“As for the biggest loser last night, I’d say the president, but not because these elections are a “referendum” on his agenda. That happened in 2008…No, Obama is a loser for backing two losing Democratic gubernatorial candidates while staying relatively silent on Maine’s referendum. Just as this country will one day look back in shame at discrimination against same-sex couples, so should President Obama feel regret, wondering if things could have been different had he intervened and put the full force of his office behind those fighting for their rights, rather than simply looking out for his party.”

- Adam Serwer

“Unless I’m missing something, in the 31 states in which voters had a say on whether or not gay marriage was going to be the law of the land, they all rejected it. Every single state. Even California, the national bellwether state on liberalizing social trends. Even Maine, in the most liberal region of the country.

You can come up with all kinds of theories about why this is, blaming the voters for being bigots, accuse the churches of playing dirty, whatever. The plain fact is, every single time it’s been put to a popular vote (as opposed to allowing a tiny number of elites to vote on it), gay marriage has been a loser.

Do I think it always will be? No, I do not, in part because homosexuality is far more accepted by young Americans, and in part because heterosexual America has already conceded the philosophical grounds on which traditional marriage was based (which is why younger Americans are more comfortable with gay marriage). Nor do I believe that the voters are always right. But unless you’re prepared to call more than half the country bigots — and I have no doubt that many, perhaps most, gay marriage supporters are, and let that self-serving explanation suffice — maybe, just maybe, you ought to ask yourself if there’s something else going on here. And that maybe, just maybe, serious attention should be paid, instead of paying attention long enough to insult people who disagree with you as evil people who deserved to be excoriated and harrassed”

- Rod Dreher

I posted both of these as quotes because I don’t necessarily completely agree with either but they did provoke thought.

I know with his ‘dithering’ (word choice there was easy) on gay issues, it is easy to kind of use Obama as a scapegoat. After all, he’s said he ‘personally’ (not sure how that is different than ‘politically’ but okay) not for same-sex marriage. But I don’t think he’s responsible for what happened in Maine nor do I think he slighted those on the common fucking sense train by not throwing his hat in the ring.

I mean let’s be honest, it’s not like he really ‘backed’ those failed gubernatorial candidates; I mean, he did the bare minimum as the leader of the Democratic party and that’s it.

But I think ultimately, he’s smart to not do what Palin, Limbaugh et. al attempted to do and that’s use national influence to tip the scales on a local issue.

I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with a national figure, especially the President, trying to sway the voting in a state even if it is for a cause I support. While a lot of people on both sides of the issue have a vested interest on the outcome all over the country, what happens in Maine should be left up to Maine.

And unfortunately, things didn’t go our way… but I don’t think it is the President’s fault.

Hell, in my mind, all of this is moot anyway because (and go ahead and call me cynical) I don’t think the populace should have the ability to vote on laws that can deny rights to others. I think people are too stupid on the whole to handle that sort of epic responsibility.

Exhibit A… Alabama didn’t repeal its ban on interracial marriage until 2000. Nine years ago. And 40% of the population wanted to keep the ban.

Now honestly, do you really think any populace is reponsible enough to vote on whether gay couples can have the ability to get trashed in Vegas and get married on a whim only to annul said marriage fifty-five hours later like Britney Spears?

I don’t think so.

Rod Dreher does though. He seems to have the decency to have more faith in the American people can I could ever imagine having. But I’m not sure if he’s right here.

Sure, gay marriage, at least when it has been up for vote, is 0 for 2. And? All that means is that we haven’t progressed as much as a country as some would like us to believe.

It also means that yes, many people in this country have prejudices to the point they would happily deny people equal protection under the law if they got the chance.

I have no doubt in my mind that if given the chance, especially down here in the South, the sort of white people who give me a extra look when I walk down the street would happily vote to have me work their lawn for free like life 200 years ago.

This is a cold reality that Rod seems to pretend does not exist but it is this precise reality that rulings make rulings like Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia so important in the first place.

Because sometimes, the federal courts have to save the ‘people’ from their ridiculous selves.