From a Rutland Herald piece by Dan Barlow, first quoting Jim Douglas:
“This is not a time for congratulations,” said Douglas, who added he believes the debate has been divisive and a distraction for lawmakers. “This is a time to move on.”
There are, obviously, some appropriate responses that can be made here. Instead of going for the visceral reaction, however, I’d like to focus on the logical, with a little bit of clear-headed outrage mixed in.
Our governor’s reaction here is one that is basically disingenuous and self-serving. It’s designed to continue with the same framework he’s been using all along– calling something a “distraction” while actively prolonging it.
Part of the same piece, Odum quotes below:
Steve Cable of Rutland, a founder of the group Vermont Renewal, said same-sex marriage opponents across the state are “blood shooting out of their eyes mad” about the veto override vote.
Cable said he has already attended two organizational meetings this afternoon to discuss follow-up steps, but he said it is too early to discuss what those might look like.
“This isn’t about moving on,” Cable said. “This is about getting even.”
So we have one same sex marriage opponent talking about the “distraction” it causes, with another wanting to make this an ongoing issue (and framing it in terms of revenge). Now, here’s my question: when is Douglas going to come out and condemn Cable for trying to distract the legislature?
Of course, there are other perspectives (again, from Barlow’s piece):
Larry and Elizabeth Messier of Lyndonville walked around the Statehouse Tuesday with their Bibles in their hands. They said they were “standing on the side of God” in opposing same-sex marriage and believe that its passage was a sign of the end of the world.
“God let this happen today for a reason,” Elizabeth Messier said. “And I believe it is because the rapture is coming.”
Now that would be distracting.
Oh, and apparently we’ve got the robocaller people a bit scared (hat tip to Daily Kos for this one:
And no, that is not a parody.
UPDATE. It gets better. Someone decided to put up the audition tapes on youtube (hat tip to Pam’s House Blend:
Oh, and apparently for Vermont Daily Briefing, it’s April Fool’s Day All Over Again. Great job, Phillip.
This sort of self-serving self-fulfilling complaint is nothing new for Douglas. If you remember the campaign finance veto last year, one of the reasons he stated for opposing the law was that it would lead to litigation.
Who was one of the primary litigants against the prior campaign finance law?
His very own Vermont Republican Party.
the last quote from the Rapture-ready people is the most clearcut example of why it’s good we didn’t have a referendum on that. We might as well ask witch doctors, astrologers and alchemists what their thoughts are on it, as well.
I really feel sorry for that doctor in Cali who has been forced to choose between his faith and… uh, her job by gay marriage. Somehow.
I have a hard time believing it’s not a parody. From what I can gather from this, there must be legislation proposed somewhere that is gonna force straights to marry people of the same sex. I guess the whole point of providing low information is to reach the low information voter, right?
Vile mouthbreathers, the lot of ’em.