Not appropriate for this site

http://www.swingstateproject.c...

Please post elsewhere.

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 17:30:21 PM UTC

Hmmm

Not to step on toes but I think it is very perfect for this site.  This Nov you may see a total swing in the marriage fight based on Maine.  

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by: TheDeminator @ Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 22:54:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

No not really

"But lately, we've seen conversations derail far too often. And it's really disappointing to me. This is the Swing State Project. We talk about the horse race. Don't get me wrong - there are a ton of issues that are important to me, whether it's healthcare, the environment, gay marriage, or Employee Free Choice. There are also a ton of places I can discuss them to my heart's content.

Just. Not. Here."

Look I sympathize with you, but unless you want to talk about how this will effect elections (or candidates)in Maine , this is not the place for it.

Now let's not get in a flame war or anything. Just pointing it out!  

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by: sulthernao @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 00:19:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

To weigh in

While it's a very small part of what we do here, we do cover referendums and ballot measures, and welcome users to do so as well. (An example from before the last election is here.) As noted downthread, we have also covered the political impact of the gay marriage issue, particularly because of its importance in the northeast. (For instance, Gov. Paterson clearly is trying to help his own cause by pushing gay marriage, and his efforts have been aided by the recent passage of equality laws in VT, NH & ME.)

I appreciate the fact that community members here have remained vigilant about keeping SSP as pure a horserace (and babka) site as possible. And striking the right balance can be difficult. But this ballot measure is definitely fair game for this site. I personally would like to see a little bit more meat about how this is playing in Maine (polls, etc.), and especially how it might affect elections there, with the gov race next year and with the state Senate still relatively close. But it's still early, and this is a decent start.

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by: DavidNYC @ Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 05:29:24 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It is appropriate here because of the referendum angle

If it was just a discussion of the pros/cons of the marriage equality debate, I would agree that it isn't for this site.

But the Maine and national right wing is taking a page from the Rove playbook by attempting to use a referendum to polarize voters and gain partisan advantage with marriage as a wedge issue.

The Maine referendum will be an important vote in determining if the marriage issue will have political legs for the right wing in the face of  the dramatic gains for marriage equality this year (Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire and Maine). It will play a major role in shaping the national political environment for the next 2 election cycles.

The tag for this site is "Campaign and election news - covering key races around the country" --- by any definition, the marriage referendum in Maine falls under that category.  

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by: terje @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 14:43:08 PM UTC

Agreed

Marriage updates have been posted on the main page at SSP before by the admins, and I think this is framed in an appropriate context.  One of the GOP's biggest talking points on marriage has been that it has been voted down in every state it's come up in (ignoring AZ in 2006 but oh well).  They've used this as a cudgel against Democrats in swing areas.  A defeat in Maine could go a long away in challenging the myth that anti-marriage voters are better organized (and thus better to have on your side) than pro-marriage voters.

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by: DFLer @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 14:56:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fair Enough

Sorry for being overly zealous.  With the (now deleted) Madoff diary below it, I was worried it was becoming a trend.

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 16:36:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]