OK, When I'm Wrong, I'm Really Wrong

My post blaming nine Democrats in the AZ Senate for helping to pass the second coming of a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage was mistaken in this sense: Contrary to my statement, even if all nine had voted against the measure, the Republican majority would still have passed it.

The Republicans control both houses of this state's legislature. In this case, they had the votes, making all Democratic votes moot. I knew that. I guess my brain was in temporary shut down when I penned that bit about the vote. I apologize for misleading my readers, and I appreciate Craig's correction in the comments. I'll be more careful in the future.

Also regarding this vote, Leah Landrum Taylor's absence is certainly to be excused. An anonymous commenter reports that she is in bed, recovering from serious post-childbirth complications. Naturally, nobody expects any legislator to risk serious health consequences for the sake of a vote. We wish her and her family only the best, and hope for her full and speedy recovery.

That said, I have lingering concerns about the remaining eight no-shows. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I do wonder whether eight more Democratic votes against this pernicious gay-baiting measure wouldn't have made a meaningful moral difference across this state, even if it wouldn't have altered the outcome.

I wonder what it would be like to see all the senators of my party stand as one against the fascism creeping across the state in the guise of "Christianity." I wonder what it would be like to see them stand with Paula Aboud and Ken Cheuvront, our two openly homosexual senators, in solidarity with the principle that all people are created equal, with certain unalienable rights.

They still have a chance to do so. The Senate rules were broken in order to silence Aboud and Cheuvront and ramrod the vote. Perhaps that renders the vote itself out of order? I don't know the Senate rules. Far be it from me to offer strategy suggestions. I can only say that I hope that, at the soonest strategically opportune moment, the Democratic senators will find an effective way to address the Republicans' contempt for Senate rules and for the people's business.

I hope, as well, that Arizona's voters remember in November.

Is standing for a bedrock, foundational American principle really too much to ask of legislators? Really? Judging from the behavior of both Republicans and Democrats at every level, and about this matter and numerous others, it is. This readiness to throw principle overboard for the sake of pandering to the lowest common denominator, or for the sake of staying in office, is THE reason why Americans are sick of both parties, nationally and locally.

They're not "leaders." They aren't leading anybody. Although I concede that there are differences of degree among the individuals involved, for the most part, I fear that we have governments of propagandists and panderers, riffraff guns for hire.