Americans Raleigh around Marriage
In the end, nothing--not misinformation campaigns, money shortages, the media's hostility, or even the President's opposition--could stand in the way of 1,303,952 North Carolinians protecting marriage. In record numbers, voters streamed into polling places to send an unmistakable message to the political and media elites: You can't silence us on marriage. For people like Tami Fitzgerald, the amendment's passage was the fulfillment of a long-time dream. "The whole point is you don't rewrite the nature of God's design for marriage based on the demands of a group of adults," she told reporters from the Values Coalition headquarters. An overwhelming majority of her state agreed. By night's end, marriage supporters had put an exclamation point on the victory with a 22-point spread over the opposition--who, in the end, couldn't buy or lie their way to victory.
Despite an around-the-clock intimidation campaign, the advocates of same-sex marriage in the media and national activists never managed to wear down voters or their values. Like NRO's Ryan Anderson, the people of North Carolina understood that this was never about banning anything. "This is about the coercion and compulsion of others to recognize and affirm same-sex unions as marriage." FRC made that point during our trips throughout the state. The Values Bus spent a week driving across North Carolina, registering voters and promoting the amendment. Ken Klukowski debated attorneys, Tom McClusky and Ken Blackwell spoke to political groups, Dr. Kenyn Cureton preached in churches, Paul Fitzpatrick and his family knocked on doors, and I flew back and forth for rallies from one end of the state to the other. The press tried talking over us, denying us, and even ignoring us, but for the 32nd straight time, those seeking to redefine the most foundational relationship of civil society found themselves in a familiar place: the losing side. Anti-marriage leader Jeremy Kennedy had insisted that "an upset" was brewing--but in the end, the only people upset were those who spent over $2 million dollars (twice the amount of pro-marriage campaign) trying to rewrite marriage and natural law.
It doesn't get any easier for the Left from here. After this setback, liberals have a distinct PR problem on their hands. Even now, people on the other side are scrambling to explain how their views are "mainstream" when a supermajority of American states is proving them wrong. Even the Left is having trouble believing it. Last night, the liberal Public Policy Polling group tweeted, " Hate to say it, but I don't believe polls showing majority support for gay marriage nationally. Any time there's a vote it doesn't back it up." Do elections have consequences? You bet. It took 140 years for Republicans to win back control of the North Carolina legislature in 2010. Without voters, who put pro-marriage representatives in charge, the state would have never had the chance to define marriage in the first place.
Now, the Tar Heels can celebrate a unified south, where every state stands in solidarity for the preservation marriage. That should make for an interesting campaign season--especially given the Democrats' choice of Charlotte for its National Convention and North Carolina's importance to the President's reelection campaign. According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, the biggest battleground states are also the biggest proponents of traditional marriage. Ten of the 16--including the crown jewels of Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, Colorado, and now North Carolina--have marriage amendments. Between them, they represent more than 130 electoral votes (half the amount needed to win the presidency). If the White House expects to be competitive in those regions, it had better turn off "Will & Grace" and tune in to views of the majority of Americans.
We commended the voters of North Carolina for standing up to the bullying tactics of the activists and voting for marriage. We especially want to thank the leadership in North Carolina that FRC worked with to achieve this historic outcome. Leaders like Tami Fitzgerald, who directed the coalition, Bill Brooks, the head of the North Carolina Family Policy Council, Pastors Ron Baity, Dr. Mark Harris and many others--who, together, showed tens of millions of Americans that they are not only relevant, but part of a massive movement standing for marriage.
The Missing Link in Obama's Evolution
One person who obviously missed the message from North Carolina was President Obama. This afternoon, the President completed his "evolution" on marriage and endorsed its demise. He finally ended the hypocrisy during an interview with ABC. "I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married." For once, the President is bringing his words in sync with his actions. From opposing state marriage amendments to refusing to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to giving taxpayer funded marriage benefits to same-sex couples, the President has undermined the spirit and the letter of the law. As demonstrated by yesterday's overwhelming vote for Amendment 1, redefining marriage remains outside the mainstream of American politics, especially in the critical battleground states and among minority voters. In North Carolina, the amendment received more than 60 percent of the vote in majority-black counties. If anything, today's announcement almost ensures that marriage will again be a major issue in the presidential election. The President has provided a clear contrast between him and his challenger Gov. Mitt Romney. Romney, who has signed a pledge to support a marriage protection amendment to the U.S. Constitution, may have been handed the key to social conservative support by President Obama.
** The White House may be "comfortable" with "men marrying men and women marrying women," but the majority of Americans are not. Click over to my new op-ed on CNN.com, where I show just how out of step the administration is are with voters.
*** What's the big secret about the President's position on marriage? As Ken Blackwell explains in World magazine, this administration has never supported a single effort to protect it. Check out his column, "Obama v. Marriage" here.
