My (Brief) Thoughts on Maine ...

by: paulhogarth

Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 11:46

I hate losing elections, but what I REALLY hate is losing after a high turnout. Losing because our base didn't vote is depressing, but at least it tells us what we need to do to win next time - and progressives can take heart in the fact that "the people" are truly on their side, if only they showed up. Last night, Maine's Question 1 passed 53-47 - despite a much higher turnout than expected (we matched last year's Obama level at the University of Maine in Orono, winning the campus 81-19.) The "No on 1" campaign also had a far greater field presence than the opposition, and superior financial resources. It reminds me of 2004, when Bush won despite the progressive base voting in record numbers. When California's Proposition 8 passed last year, everyone could tell that our side ran an awful campaign. It was painful, but gave us many lessons to learn - lessons that the "No on 1" campaign in Maine took to heart, and performed beautifully. That's why this loss is so much worse than Prop 8. I don't know what we could have done differently, and am too sleep-deprived to think it all through.

paulhogarth :: My (Brief) Thoughts on Maine ...

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron, San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily, where this piece was first published.

Tags: same-sex marriage, marriage equality, gay marriage, Maine Question 1, (All Tags)

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My (Brief) Thoughts on Maine ... | 2 comments

Who was counting the votes? (0.00 / 0)

Have you considered that the count was rigged? Because Obama managed to win despite Republican vote-fixing doesn't mean the practice was abolished. In fact, according to the Free Press, the Republicans now own the ballots in Ohio and other key states for 2010. And with Democrats doing everything they can to further alienate their base, it's not looking good. So don't assume that you lost on the marriage issue in Maine. It may very well be that you actually won, but were prevented from being declared the winners by the people in charge of counting the votes.

Single-Payer is the ONLY viable public option.

by: Single-Payer Advocate @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 11:29:00 AM CST