Whatever lies in store for us after January, Barack Obama has already struck two blows for conservative causes. He destroyed the system of public financing that libertarian minded conservatives have long opposed, and he probably secured passage of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California. From the LA Times:
Although many of the state's black political leaders spoke out against Proposition 8, an exit poll of California voters showed that black voters favored the measure by a margin of more than 2 to 1. Not only was the black vote weighted heavily in favor of Proposition 8, but black turnout -- spurred by Barack Obama's historic campaign for president -- was unusually large, with African Americans making up roughly 10% of the total electorate.
The exit poll didn't ask voters why they voted the way they did. But Madison Shockley, pastor of Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad and among the roughly one-third of blacks who opposed Proposition 8, said the vote was understandable. "Black folks go to church, probably more than the Caucasian population, and the churches they go to tend to be very traditional."
Black Americans are probably the most reliable voting bloc in the Democratic coalition, more reliable perhaps than Gay voters. But they are surprisingly conservative on many social issues, in part because of religion. It looks like White voters narrowly voted against Prop. 8, though persons married with children went strongly for it. Hispanics supported it, again for religious reasons. But the surge in the Black vote certainly helped put Prop 8 over the top.
Gays should be angry at Black voters, then, but you can't be angry at Black voters. It isn't allowed. Not even religiously motivated Black voters. So who are California's gays taking it out on? Mormons. From the LA Times:
More than a thousand gay-rights activists gathered Thursday afternoon outside the Mormon temple in Westwood to protest the role Mormons played in passing Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
It was the latest in an escalating campaign directed against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its role in marshaling millions of dollars in contributions from its members for the successful campaign to take away same-sex marriage rights.
Well, it's the nature of politics that you have to pick your targets carefully. But there is another old saw worth repeating: be careful what you wish for. Daniel Finkelstein, writing in the London Times Online, explains Obama's victory in these simple terms: Americans are richer, smarter, and less White. Well, now we know who to blame for eight years of Dubya: poor, dumb, White people. There's a target for you! But maybe less White doesn't always mean more liberal. I note that the millions of Muslims ringing Paris and other European cities probably aren't any friendlier to Gay rights than American Blacks. Welcome to the first day of the rest of the century.
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