GOTV A-Go-Go

by on

The elections in Maine and Washington are less than a week away; it is now Go Time, or, in the language of politics, GOTV Time. That stands for Get Out The Vote, and it has never, to my mind, been more important for us.

Since we are not yet believed to be entitled to the promises of the federal constitution's Equal Protection clause, we have to do exactly what the framers never intended - fight as a very small minority in the political arena for our equality. This is regrettable, but it is a fact.

Another fact is that our opposition has a very well-established GOTV infrastructure. It's their churches, and it has proved to be amazingly successful for them. While some churches support our equality, we simply have nothing of equivalent size or consequence on our side. We have to rely on thousands and thousands of individually motivated people.

The final fact is that we don't have fear on our side. Scaring voters is a time-tested means of getting them to the polls, and our opponents have followed the script to the letter. All we have is hope and faith in the good will of our supporters and particularly the undecided voters who hold our equality in their hands. While hope was a guiding theme of the last presidential election, Barack Obama's political cynicism has held sway when it comes to us, undercutting this theme, at least when it comes to gay equality. He's going to make us do this on our own.

So let's.

Over the next six days, the campaigns in Washington and Maine need simple things from us. You can call voters from your own phone for an hour or two - they'll have a list of known supporters that just need to be urged to get out to the polls, or send in ballots through the mail. That will be supplemented in both states by boots on the ground, but these calls really do make a difference. More important, the lack of them can be fatal. Just a couple of hours of your time will really help.

And, of course, both campaigns will need money. The end of the campaign is when we need to be most nimble and responsive (Second-graders are now being trotted out again, learning all about gay sex - in the second grade! And that's in an ad that says people want to be supportive of us.). Both campaigns have shown that they are spending our money extremely well and responsibly. I've been proud to give to them both, and I urge you to do the same.

Each campaign is winnable - or losable. Whether we like it or not, we have to fight for our equality, and these elections are critical. After a long string of losses, including the stunning one in California, we need to prove - to ourselves, and to our disbelieving President - that the landscape really is changing. We are the change, or can be.

Here's the site for Washington.

And here's where to go to help in Maine.

2 Comments for “GOTV A-Go-Go”

  1. posted by Throbert McGee on

    (Second-graders are now being trotted out again, learning all about gay sex ? in the second grade! And that’s in an ad that says people want to be supportive of us.).

    Despite the scare language about gay sex ed in 2nd grade, the ad is also noteworthy for being apparently in favor of domestic-partnership laws. Of course, it’s possible that the creators of the ad would like to do away with DP laws as well as Same-Sex Marriage — but if so, then evidently they felt forced to moderate their language or else risk a total loss.

  2. posted by Throbert McGee on

    After a long string of losses, including the stunning one in California, we need to prove ? to ourselves, and to our disbelieving President ? that the landscape really is changing.

    Gay Californians may well have felt “stunned” by it, but in objective terms, the loss in California was relatively trivial compared to what same-sex couples in Maine and Washington state may lose next week. Prop 8 took away the word “marriage” but otherwise left CA’s incredibly robust and generous domestic partnership laws intact. In theory, under California law, Registered Domestic Partners have the exact same rights as a Married Couple within the state — so the passage of Prop 8 may have been a symbolic slap in the face, but it made very little difference in practical terms.

    If Maine voters reject Same-Sex Marriage, gay couples in that state will continue to have certain protections under Maine’s DP laws — but they will be worse off than gay couples in California, because the domestic partnership laws in ME are much less comprehensive than those in CA. However, should it come to pass that SSM is rejected in Maine, homosexual couples in that state can dry their tears and organize to push for stronger DP laws — and in fact they can push all the way to “everything but the word marriage” DP laws.

    But it’s the Washington contest that I’m really watching, because if anti-gay forces prevail there, it will mean a repudiation of “all but the word marriage” domestic partnership laws, in favor of limited and narrow DP laws.

    And if Washington voters end up saying No to “Strong” DP, you know who I’m gonna blame first and foremost? Every single motherfucker who went around chanting Stop Prop H8, that’s who. And I mean all the idjit drama queens who went around squawking that the defeat of Same-Sex Marriage in California set gay rights back to the 1950s, when in fact it merely set things back to 2007.

Comments are closed.