The New Jersey Supreme Court will issue its marriage decision tomorrow at 3 p.m. Here’s the official announcement. The decision will be viewable tomorrow afternoon here.
If, as I expect, the decision is in favor of same-sex marriage, that will of course be terrific – although I think it might cost Democrats the elections.
Which could mean a renewed push for passage of the FMA. I really worry that tomorrow is a lose-lose proposition for us; either we lose gay marriage in New Jersey, or we gain it there but end up with a Republican Congress and a federal amendment against gay marriage altogether.
The route to a better America has never been easy and the players in the process more often than not were unprepared for the roles they played. But each in their own way stepped up and accepted the responsibility for making our country more just and fair. If the ruling is in favor of gay marriage each American will have to either stand up against all that the conservatives will dish out and reject it, or succumb to the hatred that only destroys the spirit of our nation.
There aren’t the votes for the FMA, nor will there be whatever happens. The GOP would need to *gain* seats for that to happen.
I don’t think this makes much difference, frankly, unless Democrats (who’ve been amply warned that the decision was coming) allow it to get them off message. The damage to the GOP has been done–the only thing that can transform this election now would be a major development in foreign policy.
I’m with Mike B. Furthermore, Slate’s Mickey Kaus argues that legalization of gay marriage in New Jersey would revitalize the Republican supporters. Since he is an idiot, I’m taking that as a good omen.
Iraq. The economy. The environment. The deceptive, incompetent, flat-out lying administration. Gay marriage in New Jersey shouldn’t be able to overshadow those issues for anyone.
I disagree. It could make a difference in close Senate races – i.e. Virginia (where there’s even a gay marriage amendment on the ballot), Tennessee, and Missouri – by motivating evangelicals who were planning to stay home on November 7. At any rate, a pro-gay ruling certainly won’t help the Democrats.
I agree with Tim Man. There are between 45-60 House seats that are ‘in play’ and many are what is termed ‘second-tier’ seats in that they are in Congressional Districts that are GOP leaning but where a conservative Democrat could win under the conditions we find this morning before the ruling. However, with a more energized GOP base as a result from a pro-marriage ruling, the numbers in many of the races will tilt back to the GOP.
That does not mean we can’t gain control of the Hosue, but means instead of winning 25-30 seats we may only gain 16-18.
In addition to Virginia I think we would lose Tennessee and Missouri. That of course means we lose any chance of winning the Senate.
As a gay man I hate the way this may play out, pitting my (our) rights against the politics of an election.
Control of the Senate was already a long shot. It wouldn’t be a fair trade.
As I see it, this might undo some of the damage of the Foley scandal, which principally disgusted the religious base. But that’s a far cry from fundamentally changing the parameters of the election.
Oh. Unless I’m reading the decision wrong, it’s a moot point anyway. Ah well.