Tricks and Treats in Massachusetts

[Ian David]

Tricks and Treats in Massachusetts

Coming up on January 2nd and likely for sometime afterward, we are going to hear more warning sirens and fingers on the blackboard over parliamentary moves to kill the anti-same-sex-marriage amendment in Massachusetts. Even those of us who follow this intensely can benefit from the AP's Steve LeBlanc analysis.

He's written about this for months. This time, he provided the background and then went to constitutional experts to discuss what it all means right now.

This is still under discussion for several reasons. Of course, the anti-gay forces, and an unnamed current Massachusetts governor who is whoring this to advance his POTUS aspirations, want the amendment to advance and end up on the 2008 ballot. It would be bound to lose, but they are delusional enough to suppose that if they rub the state's nose in this divisive and unpopular drive for another two years that voters will reverse direction and support them.

<snip>

Yet, it remains peculiar to hear where some of the calls for an up-or-down vote on this originate. Even one of the stalwarts over at our beloved Blue Mass Group rode the let-the-people-vote pony around and around the ConCon paddock. Whether he was simply showing a strong libertarian bent or actually jumped the shark on this one remains to be seen. However, it is instructive to note that it is not only anti-SSM ranters who fall into this trap.

More:
http://massmarrier.blogspot.com/2006/12/coming-up-on-january-2nd-and-likely-for.html

[xchrom]

1. two things -- as the member of a minority group --

i am not a fan of direct democracy.

second re: the legislature and the up or down votes.
this too often becomes and excuse not to do real work by legislators or to prove a humiliating point to the party not in power.

in this case the religious bigots would love to get in the face of the gay community.

the hope is to demoralize as much as it is to win.