The Boston Globe is reporting that Democrat Martha Coakley (right) is leading Republican Scott Brown (left) by 15 points as we head into the final full week of the special election campaign to fill the Senate seat vacated after the death of Ted Kennedy. This is good news on a number of fronts. During the same-sex marriage battle in Massachusetts five years ago, Scott Brown was one of the most vocal and strident opponents of equality. Suffice it to say that if Scott Brown had his way, marriage would not be the law of the land in Massachusetts.
The sad irony of Scott Brown's present position as a state senator in Massachusetts is that his seat was formerly held by openly gay Cheryl Jacques, who left her seat mid-term to become head of the Human Rights Campaign. She resigned this position shortly thereafter, having sparred with the HRC board over strategy. The most successful Republicans in Massachusetts politics have usually been social liberals and fiscal moderates/conservatives. In fact, one of Kevin Jennings biggest supporters -- something that seems to be lost on those Republicans in attack mode -- was Republican Governor William Weld. Then again, Weld was denied an ambassadorship to Mexico by Jesse Helms for his progressive views on gay rights.
A nice footnote on the Globe poll. Same-sex marriage isn't mentioned once as an issue. I searched the actual report, and there's not a word about it. Looks like we come s along way, at least in Massachusetts.
No comments:
Post a Comment