And, in the aftermath...
Apr. 5th, 2007 08:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseI honestly think the article in our local paper says it better than I ever could:
Republican legislators opposed to providing benefits for same-sex partners of state employees may have made a strategic mistake when they asked voters to weigh in on the issue, some say.
Tuesday's statewide vote was intended to pressure lawmakers to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, a move that requires a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Hoping for a powerful show of support, such as the 68 percent who voted in favor of a ban on same-sex marriage in 1998, they instead got a favorable vote of 53.4 percent, versus 46.6 opposed.
So...instead of pressuring fence-sitting senators into supporting a constitutional amendment, the $1.3 million public opinion poll did absolutely squat. Bully for our government.
One of the quotes that really made me laugh, however, was this one:
Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, a staunch opponent of same-sex benefits, said it was a mistake to go to voters without preparing beforehand. Opponents of the constitutional amendment mobilized more quickly than did proponents, Dyson said.
Not to sound disrespectful of an elected senator, but is Mr. Dyson deaf, dumb and blind? Did he even listen to the radio or watch television at all in the period leading up to this poll? The pro-gay-rights groups in Alaska have almost no financial backing, whereas the "protect the sanctity of marriage" folk has the backing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the "burn the fags" sect has the backing of our infamous Jerry Prevo and his Anchorage Baptist Temple - all of which have large reserves of cash with which to fund propaganda blitzes whenever the issue comes up. Those of us who were in Alaska in 1998 when the "marriage = one man + one woman" ballot came up were inundated with "Protect family values!" ads on the radio, on TV, through the mail, and any other outlet available. The entire run of the campaign, I heard exactly one ad encouraging people to allow same-sex marriage, and it was on a non-mainstream radio station. (I felt rather proud, though, since the ad prominently featured the senior pastor of the church I was attending at the time.) While I have intentionally avoided listening to the radio or watching TV until this particular vote was over, everyone I've talked to says that not only was there another inundation of anti-gay-rights ads, many of them seemed to teeter on the edge of mean-spirited and vitriolic. I seriously doubt the pro-gay-rights groups had the financial ability to "mobilize more quickly" than their opponents. So I'm guessing that Mr. Dyson is just having a hard time believing that many Americans, even in right-wing states, don't like the idea of denying a particular group rights that the rest of us get.
On a somewhat more fun note, Brian and I went to see Perseverance Theatre's production of Tommy last night. It was really quite a show - they had Rory Stitt (of Hedwig and the Angry Inch fame) in the title role and some really good singers and dancers in the supporting cast. They also made fantastic use of their relatively limited stage space by building up - the set was fairly simple, but it had multiple tiers that provided extra space for different things to happen at the same time. Rory did a fantastic job in the title role, as well; he's a very good actor with an amazing voice. Oddly enough, even though I saw him as Hedwig (a role in which he ends up nearly naked at the end) at least four different times, it never struck me what an odd figure he has. He's really quite short, and has almost no hips - he'd look like a 12 year old boy if he didn't have fairly broad shoulders. But you pretty much forget about what he looks like when he gets into a role - he has that much stage presence. I only hope I can be as good as that someday.
Which means, I guess, that I need to get up off my arse and start working on my vocal and acting skills again. Goddammit. I was enjoying being a normal person for a while. But I just don't think it's going to be enough to make me happy in the future...
Republican legislators opposed to providing benefits for same-sex partners of state employees may have made a strategic mistake when they asked voters to weigh in on the issue, some say.
Tuesday's statewide vote was intended to pressure lawmakers to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, a move that requires a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Hoping for a powerful show of support, such as the 68 percent who voted in favor of a ban on same-sex marriage in 1998, they instead got a favorable vote of 53.4 percent, versus 46.6 opposed.
So...instead of pressuring fence-sitting senators into supporting a constitutional amendment, the $1.3 million public opinion poll did absolutely squat. Bully for our government.
One of the quotes that really made me laugh, however, was this one:
Sen. Fred Dyson, R-Eagle River, a staunch opponent of same-sex benefits, said it was a mistake to go to voters without preparing beforehand. Opponents of the constitutional amendment mobilized more quickly than did proponents, Dyson said.
Not to sound disrespectful of an elected senator, but is Mr. Dyson deaf, dumb and blind? Did he even listen to the radio or watch television at all in the period leading up to this poll? The pro-gay-rights groups in Alaska have almost no financial backing, whereas the "protect the sanctity of marriage" folk has the backing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the "burn the fags" sect has the backing of our infamous Jerry Prevo and his Anchorage Baptist Temple - all of which have large reserves of cash with which to fund propaganda blitzes whenever the issue comes up. Those of us who were in Alaska in 1998 when the "marriage = one man + one woman" ballot came up were inundated with "Protect family values!" ads on the radio, on TV, through the mail, and any other outlet available. The entire run of the campaign, I heard exactly one ad encouraging people to allow same-sex marriage, and it was on a non-mainstream radio station. (I felt rather proud, though, since the ad prominently featured the senior pastor of the church I was attending at the time.) While I have intentionally avoided listening to the radio or watching TV until this particular vote was over, everyone I've talked to says that not only was there another inundation of anti-gay-rights ads, many of them seemed to teeter on the edge of mean-spirited and vitriolic. I seriously doubt the pro-gay-rights groups had the financial ability to "mobilize more quickly" than their opponents. So I'm guessing that Mr. Dyson is just having a hard time believing that many Americans, even in right-wing states, don't like the idea of denying a particular group rights that the rest of us get.
On a somewhat more fun note, Brian and I went to see Perseverance Theatre's production of Tommy last night. It was really quite a show - they had Rory Stitt (of Hedwig and the Angry Inch fame) in the title role and some really good singers and dancers in the supporting cast. They also made fantastic use of their relatively limited stage space by building up - the set was fairly simple, but it had multiple tiers that provided extra space for different things to happen at the same time. Rory did a fantastic job in the title role, as well; he's a very good actor with an amazing voice. Oddly enough, even though I saw him as Hedwig (a role in which he ends up nearly naked at the end) at least four different times, it never struck me what an odd figure he has. He's really quite short, and has almost no hips - he'd look like a 12 year old boy if he didn't have fairly broad shoulders. But you pretty much forget about what he looks like when he gets into a role - he has that much stage presence. I only hope I can be as good as that someday.
Which means, I guess, that I need to get up off my arse and start working on my vocal and acting skills again. Goddammit. I was enjoying being a normal person for a while. But I just don't think it's going to be enough to make me happy in the future...
