Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMarch 25th, 2009
Governor Jim Douglas (R) has now given a statement about the effort of legislators to enact marriage equality in Vermont. The bill has passed the Senate by an overwhelming majority and is now being considered by the House.
Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vermont, says he will veto the same-sex marriage bill. He made the public announcement this afternoon.
We will now watch to see if the House passes this bill with a veto-proof (2/3) majority. Should all those members of the House who are in the Progressive Party and the Democratic Party vote for the bill, they will have over two-thirds without requiring any support from Republicans or Independants. About half of the Republicans in the Senate voted for marriage.
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Duncan
March 25th, 2009
Activist governors ignoring the will of the majority?
Ben in Oakland
March 25th, 2009
The good governor says he wants to focus on the economy. Marriage equaklity might help with that, but it’s disingenuous. The legislature is already focussing on marriage equality.
I ohpe they pass it over his veto.
He’s given me yet another reason– as if I needed one– never to vote for a Republican.
MaskedBandit
March 25th, 2009
Agreed, Ben. While some of the younger Republicans get it (like Meghan McCain), the ones that actually have power have made a concerted effort to alienate anyone who supports equal rights.
I’ll treat them like I do American auto manufacturers: after I get burned, I’ll never return to that brand.
David C.
March 25th, 2009
Governor Douglas could get a pass by announcing his intent to veto the bill before the House vote. He comes out “clean” to his conservative Republican base if he is effectively cut out of the loop by a 2/3’s majority, and as a bonus (to him), SSM activists have a smaller target to hit.
I hope for the veto-proof majority, even if it does essentially take Douglas off the hook to some extent. Vermont SSM activists want SSM rights, not just the consolation prize of forcing Douglas to act and show himself to be an enemy of SSM indeed.
Bruno
March 25th, 2009
I do think Gov. Douglas wants to toe the party line (although in Vermont I’m not sure it’s the Republican party line as much as elsewhere) without taking on the huge burden of letting himself be the only scapegoat for preventing SSM. It sounds to me like he’s taking the chance that by reporting his intentions early, he hopes the House will make sure to pass the legislation in a veto-proof manner. However, this could backfire if they don’t, as he’ll end up being vilified by the Vermont LGBT community and likely will face plummeting approval ratings.
Dave
March 25th, 2009
Duncan:
Um, governors are political leaders, same as legislators. They are supposed to be activists.
Dave
March 25th, 2009
Ben in Oakland:
Myself, I never vote for Democrats.
Ben in Oakland
March 25th, 2009
I wouldn’t either if I had any choice. As I have always said, the only party worse for the country than the democrats are the republicans.
David
March 25th, 2009
MaskedBandit:
Ben: Try learning how to spell: your political thoughts might then carry a bit more weight among those of us who can.
Not That David
March 25th, 2009
David:
You wrote
“Ben: Try learning how to spell: your political thoughts might then carry a bit more weight among those of us who can.”
Empty dismissals like that indicate a lack of any substantive argument. Your “political thoughts” would have more weight if they contained a substantive, rational argument, instead of niggling nitpickery and creepy carping.
Ben in Oakland made reasonable points – marriage equality is an element of the economy, since marriage facilitates measurable economic security for those allowed to enter into the contract, depriving same-sex couples disadvantages them economically, and the business of throwing weddings is very lucrative.
Further, the Governor’s willingness to harm same-sex couples, standard practice for Republicans, is a valid reason not to vote for him, or other Republican candidates. If he is willing to harm one group of people, it is reasonable to assume that he is a risk to others as well. Further, his zero-sum game mentality is incompetence made manifest in a society as complex as ours is today.
Attmay
March 26th, 2009
I will never vote for a heterosexual of any political party.
Ben in Oakland
March 26th, 2009
The problem is not that i need to learn how to spell, i need to be able to type better than i do.
Attmay
March 26th, 2009
Does VT have a recall system in place?
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