The aftershocks of the passage of Proposition 8 are still resonating in California, both in subtle and not so subtle ways. In the more subtle ways, we are seeing the quiet but officially sanctioned attempts by the elites in California to undo the will of the people by seeking a judicial overturning of Proposition 8 and reestablishing the “right” to homosexual marriage that was never really a “right” outside of the one granted by judicial fiat. Former Governor Moonbeam, present California attorney general Jerry Brown is leading the charge which is really outrageous that the man elected by the people to serve as the attorney for the state is now being charged with undoing the will of those same people (for a fun read click on the link above and read the litany of self-indulgent "accomplishments" Jerry Brown lists on the Attorney Generals page. Nothing like using the taxpayers money to promote what a great guy you are!). The description of the role of the attorney general of California is as follows:
It is the duty of the Attorney General to see that the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced (California Constitution, Article V, Section 13.) The Attorney General carries out responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice.
The Attorney General represents the people of California in civil and criminal matters before trial, appellate and the supreme courts of California and the United States.
Apparently for Governor Moonbeam, representing the people only includes representation for those laws that he likes. Other laws, passed legally by the people of California, he is apparently free to ignore and actively seek to use his elected office and taxpayer funds to defeat as evidenced by this press release:
Attorney General Brown Urges California Supreme Court to Invalidate Proposition 8
Sacramento – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today called upon the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because it deprives people of the right to marry—an aspect of liberty that the Supreme Court has concluded is guaranteed by the California Constitution.
“Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification,” Attorney General Brown said.
So the elected representative of the people, their advocate before the Supreme Court is apparently not only not going to represent them before the Supreme Court of California, but is instead going to urge that the court invalidate the will of the people and use the webpage of the State of California, paid for by the voters, to urge that their voices be silenced. With an advocate like that, who needs enemies!
In the not-so-subtle ways we have the increasingly shrill and strident mobs of homosexuals. At least they are not out in the streets cavorting about and defacing private property, but the bullying tactics have continued. From today’s Wall Street Journal…
LOS ANGELES -- Soon after California's passage of a initiative banning same-sex marriage last month, dozens of gay activists descended on the El Coyote restaurant with signs and placards. They chanted "Shame on you," cussed at patrons and began a boycott of the cafe.
The restaurants's crime: A daughter of the owner donated $100 to support Proposition 8, the antigay-marriage initiative approved by voters. Gay activists have refused to lift the boycott -- which restaurant managers say has slashed revenues by 30% -- even after some El Coyote employees raised $500 to help repeal the new ban.
The boycotters have demanded that the owner's daughter, El Coyote manager Marjorie Christoffersen, pony up $100 to help repeal Prop 8. She tearfully declined, citing her Mormon faith, during a raucous meeting with activists. "You are not my friend if you take my civil rights," one activist shouted before she fled the room.
Think about that demand. You must donate $100 to a cause that you are morally opposed to or we will try to shut your business down. When Christian groups try to boycott places like Disney, the mainstream media sneers at them as small-minded bigots but when homosexual advocates do the same thing they are painted as patriotic martyrs for their cause. Think of what the media coverage would look like if supporters of the attempt to overturn Proposition 8 were publically condemned and threatened with boycotts if they refused to contribute money to the effort to uphold Proposition 8. Is there any doubt in the minds of any rational person that the media would decry those efforts?
They certainly have the right, legally anyway, to do what they are doing but it once again demonstrates the ugly side of the “civil rights” movement. The message here is clear. Proposition 8 passed by a solid margin in California but when the next ballot initiative banning gay marriage comes up, you better think long and hard about publicly supporting it or contributing to it, or you could be next. It is a not-so subtle intimidation. In most areas of the country it is not nearly as threatening but California and other states with larger homosexual populations have enough homosexuals and their supporters that threats of economic boycotts and outright mayhem may be enough to have a “chilling effect” on political speech.
What this issue does show is a potential major fissure in the Democratic majority coalition between extreme left social liberals and the far less socially liberal minority voters that the Democrats count on dutifully voting against their values every two years. The far left fringe runs the party, sets policy, decides the agenda. What McCain and the GOP failed to do in the 2008 election was to frame the debate with that in the background. All of the ancillary stuff, William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright, was not going to resonate with voters. What perhaps would have struck a nerve would have been a more stark comparison between the Left and Right in this country. If you, correctly in my estimation, portray the Democrats as the party of abortion on demand, creeping socialism and the granting of rights unprecedented and unwarranted to every deviant subset of America the GOP will have far more success in future elections. But the wholesale abandonment of any sort of moral compass in the party, as some and perhaps many are advocating, will lead to more and deeper electoral disasters and the long-term ruin of our nation. If the voices in the Republican party elite succeed in shutting out religious conservatives and seek to win elections on tax cuts, they will seal the fate of America to follow in the footsteps of Western Europe where the former great powers are self-indulgent, amoral shadows of themselves that are quickly being overrun by Islam (which is ironic given that these nations who pride themselves on being secular are quickly going to find themselves under Sharia law). The winning coalition for the GOP must include not just country club elite conservatives and will not succeed by marginalizing the “values voters” who are essential in delivering the Midwest and the South. The GOP better figure that out quickly or they may just find out how deep and dark the political wilderness really is.
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