Posted on 09/14/2012 8:07:33 AM PDT by scottjewell
Opponents of same-sex marriage took the neck-and-neck finishes of Republican primary challengers to Sens. Roy McDonald and Steve Saland as a sign of strength.
McDonald, R-Saratoga and Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, were among four Republicans who sided with a slew of Democrats to assure the same-sex marriage bill’s 33-29 passage in 2011, and conservatives have had them in their sights ever since. (Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, easily won a primary and Sen. Jim Alesi, R-Rochester, did not seek another term.)
While gay rights advocates stuffed McDonald and Saland’s coffers, grass roots groups mobilized against them, and may have succeeded in ousting one or both men.
“It’s what we said all along,” said the Rev. Jason McGuire, who lobbies for traditional marriage. “The Republicans took along and they said the dollars that would come from deep-pocketed gay activists would outspend the base. They got a lesson. This is deep-blue New York, and look what happened. It shows the poor state of the Republican Party, because it’s sold out to liberal interests at the sense of the base.”
LGBT advocates said the result was far from resounding, and hardly resonant.
“These close finishes mean there’s a lot of work to be done, but it also means that there are a lot of people who support marriage equality in the Republican Party,” said Libby Post, a Capital Region public relations consultant who co-founded the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay rights group. “If the other side was going to win and have it be a banner event, they had to win by 60-40. This, if it is a victory, is not the kind of victory they were looking for.”
I hope he comes out the winner. Horrible that so much leftist/homo money was funnel into his opponent. I don’t know if you read an article by Scott Lively that I recently posted from WND. He thinks the tide is turning, and so do I. It won’t be easy or painless, but I do think the tide is turning.
The problem with the GOP is that so many - especially those in powerful positions - are one or more of the following:
1. Cowards
2. Blackmailed
3. Liberals thesmslves
4. Motivated by personal greed and lust for power/money etc
5. Paid off
We need men and women with stout Constitutionalist principles and GOOD CHARACTER in the R party!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.