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February 10, 2004

Gay Marriage Ban a "Labor Vote"

Even as libertarians and the religious right components of the GOP are tearing themselves up over gay marriage, what is clear is how unified all core constituencies of the Democratic Party are on each others' issues. See this article about the debate in Massachusetts on enacting a constitutional ban on gay marriage:

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO came out against the constitutional ban and warned lawmakers it considers the vote a ``labor vote'' - a daunting specter for those who need election-year union support.

``If you vote the wrong way, the next time we do endorsements, we might not go along with you because we feel it's that important,'' said AFL-CIO Vice President Celia Wcislo.

While AFL-CIO officials pitched the position as a ``unanimous'' stance by the executive board, a split was evident - with some union heads saying they would reluctantly support the notion that collective bargaining rights are at stake, but not gay marriage itself.

Some grumbling in the labor camp, obviously, but they are lining up together with progressive allies in the civil rights camp.

Contrast that with the libertarians ripping into the religious right in the conservative camp and the plain reality is that the Democratic "base" is far more in harmony than the GOP "base", who seem to have less and less values in common by the day-- all of whom seem to be realizing that Bush is willing to sell them out in a second to his core corporate donors.

So take this as a hopeful sign for broad-based progressive unity in the fight ahead for issues across the board.

Posted by Nathan at February 10, 2004 08:17 PM

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