In a recent post, BoiFromTroy pointed out, while it appears “gay marriage has become the new litmus test for our community,” that “test apparently applies only to Republicans.” As soon as our Republican Governor vetoed the same-sex marriage bill, a great variety of gay activists and “leaders” attacked him, using insults usually reserved for President Bush and Karl Rove. Assemblyman Mark Leno accused that good man of being “on the wrong side of history.” Other gay people have called him “evil” and “hate-filled.”
I don’t think these activists used such harsh language to describe Bill Clinton in 1996 when, in the dead of the night, that Democrat signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Indeed, the Humans Rights Campaign (HRC) refused to rescind the endorsement it had given Clinton before he signed that bill into law. And unlike California in 2005, the American people in 1996 had not yet voted on the issue.
Indeed, when he vetoed the same-sex marriage bill, the Governor noted the popular vote, saying that he does “not believe the Legislature can reverse an initiative approved by the people of California.” Despite this veto, he has taken, as blogger Matt Szabo put it, five steps forward for gays.
In my mind, the most significant of these “five steps” is the Governor’s unequivocal statement that he “will oppose any effort to strip gays of rights and responsibilities afforded under California’s domestic partnership laws“. As social conservatives ready a ballot initiative to amend the state’s constitution to ban gay marriage and overturn the state’s domestic partnership program, the Governor has made clear where it stands. His opposition should ensure the defeat of this pernicious proposal.
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Why I luv my Guv (Ahnuld, that is)
Immediately after President Bush indicated his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment in February 2004, I decided not to make a planned contribution to his campaign and decided as well not to give to the Republcan National Committee or any other GOP outfit. But, as the year progressed and the Democratic (and media) attacks became ever more shrill, especially with the release (and box office success) of Michael Moore‘s festival of deceits in June, I changed my mind and ended up giving money to my party and to various candidates. I thought my side needed resources to defend itself against mean-spirited and dishonest attacks.
My finances being tighter this year, I thought I couldn’t afford to contribute to Governor Schwarzenegger’s “California Recovery Team,” an effort to raise money to support four reform initiatives on this fall’s state ballot. But, it seemed that whenever I worked out at my gym and looked up at the TVs, I saw another commercial from some left-wing interest group attacking not only those proposed reforms but the Governor himself. The commercials were dishonest as well as mean. I wanted to support my governor’s efforts to clean up Sacramento.
When Log Cabin e-mailed me an invite to a fundraiser with that good man (which I will be heading right after I post this), I looked through my finances and found the means to make a donation. I may have to cut back in a few areas, but that seems entirely fitting since one of the propositions on the ballot, Prop. 76, would place a limit on state spending.
His political opponents decry the governor as a movie star who isn’t very bright, using similar terms to those Democrats and their media allies used to attack Ronald Reagan a generation ago, another California governor with an ambitious reform agenda. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s record shows both a man with command of the issues (and problems) facing the Golden State and a real commitment to reform. While George Will, a keen observer of politics observed that our Governor does not completely understand his own political problems, “he does understand a large part of the state’s.”
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