I spent the last two days over at the Capitol in opposition to this heinous marriage amendment. Unfortunately, the bill passed the on a highly partisan vote – 70—62. While I am completely disgusted with the outcome of this vote I did get to witness some truly amazing and inspiring things that have left me incredibly encouraged and confident that will defeat this abomination in 2012. I don’t think the MN GOP realizes they have woken the sleeping tiger. I hope that they have enjoyed their short time as the majority
First and foremost were the hundreds and thousands of supporters who maintained a constant presence in the Capitol for seven days – never once wavering, chanting and singing in solidarity. Kudos to the organizers for this amazing feat, it was absolutely inspiring.
Then there were the moving speeches on the floor of the House – mostly by DFLers. There were so many I can’t even point to one or two. It is worth going over to The Uptake or the House TV to take a look and listen for a reminder of what inspired leadership looks like
I don’t want to forget our Republican friends, Reps. Kelley, Kriesel, Murray and Smith. These four men should be honored for standing up for what is right in the face of what must have been enormous pressure within their own party. Reps. Kriesel and Kelley in particular gave some amazing speeches – truly inspiring and another reminder that true leadership does not have to be partisan..
Now, it wasn’t all rosy inspiration. The vote was disappointing and disturbing and I continue to be astounded by DFLers who are repeatedly vote against the values that they supposedly represent. Yesterday it was Rep. Dittrich (47A – Champlin)and Rep. Koenen(20B – Clara City) and on the Senate side it was Sen. Stumpf (01 – Plummer). Now, I know I will get called out again for trying to create some sort of purity test or not understanding that this is what their district would want. But when is it enough? When do we start holding the line?
All three of the DFLers have voted, not just once, but multiple times against the values we all hold near and dear. Dittrich and Koenen not only voted to put discrimination into our Constitution, they have both repeatedly voted against a woman’s right to choose, against stem cell research and for the Voter ID Bill. How do those votes help defend our values? When do we stop moving the goal posts in order to keep a seat in the “D” column?
I urge all of us to think about how we change this. How do we make sure we have elected officials in place who will uphold our values – not just some of them and only when its politically convenient. Those of us in the DFL Feminist Caucus will continue to make sure our values are upheld and look at those electeds who continue not to.
Equality is not negotiable.
Respectfully and in solidarity,
Laura M. Nevitt
President
DFL Feminist Caucus