That's the number we need to make sure hatred doesn't get on the ballot. A legislative dozen isn't quite a dozen, because you can't always trust a legislator's last vote completely. It isn't even a baker's dozen, because switching 13 votes doesn't seem like enough to me either. Yesterday, we may have only needed a dozen votes, but tomorrow it could just be a legislative dozen. So, how many votes do we need? Let's call it 15 - about 5 already won over through last year's election. How do we go about doing it?
Yesterday, I talked about recourse. However, recourse can take on many forms. Part of gaining ultimate victory on marriage equality will be replacing the 25% of legislators who support vile, hurtful hatred and bigotry. However, it extends beyond that. Eileen McNamara writes that Deval Patrick did too little, too late. However, it isn't too late. Deval Patrick has a bigger role to play and a year to do it. We, as his supporters and constituents, need to remind him to not only continue to support our cause - but to do it with a little more flourish over the next year.
Anyone want to take a bet that Travaglini's final support of the bill, as one of the 62 yeas, had anything to do with its passing? It's a bet I'll take. Recourse is replacing that DINO, who sort of reminds me of a Dick Cheney, except not completely bald and gray. I don't think I can count how many times Trav has made behind-the-scenes, backdoor deals that reeked of spoiled democracy. Candidate Gabrieli, anyone? Trav's time as Senate President should be limited (I'm hoping my State Senator, Senator McGee, is listening).
So there are our three ways to get our legislative dozen. We're going to nudge Deval ever so slightly to really get on this issue. One way or another, legislators will realize it's politically poison to vote for hatred and bigotry. We're going to be dealing with Trav, too, and he's not going to like the wake-up call from an entire people-powered movement, his phone lines be damned.
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Ryan, I take your point form the previous diary that working on campaigns now can effect the concon outcome even before the '08 vote for legislators.
Two questions for you:
1. does Travaglini keep his senate prez position until he gives it up? Can it be revoked? I don't know the rules around getting/losing that position, but if he doesn;t have to reture to lose it, we should rattle that cage
2. Ok this isn;t a Q butmore an observation. Deval really doesn;t have a year to work on this. The ConCon reconvenes this spring. We really only have a few months, because Travaglini could just ram another vote then, couldnt he? I really feel our time to maneuver is very short.
Yes, it's very possible to remove Trav from power. However, it certainly won't be easy. The easier thing to do would get him to resign from his leadership position for "personal" reasons or something like that. Getting a majority of the state sens to openly go against him isn't going to be easy, so that's why we may have to try to attack it from a different area. Basically, making him so unpopular that even he realizes he's completely ineffective.
On you're second point, you're right - we don't really have very much time (even if we did have a year). Deval's going to have to start making the rounds now and periodically keep at it. I think he's going to have to play tough to make these state leg's well aware that it's going to be politically poison to put this thing on the ballot.
I doubt any votes are going to get rammed through, but we'll probably see the next ConCon in the early days of the summer. Maybe late Spring. However, we should definately be on our toes so no one is surprised this time around.
With all due respect, how can you doubt that another vote will be rammed through? Even being on our toes, it's Travaglini that wields the gavel. Unless I'm missing something about procedure (which certainly is possible!) Travaglini is still our main opponenet.
Do you knwo if there are any other pending amendments that would cause conflict among friends, as the HCA did?
Trav is scum. It's unfortunate, but his unavoidable presence put something of a pall over the festivities this afternoon. If Deval can't do something to reign him in, publically and quick, we're all in big trouble. He's like Phil Travis the Bigot King, he thinks he can do anything. He's got to get a wakeup call to his delusions of grandeur.
How can I doubt? I'm prefer to be a *tad* bit hopefully that even scum can be human. However, I concede to your point and WILL be ready for everything. In fact, I think it'll be somewhat likely to see this in early Spring - April or May. It wouldn't be a precedent to have a Con Con so early and neither date is far off.
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