California Proposition 8 Aftermath: Ads Up ALREADY For Repeal After California Supreme Court Upholds This Morning
The Courage Campaign is already up with ads to repeal California Proposition 8 which restored the traditional definition of marriage (one man and one woman) to the California Constitution last November. The California Supreme Court upheld the measure this morning.
Just minutes after the California Supreme Court decision upholding Prop. 8, the fight for marriage equality is already on again — as the 70,000-member Courage Campaign, a progressive group, has unveiled new ads and an online petition campaign aimed at getting the issue before California voters again.
Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of the Courage Campaign, said in an e-mail statement: “I am disappointed the Court ruled to deny marriage equality to Californians. These are fundamental constitutional rights that cannot be abolished by a ballot initiative. While we were hoping the Court would rule in favor of equality, we have been building the infrastructure to win marriage equality rights at the ballot box. Our members are ready to do the hard work needed to win.”
Do the California Democrat Governor canddiates want to run on gay marriage (since the Big 3 plus 1 Dianne Feinstein, Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa support gay marriage)?
Steve Poizner, a Republican candidate for Governor has already blasted out an e-mail supporting the California Supreme Courts’ decision:
“The California Supreme Court took the appropriate action today in upholding the will of the people by affirming Proposition 8. The people of California have spoken. They voted decisively that marriage should remain between a man and a woman. That is also my personal view.
“There was much more at stake today than even the issue of gay marriage, as important and emotional as it is for so many people on both sides of the issue. If the Court had overturned Proposition 8, it would have had set a terrible legal precedent, divided Californians even further, undermined support for the judiciary and state government itself while serving as a tremendous blow to the fundamental American concept of government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Regardless of which way the Court ruled today, a particularly shameful element of this issue has been the Attorney General’s unethical abandonment of his legal responsibility to the people of California. It is no surprise that Jerry Brown politicized and abused his latest position in an unprecedented way in order to play political catch-up with Gavin Newsom.
“As Governor, Brown opposed marriage for gay Californians. As a candidate for Attorney General, Jerry Brown refused to publicly support gay marriage. But once Gavin Newsom gained the upper hand on the issue with Democratic primary votes, Brown used his office as the state’s lawyer to suddenly become an advocate of gay marriage and attempt to subvert the twice expressed will of the people of California. As he enters the fifth decade of his political career, Jerry Brown seems determined to go down in history as the man who was on more sides of more issues than any other California politician.”
This repeal of traditional marriage issue will assure that the social conservative GOP and religious voter base will turn out for mid-term non-Presidential California elections. This will be unfavorable to Democrat candidates.
Can you see the Gavin Newsom vs. Jerry Brown ads in the Democrat Primary election? It will be “whether you like it or not” vs. “I proposed an illogical legal theory and avoided my responsibility to the people of California as Attorney General to help gay marriage.”
Somehow I think the GOP media consultants are licking their chops at the prospect of this highly polarizing campaign. One which either GOP candidates Meg Whitman or Steve Poizner will easily win.
My bet is that the Democrats will ask the Courage Campaign and others to defer until 2012.
Technorati Tags: Gay Marriage, California Proposition 8