Pundit Country

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

-Martin Luther King, Letters from a Birmingham Jail

While MLK was not talking to the issue of full health care rights for women (including abortion) or to the LGBT movement, his words hold resonance for both. Waiting patiently by the sidelines and allowing the political elites of this country to determine the timeline to do the right thing will only guarantee that it will never happen. Whether it be healthcare, DADT, DOMA, or a fair health care system for all, it’s constant, unyielding pressure from the grassroots that forces change. Just something to keep in mind as we enter the political season of 2010.

According to Public Policy Polling (emphasis mine):

The vast majority of opposition to health care and allowing gays to serve openly in the military is coming from people who already say there’s no chance they’ll vote Democratic this fall. That’s an indication of minimal fallout for Congressional Democrats by acting on these issues.

37% of Americans say they will definitely not vote Democratic for Congress this year. 34% say they definitely will and that leaves roughly 30% of the country up for grabs.

Right now 50% of voters say they oppose President Obama’s health care plan to just 39% in support. Digging a little deeper on those numbers though 64% of respondents planning or open to voting Democratic this fall support it with only 22% opposed. The overall numbers are negative only because of 94/1 opposition among folks who have said there is no way they’ll vote Democratic this fall.

and quite relevant now that Washington state is facing R-71 in a couple of months.

[update 9/1]: Well, it looks as if I was wrong. Publicola published a story today (with a somewhat misleading headline) indicating that in July she was asked about R-71 in a Federal Way forum and she claims to support the measure, although they noted her response was predictably “nuanced” (their word). Her response is that while she thought the bill “had some exaggerations in it”, she generally believed in the cause of equality.

And if you find yourself asking what she meant by “exaggerations”, she didn’t specify (hint to Dow’s campaign: make her).

Also worth noting is that unlike Constantine, it was her campaign who responded to the question rather than the candidate herself. I’m guessing she doesn’t want to be on the record supporting a measure that her financial backers will be spending a great deal of money to try and defeat.

(original post from Aug. 31)

Now that Referendum 71, which calls for voters to affirm the “everything by marriage” law recently passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gregiore, has made the November ballot, Publicola reporters asked around to all the relevant local candidates to see what their position was on the referendum. Constantine, who is touting his credentials as a progressive Democrat (although the race for KC Exec is officially non-partisan) said the following:

“While this is disappointing news, we must come together as a community and affirm an important law that speaks to our core values and is a long overdue step for equality.

“I remain confident that Washington State voters – and particularly the people of King County — will stand up for fairness by upholding the state’s domestic partnership bill. That bill recognizes the right of people in committed domestic partnerships to full legal protections—in effect, to the creation of full civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in Washington State.”

Front runner Susan Hutchison’s campaign has yet to respond to the request for a comment. Most likely because this puts her into a bit of a corner. Clearly a conservative Republican by her associations, affiliations, and previous statements, Hutchison needs to appeal to the largely Democratic voters of King County, most of whom, it is believed support the measure of granting full rights to same-sex couples. However, she also clearly doesn’t want to alienate her conservative donors, some of whom fought vigorously to get this on the ballot in the first place.

My prediction? If she responds at all (which I doubt, unless pressed by the media, bloggers or the Constantine campaign), it will be in the vaguest language possible in an attempt to keep people guessing about her position. Remember this is the whole strategy here; allow people to place their values upon her with her campaign revealing as little as possible about her views on any actual issues. The public cannot let let her get away with that.

Related articles

• Domestic partnerships: Will religious right rise? (seattlepi.com)
• Anti-gay rights ref. signature check tops 100k (seattlepi.com)