Powerful pro-gay marriage editorial.
I know some people think this is an electoral loser, so Democrats should stay out of it. Now, I'm all for practical politics - if you can't win elections all the principles in the world don't matter much. But, it isn't Democrats who are making this an issue, frankly, it's Republicans. They're making immoral homos the centerpiece of their '04 election strategy. Democrats can either be on the right side of this issue, or the wrong side. If they're on the wrong side, it won't win them any votes. Just as MSNBC can't out-Fox Fox, the Democrats can't out-gaybait the Republicans. They should all fall in line behind John Lewis. Right now.
In a way it's like the crime issue. "Everybody knows" that Democrats are soft on crime, so the only way to counter that is to be a complete bastard - support the death penalty, increased minimum sentences, refuse to parole anyone (as Gray Davis did), etc... Likewise, "everybody knows" that Democrats are pro-buggery and the buggerers who bugger, so the only way to counter that perception would be to be somewhere to the right of Pat Robertson on this issue. They just can't do that, so they shouldn't try. Do the right thing, and explain why.
