorate will say, 'My goodness ... What's wrong with these people? Why are they talking about this issue (gay marriage) now?'"

Koering also feels the constituents he represents -- a large number of whom are conservative traditionalists -- don't want him to support the legislation.

"Do I want people to have equal rights? Of course I do. Do I think that there will be gay marriage down the road? I think there eventually will. I know that there are some people that ... want it right now. Well, that's not the way things work."

Koering thinks the state on the whole is not ready to accept same-sex marriage and that before he can support it, he'd have to see that others are more willing to approve.

"I think if the gay community really wants to change things they need to go out and change the hearts and minds of people," Koering says, adding that he doesn't see himself as a gay rights "activist."

He also says that, personally, he isn't sure how he feels about the issue.

"This is a tough issue that people are trying to wrestle with and they're trying to accept it, and I'm even trying to wrestle with it myself."

"Just because I'm gay that doesn't mean I have to be for gay marriage."

Yea, I don't buy it.

In addition, another article came out on the ChicagoTribune.com site that reinforces an opinion of mine -- but how does it make me feel that the author is rather nasty about it?

And for what end? Not so that gays can have the full package of rights and duties that go with the institution of matrimony. They already have those—insofar as the state of California can provide them—thanks to a domestic partnership law that duplicates everything about marriage except the name. This is not a fight over fundamental equality. It's a fight over nomenclature.

On Thursday, the fight went back to the Supreme Court in San Francisco, where state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown insisted that the people of California, who created the constitution, don't have the power to change it as they tried to do this time. He argued that it protects pre-existing inalienable rights, including the right to marry, and that an inalienable right "cannot be taken away by a popular vote."

But inalienable rights are empty concepts without legal protection—which in this case they enjoy only because of a constitution approved by the people. If those people had wanted to deny themselves the power to repeal rights protected by the state constitution, they could have included a provision to do that. They didn't.

Now, before you get all into a huff about it -- the part I agree with comes much later, that we shouldn't overturn Prop 8 via the Supreme Court, but we should do it in 2010 with a vote.

Why? Because I'm concerned about Roe v. Wade syndrome. That is, 20 years from now, we'll have conservatives saying judges undermined the will of the people and didn't let the whole country decide like it is supposed to -- slowly, with moderate gains, until there is near unanimity.
That said, interracial marriage would have never made it through a vote.

Oh, and the census will not be counting gay and lesbian marriages as marriages at all. Couples in Connecticut and Massachusetts will have to mark "unmarried partner" because of the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Fisher vs. Brunner on the Web

The Buckeye State Blog talks about the Fisher vs. Brunner primary in terms of its online activism, making three points:

1. Brunner is kicking Fisher's ass in online fundraising -- something like $8,000 (JB) to $300 (LF). Also points us to Fisher's recently launched campaign website, where we see that his son is gorgeous. I might want to vote for him just for that reason.
2. Fisher is kicking Brunner's ass in getting friends on Facebook -- something like 1000 friends to 300. Here are their respective groups: Brunner and Fisher.
3. Mayor Mark Mallory is a friend of Fisher's on Facebook, which the author said could be interpreted as an endorsement.

And then, of course, we have the important question: does any of this matter?

NO!

I think Brunner's initial fundraising lead is impressive, but we're still nearly 10 months away from any serious campaigning, and Fisher did just open up his website. I think it's a little presumptuous to say that this will indicate any long-term growth. As for Facebook friends, I think the predominance of groups called "I bet I can find 1,000,000 supporters of... [insert cause or politician here]" tells us that friends on Facebook do not = votes in real life. Duh. And, finally, I'm friends with lots of people I don't like/know. That doesn't mean that I would write a letter of recommendation for them. Seriously.

At this point, we know nothing, but I'm an election junkie so... yea. I, apparently, think this is hella cool.

Oh, and Ms. Brunner is apparently trying to create the rhetoric of this campaign around the change vs. experience motif we saw in the last election. Here's the thing... if Obama is still doing well, then this will play great for Brunner. If Obama starts tanking... then it's a bad thing to play up. But, then again, why are we really expecting Obama to fail? So much depends upon... (From the Daily Kos)

Oy! Republican Shenanigans!

First off, we have Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) who is threatening to resign from the Senate if the Republican Party doesn't lay off and stop asking him to not run in 2010. The situation in Kentucky is turning into one of the juiciest things heating up, no? Well, that and the whole Minnesota Senator thing which, at this point, I think we're all just over.

From the Courier-Journal (out of Louisville):

Already in conflict with his party’s leaders, Sen. Jim Bunning has reportedly said privately that if he is hindered in raising money for his re-election campaign he is ready with a response that would be politically devastating for Senate Republicans: his resignation.

The Kentucky Republican suggested that possible scenario at a campaign fundraiser for him on Capitol Hill earlier this week, according to three sources who asked not to be identified because of the politically sensitive nature of Bunning’s remarks.

The implication, they said, was that Bunning would allow Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, to appoint his replacement — a move that could give Democrats the 60 votes they need to block Republican filibusters in the Senate.

“I would get the last laugh. Don’t forget Kentucky has a Democrat governor,” one of the sources quoted Bunning as saying.

“The only logical extension of that comment is, ‘(Make me mad) … enough and I’ll resign, and then you’ve got 60 Democrats,’ ” said another source who was present at the event.

This is funny because I was just reading about the 17th Amendment in re Roland Burris and was amused by the whole process of gubernatorial appointments to the US Senate for open seats. Anyways, Bunning is insane, but brilliant... which makes him dangerous.

For the moment, he's the Republican Blagojevich.

Yea, and, apparently, Sarah Palin remains at the head of the Republican Party Presidential wanna-be's for 2012. Palin has 29% support, with Huckabee just 3 points behind, and Romney 5 points behind MH. I just have this to say about polling this far out: even a year and a half out, we were all pretty sure Hillary Clinton was going to be the Democratic nominee, and Giuliani the Republican, right? Right. Worthless, but it tells us about the usefulness of polls at this point.

And I really should watch Jindal's speech, shouldn't I? The exorcist either was brilliant or a waste of everyone's time.

Which is not that dissimilar to most people's feelings on Sarah Palin.

Funny -- I think this is the first time I've ever written about Bobby Jindal. Weird. (Thanks to Electoral-Vote.com for the updates.)