Hall-Long outed as gay marriage swing vote
I don’t know how true this is with regard to BHL being a gay marriage swing vote, but I think the more pressing question is – when did Bruce Vilanch start writing for Pray4de.org ?
“Please pray for the technology of the righteous to work speedily and properly and the technology of the unrighteous to fail!!” Really?
update@pray4de.org
Delaware Prayer Servants,
THIS IS URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL: The State Senate is where the battle is on! Our targets are (this must remain confidential) Bethany Hall-Long; Brian Bushweller; Cathy Clutier; Bruce Ennis; and Robert Marshall. We need them to come our way on marriage. Especially Bethany Hall-Long and Brian Bushweller. We believe it is currently teetering by 1 vote: Hall-Long. She hasn’t given her answer to them; we believe if she comes down as a YES, they will ram it through in 3 days. We need the vote to be DELAYED until April 18. If its delayed, we can win. If they ram it; we may lose.
Also, Pray that ANY SCHEMES TO BUY VOTES BY OUR OPPOSITION ARE EXPOSED AND FOILED!!
Please pray for the technology of the righteous to work speedily and properly and the technology of the unrighteous to fail!!
Urgently pray for manpower and money to come in to empower this effort.
See the email that Nicole Theis just put out and respond and forward to all that you know. It is urgent we respond now!! Thank you for your prayers and support.
In His Service,
Pastor Kim Birowski
Huh?
Bruce Vilanche. That was a bit of a reach I guess.
From what I know Brian Bushweller is firmly onboard with this bill.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Bethany Hall-Long succumbed to the power of the technology of the righteous.
Bushweller, BHL, and Marshall all voted for civil unions, I think they’ll vote Yes for gay marriage. I don’t know about Cloutier, Ennis will vote No.
Would not be surprised if this is BHL’s last term if she votes against it, and I would not be surprised if she ends up voting against it. She’s had a good run though. Out with the old. In with the new. Middletown isn’t the same district it was when she was elected, and she doesn’t represent the town it has become.
Hey Quinn, want to move up?
Maybe Cathy Cloutier will show up for the vote this time, and maybe she’ll vote yes. Maybe pigs will fly.
BHL (like all elected officials) constantly hears from noisy conservative cranks, and tends to therefor over estimate the number of conservatives in the district.
The root problem, of course, for these types of politicians is that they allow their core values to take a back seat to what they perceive as their electoral exigencies.
I can’t say that I’ve spoken in-depth with BHL about this, but I have spoken to legislators that are somewhat disaffected by the timing of this bill.
There were a number of leaders in the gay community that promised that civil unions would be the last step at the state level. I personally heard a gay leader say that he (and the group he represented) wasn’t going to push for marriage because of the promises that have been made. 6 months later, I saw a quote from the same person saying the exact opposite.
Many legislators feel like they have been bamboozled by the marriage equality people and the Governor. It is going to make this bill harder to pass this year. I give it an even 50-50 chance.
Would the effort to push for gay marriage have come this year if the Governor hadn’t talked it up last year? From where I sit, it looked to me like the activists got fired up for this year after the Governor made it sound like he was for it. That could be completely wrong, though. Even so, these put out legislators are just thinking of themselves here and not the rights of Delawareans.
Yes, but. This is a settled question. What’s the point of the timing other than to poke a finger in the eye of the opposition? Or in the Governor’s case, to be seen at the front of one progressive agenda item when he is bringing up the rear on so many others? (see also budget & moral document)
My point is that gay marriage is all politics and optics at this point.
Civil unions was passed 2 years ago, what are you talking about timing? I know time flies, but the grassroots support is there, the high profile politicians are there, what are we quibbling about a diminishing conservative faction?
I’m highly skeptical that BHL is waffling on a “core conviction”. She may have voted for civil unions, but I don’t see her as a very progressive senator.
“My point is that gay marriage is all politics and optics at this point.”
Unless you are gay and want full marriage equality. In which case, you don’t care about politics or optics. You want to be a full and equal citizen of this state and nation.
SussexAnon – thank you for stating what’s staring Jason in the face.
At this point, it’s a race to see if the Delaware legislature can commit to supporting human dignity and equality before the Supreme Court forces us to. Let’s opt for the less embarrassing option, shall we?
If there is a hesitation with this Legislature to get this bill passed, a change in numbers in the Legislature in 2014 (as unlikely as that seems,)could make it impossible to ever get passed.
Do it now and eliminate these different (and unconstitutional) levels of “equality.”
Maybe Markell wants to see it pass so he can masquerade as a progressive a little longer.
Progressives are going after Bethany Hall-Long for a vote that she HAS NOT YET MADE? The bill hasn’t even been introduced yet.
She voted for civil unions. To put it mildly, this vilification in advance is–premature.
painesme, sa,
maybe it would be more apt to say “gay marriage OPPOSITION is all politics and optics.” I would even say most pro-gay marriage supporters, who are also politicians…. not real people….. it is all about optics.
Oh, and the reason that they’re targeting Bushweller and BHL is b/c they generally represent districts that the anti-equality forces consider the most conservative.
So, I’d suggest that misplaced anger is not the best strategy right now. ‘We’ve got your back’ would be a better message, IMHO.
I hear BHL has already said she will not support it.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if the vote came down to Cathy Cloutier or, if she’s unable to be found…Matt Denn?
It’d cinch the governorship for him. Which is what I want!
I agree with ES, the email that talks about BHL and Bushweller being swing votes came from a DFPC right wing religious group that’s trying to stop the bill. Their opinion of how legislators will vote isn’t necessarily accurate (though I think they’re right on Cloutier and Ennis).
If you are for marriage equality, the best thing for you to do is email these legislators, and every legislator, especially your own, and tell them how you feel. Let Bushweller and BHL know that there are more constituents in their districts than just anti gay marriage regressives so they don’t have to fear electoral repercussions.
We’ll be putting pressure on ’em http://wgmd.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&r=51&post_id=21071
AQC – I’ve heard similar reports.