Hitting Them Senseless

by: Adam Bink

Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 14:00

Update: Marc Mutty, who runs the Stand For Marriage Maine campaign (our opponents), said today on Maine Public Broadcasting Network "We've never said that schools will be mandated- or, actually, perhaps we did in one ad, or certainly led people to believe that, inadvertently." Wow.

This is part of a series of on-the-ground coverage with the No On 1 campaign in Maine, generously funded in part by you and with the support of the New Organizing Institute's National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative. For other posts in this series, click here.

The Yes On 1 campaign has gone more or less all on one message: that a change in Maine law would force local schools to teach marriage equality. It's been the focus of their last three advertisements and mentioned in a fourth. It's been debunked by all of the state's largest newspapers, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, the Maine Department of Education, a coalition of former attorneys general and law experts, and most recently by the current Maine Attorney General. 61.6% of likely voters in last week's poll said they didn't believe the line.

Today I went to a press conference where Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree (the daughter of Rep. Chellie Pingree) and former Attorney General Jim Tierney spoke about the lies in the ads and Yes On 1's attacks on the current Maine Attorney General for her opinion.

Part 2 (Q&A):

And here's the new ad just released today:

It will be interesting to see if our opponents concentrate everything on this message through election day. Our side is hitting them senseless on the issue, and the over $1.15 million you chipped in last week helped put this ad on the air.

Adam Bink :: Hitting Them Senseless

Tags: Yes on 1, No On 1 Maine, LGBT movement, MaineOctober, marriage equality, advertising, Polling, (All Tags)

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Hitting Them Senseless | 6 comments

PPP says it's very close (0.00 / 0)

The numbers aren't out yet, but the PPP Maine preview says the numbers will be released tomorrow:

We'll release the numbers on the gay marriage ban. It pretty much literally could not be any closer and will all come down to who turns out. Judging by the approval rating we found for Obama in the state it looks like it will be a more conservative leaning electorate than what the state saw last fall. It could be determined by the age distribution of the voters- do young people come out or do senior citizens dominate the electorate?

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by: Hopeful in NJ @ Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 18:02:28 PM UTC

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$1.15 million!?!?!? (0.00 / 0)

How is this money being used, through what channels, and what will be left in terms of infrastructure for organising work on lgbt issues? (sincere question - not trying to be snarky, but it IS a lot of money).

by: dr anonymous @ Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 18:30:07 PM UTC

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It's not (0.00 / 0)

If that's all we raised for the campaign, we would lose. Campaigns in Maine are cheap but not that cheap.

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by: Adam Bink @ Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 19:12:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

you could fund 5-10 small non-profits for a year (0.00 / 0)

or one for 10 years.

so in my book, it is a lot of money. but anyway, the question i was asking was mainly directed at: how is the money being used to further future grassroots activism in addition to promoting this referendum campaign. again, a sincere question - not snark. let a 1,000 flowers bloom, but if you can water more than one at a time, it works best.

by: dr anonymous @ Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 23:29:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

No on 1 does not seem to be repeating No on 8's biggest mistake. (0.00 / 0)

The folks whose rights are being voted on deserve better than the affront that is Question 1, but what better opportunity than now to show Mainers the human face(s) of marriage equality? No on 1, to its credit, has been doing exactly that, and that makes their efforts useful and worthwhile, regardless of the outcome on Nov. 3rd.

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by: Chino Blanco @ Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 10:08:23 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

their efforts are definitely useful and worthwhile (0.00 / 0)

especially since they're working at the state level and they're going through election processes rather than through a court battle. What I am asking is how they can be made MORE useful and worthwhile, given that resources are not an issue (they have collected twice as much money as opponents).

But at the same time, it is always relevant to look at what money has been collected, how the oragnisation that has collected it is organised, to what it is accountable, the specific strategies that are being used to ensure that it is not a one-off expenditure (the impact you are talking about is one way and the campaign as a whole raises the issue and helps impact people's opinions) and what footprint is left behind.

This is basic strategic planning that needs to be in place, because we all know that marriage equality is not a single issue campaign, but part of a much wider range of problems and that the solution to all of them are interlinked - if you don't have strong, vibrant social institutions that stand up for social justice on an ongoing basis, you will end up with one or another group (working people, LGBT people, black people, latino people, migrants, etc.) losing out - and everyone's turn comes around.

So, in the context of LGBT rights and given that large amounts of money are being received, how are they being channeled to maximise the short term, medium term, and long term impact. The news hook is there and so the money flows in- I am asking about the planning has been conducted for how it is and will be used and how that planning was undertaken.

Not my campaign as a non-Maine person, so I respect that people in different places need to figure out for themselves the right solutions. However, transparency to the extent possible is useful and steps to identify gaps, best practices, etc., are vital for this and future struggles.

by: dr anonymous @ Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 12:56:25 PM UTC

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