I was never enthusiastic about Gov. Corzine. Living in New Jersey I should have been fired up and ready to go, but like many of my fellow Jersians I went to polls and voted, but didn’t volunteer, go to any rallies, or put up a Corzine sign in my window. I guess I am a typical (although I voted which makes me less so) Obama supporter who couldn’t get excited about an unexciting candidate. Still, it makes me sorry to see him go. I worry that under Christie the tendency of New Jersey to accept itself as a segregated state between the suburbs and cities based on income (with its racial corollary) will only become more pronounced. And Gov. Elect Christie seems likely to try to roll back some of the laws protecting reproductive freedom and gay rights. Still, Corzine never really made his case why New Jersey should re-elect him and now we will see how the Republicans govern.
More heart-breaking was the loss of the right to marry in Maine. I wonder if those who voted to repeal gay marriage realize the emotional violence they just perpetrated. Think it through – a couple went through a sacred ceremony, pledging to live their lives together in marriage, only to have the validity of their love be questioned and revoked by strangers compelled by a superiority complex based on their sexual orientation. I have officiated at many marriages – gay and straight and I can assure you there is NO DIFFERENCE in the quality of the love that is expressed. If anything, the gay couples are more serious about it as they have to overcome obstacles of hostile family members and a hostile government. Ah, well. Soon this will all seem silly as time is on equality’s side. ‘The arc of history is long – but bends towards justice’ as MLK, Jr. said. His wife, Corretta was a gay rights friend and we miss her and her husband on this day.
Still, it is surprising to hear the media paint Nov 3 as a pure rebuke to the Democrats. I was totally dumbfounded when I learned that in the New York congressional race, the Democrat Bill Owens beat Conservative Doug Hoffman. A Democrat hasn’t won that seat in a long time and it demonstrated that the right wing of the Republican party is going to be a major liability for years to come. The back story is that the Republican nominee was deemed too moderate by the likes of Sara Palin, and Glenn Beck and so the Conservatives ran their own candidate – Doug Hoffman. The Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, then dropped out and threw her support behind Bill Owens – the Democrat! Basically we have a new coalition of moderate to liberal Americans who are joining forces against the right. There is a lesson to be learned here but I am not sure that the super right wing will learn it – which bodes well for 2010 and 2012.
Also, on the gay issue there are a couple of good news items. Chapel Hill elected its first openly gay mayor Mark Kleinschmidt; and an openly Lesbian, Annise Parker, made it to the top two for a run off for mayor in Houston, Texas. That’s right – Texas. Plus, Washington State voted to approve all benefits of marriage (without the name marriage) to same sex couples.
We will see what happens will elections and with government over the next year but as gay rights activist Harvey Milk said: “You’ve got to give them hope.“
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