OK, so Prop 8 has lost. How to turn this around? How to make this a beginning rather than an end?
Two political strategies: first, it’s not hard to get Propositions on the California ballot. So, get a repeal of Prop 8 on for 2010, when it won’t be a Presidential election year and so turnout may dip, especially among voters who were primarily coming out to support Obama, or to vote for the old-timer. This would perhaps make the demographic issues of race (African Americans opposed to gay marriage, and senior citizens ditto) irrelevant.
Second, expect the Church of Latter Day Saints to once again pour millions of dollars into defeating the repeal. If it doesn’t get repealed in 2010, get it on the ballot in 2012. 2014. 2016. However long it takes, the demographics will shift our way, and perhaps in the process we can bleed the Mormons dry. If they want to impose their religious values on the rest of us, in a secular society, let’s make them pay.
@42 and everyone else who is blaming black people.
The problem is males. Black women were the only segment of women to vote for this, so if only women were voting Prop 8 would have failed. In absolute, as opposed to proportional numbers, white men were the biggest problem (and of the combined race/gender demographic they’re the worst proportionally too). There are more persuadable people there–ten percent of white men is something like 3% overall, and that flips the result (a 3% swing is net 6%). 10% of all men is 5% of the electorate, for a 10% swing. On the other hand, to get the same effect from the African American population you’d have to change almost everyone’s mind. (It’s also worth noting that of the male vote, the black vote is LESS anti-gay than the white, Latino, or Asian vote.) Changing the minds of 10% of religious voters, regardless of race or gender, would also do it.
To look at the data and conclude this is an African American problem is not rational.
All of this is taking notoriously unreliable exit polling at face value.
To jrrrl (#17). I’m sure you a very nice person. But if you want to rank demographic groups in order of their homophobia (I’m not sure why you do), you need to look at the *percentages* with which each group voted for the hate amendment, not the gross vote totals.
A little knowledge is a …
Here is an article, called “Unamendments,” on when constitutional amendments are unconstitutional: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=803864
[available for free downloading]
@49: Sure, they’d love polygamy to be legal again. But they wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that in public. The Catholics and Evangelicals would turn on them like rabid ferrets… and I think there hasn’t been nearly enough internecine strife lately between Christian denominations. Let them bleed one of their own for a while, and then we can sneak a repeal of 8 behind their backs while they’re distracted. (It only takes a few thousand signatures plus 50%. Should be easy enough.)
I love it when liberals try to disenfranchise and scapegoat black people instead of doing the hard work with their own white brothers. It just shows me how much work there is to be done. Obama has not solved all of our problems!
most of you are missing the whole picture. It doesn’t matter if only 1 black person voted for the ban, that’s one black person too many. really, how can you vote for change and the next takeaway someone else’s rights? Martin Luther king stood up for the rights for everyone,not just black people and sad to say, a whole lot of them forgotten about that and they think they’re in the clear. Just as they help to take away another person’s rights, their rights can be taken away just as fast. even more sadder is that they will hide behind their beliefs to justify their hate. We really need to not just revoke the Mormon’s tax status, but all religious organizations. it just shows us more that we need to start teaching as well as fighting.
You need to change minds, not organizations.
1. The Mormon church didn’t donate anything to the campaign, it was the members of the church.
2. Mormons are 2% of the electorate in CA, they’re responsible? Really?
3. Don’t suggest that things would be better if only the black people didn’t vote. It is moronic and tragically ironic that you would want to exclude them in a process to broaden inclusion.
4. Quit making total asses of yourselves.