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May 17, 2008
Arnold, even stronger
Posted by: Kevin
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) further clarified his stand on the California gay marriage ruling, in a meeting with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle. And made his position a bit stronger yet:
"First, I have always said that for me, marriage is between a man and a woman," he told the newspaper. "But I don't want to make everyone else go in that direction."
In terms of nuance, and the direct political impact it will have, this puts Arnold a hair beyond Obama who compares himself to Dick Cheney about leaving it to the states, but has said he opposes gay marriage and adds that he "respects" those who feel civil unions are not actually equal to marriage (i.e., "tough shit"). It also puts Arnold way ahead of our last 'messiah', John Kerry, who backed a constitutional referendum in Missouri to ban gay marriage while campaigning for president in 2004.
It gets better:
"When the people vote, people are not legal experts, constitutional experts or any of that," he said. "I think that's why we have the courts. People may vote with good intentions, but then the court says, 'This is not constitutional.'"
Finally, a governor of either party that has the balls to say it, in so many words: "I don't care how many people voted for this referendum, because it's against the constitution. And that's why we have three branches." And what's more, by also saying he will oppose amending California's constitution to overrule the court -- indeed, he says he will "always be there to fight against that", and he said it before the ruling -- he is adding that it's wrong to ban gay marriage in the state he runs, however you slice it.
And this is the Republican governor of the largest state in the country who didn't say the "a" word: "activist" judges.
The extraordinary ripples of this ruling continue to break against the political tides. The question now is, what will Obama say about California, and what will McCain say? Will either of them match or do one better than what Arnold has done at this moment in history?
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Comments
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So, will Arnold's opposition to an anti-same-gender marriage amendment to the CA constitution have a similar impact to Ronald Reagan's opposition to a CA referendum (Proposition 6) in 1978, which would have barred gays from teaching school in CA? Reagan is generally credited with single-handedly turning the tide against the measure. I'm praying that Arnold is vocal and active.
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At first glance it's staggering that Arnold of all politicians should have made such a move, but considering his European heritage it's perhaps not too surprising after all. What is interesting, as you say, is the gamble he's taking in seeming to try to get Obama and McCain on the back foot. If McCain loses, Arnold's essentially leading the GOP from the front whether they like it or not; if Obama loses Arnold will have been key in undermining his credibility on social issues.
Some important history in the making here, and I agree with Tim that what to watch out for is how vocal Arnold chooses to remain on this matter.
The comments to this entry are closed.
Strict Scrutiny on May 17, 2008 10:57:20 AM:
The governor's comments are certainly impressive -- far more impressive than many pro-gay democrats.
McCain will almost certainly denounce this decision. Social conservatives have already declared that McCain has a golden opportunity to prove his conservative bona fides by tackling this issue. I have no doubt that he will soon make some comment about activist judges.
Obama will probably try and ignore this issue. Same-sex marriage is still unpopular (to say the least) in much of the country. If he's forced to say something, he'll repeat his opposition to same-sex marriage and then mumble something about it being a state's rights issue.