It's Going to be a Long Seven Weeks

Barack Obama (Photo credit: jamesomalley)

As of today, there are seven weeks until election day.  If this past weekend is any indication, it is going to be a very long seven weeks.  It isn't that we haven't already been inundated with political ads on television and radio, but this weekend was particularly brutal.

Saturday morning, I was fixing myself some breakfast and had the weekend version of The Today show on in the background.  It was the time of the show where they have a few commercials, throw to the local affiliate for local news, and then more commercials.

During this particular break, there were two Mitt Romney ads, one Barack Obama ad, and one ad for and one ad against Question 7 that will appear on the Maryland ballot.  For those outside of the Maryland area, Question 7 is a ballot initiative to ad one more casino and table games to existing casinos.  Currently, Maryland casinos only have slot machines. Oh, and I almost forgot, there was one commercial from independent Senate candidate Rob Sobhani.

speaking at CPAC in Washington D.C. on February 11, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In addition to the multiple television commercials, the robocalls have started in full swing.  I received a call from an organization encouraging voters to vote against Question 7.  Personally, I support gambling in Maryland.  I supported it when Robert Ehrlich proposed it, and supported it when Martin O'Malley proposed it.  Funny though, when Republican governor Ehrlich proposed it, the Democrats killed it, but when Democrat governor O'Malley proposed it, the movement passed.

In the past few weeks, these sorts of things had been heating up, but not quite up to the level of this past weekend.  I suspect that things are only going to get crazier over the next seven weeks.  I hope that I can manage to keep from throwing the phone through the television from the expected barrage of robocalls and television ads.  Though, now that I think about it, I could use a new television in the living room.

So Long, Arlen!

Arlen Specter is emblematic of the problems in Washington these days, and the reason so many of us want to throw most of the bums out on their collective asses.  It is not because he is a Democrat, though that in and of itself should be cause for concern.  It isn't even because he decided to switch from the Republican Party to the Democrats.  Had he simply said last year that he now found himself more in agreement with the Democrats than the Republicans and stopped there, it probably would not have bothered me that much.  The truth is, it is what he said after that they is where the real problem with Arlen Specter begins.  To refresh your memory, here in all his glory is Specter explaining his reason for switching parties.

The real reason, as Specter revealed, is that he realized that he faced a challenge in Pat Toomey who decided to challenge Specter in the Pennsylvania Republican primary.  He knew he was behind, and he knew he would most likely lose.  To Specter and his ilk (ie Charlie Crist), it isn't about serving his constituents and letting the electorate decide who they want to represent them.  No, to them it is all about maintaining their power and getting reelected no matter what it takes.  It has been that way for Specter's entire political career.  After all, he started as a Democrat and switched to the Republicans when it became apparent that it was the best way for him to achieve his first elected office.

Specter thought that he would have an easier time getting reelected by becoming a Democrat as opposed to a Republican.  How appropriate and ironic that instead of facing Toomey in the Republican primary that he would still end up facing a challenge from Joe Sestak in the Democratic primary.  How wonderfully delicious that he would lose to a challenger that the Democrat establishment did not want in the race.  It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

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Maryland & Gay Marriage

Image via Wikipedia

The DC City Council passed a bill that would allow gay marriage in the District of Columbia.  They did so despite calls from religious leaders and others to put the bill to a referendum of the citizens.  The bill was signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty.  Since DC is still a federal district, any of the laws passed are subject to Congressional oversight.  With the overwhelming Democratic majority in the House and Senate, it does not appear that Congress will step in to change that legislation.

My state, the state of Maryland, has defined marriage as between a man and a woman since 1973.  While marriage is defined in Maryland as between a man and a woman, the law regarding recognizing marriages is a little more vague.  Maryland recognizes marriages performed in other jurisdictions under the "full faith and credit" clause of the US Constitution.  Same sex marriage is not specifically addressed.

As liberal as my state is, I fully expected that the issue of gay marriage would come up sooner rather than later.  With gay marriage looming so close in neighboring Washington, DC., a member of the Maryland house of delegates, Emmett Burns (D-Baltimore County) has introduced House Bill 90 that would ban the state from recognizing gay marriages performed in states or countries where the act is legal.  As I said, I expected the issue to come up sooner or later.  What I didn't expect was that a Democrat would be the one to propose a bill that would ban the recognition of gay marriage.

My current view of gay marriage is not typical of most conservatives.  I do not have a strong feeling either way.  I believe it is an issue to be determined by the individual states.  I believe that if a state legislature or the citizens by referendum decide to allow gay marriage, then so be it. I do have a problem with the matter being decided by activist courts.  I do not believe that churches should be compelled to perform gay marriages in states that allow it.  That being said, I do feel that marriages that are conducted in a legal fashion, including gay marriages, should be recognized by states, even if those states do not allow gay marriage.  Let's face it, with nearly half of heterosexual marriages ending in divorce, it isn't like we are getting it right ourselves.   

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