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DEL.ICIO.USGeorgia Equality says vote Democratic, but skip governor’s race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state’s largest gay rights organization wants to see more votes cast in the race for lieutenant governor and other downballot contests than in the gubernatorial races.
The plan is to use the difference to give a firm measurement of their clout in November. Read the group’s complete statement below.
Don’t vote for governor in next week’s primary. Vote in your own party’s primary but stay away from the gubernatorial race in the voting booth. Vote for every other candidate you support, but make your vote for governor count by not casting it.
The race for governor this fall will be close. No candidate will be able to take any vote for granted. In precincts with large numbers of LGBT voters, a boycott of the gubernatorial primary will show how many votes are at stake. With hard numbers to point to, our community’s conversation with the candidates will change.
None of the major candidates – Cathy Cox, Sonny Perdue and Mark Taylor – earned the votes of LGBT Georgians. Their behavior during the just-concluded court battle over the 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage proved it.
After Judge Constance Russell invalidated the amendment for violating the state constitution, Perdue sensed an opportunity to enhance his reelection chances by exciting conservative voters to go to the polls.
He took the extraordinary step of threatening to hold a special session of the General Assembly to put a new marriage amendment on the November ballot if the Georgia Supreme Court failed to overturn Russell’s ruling.
The Justices wasted no time in reinstating the amendment. After the decision, Perdue generously noted that gay and lesbian Georgians are “free to work and live their lives� in the state “they’re just not free to marry.� Thanks, Sonny.
Cox, the secretary of state long thought to be a supporter of civil equality for gay and lesbian Georgians, fell all over herself to support Perdue’s call for a special session and announce her support for civil marriage discrimination. And then she stunned supporters by renouncing support for civil unions.
Taylor, the lieutenant governor, has simply been silent, other than to quietly reaffirm his support for civil marriage discrimination.
On the fundamental issue of whether gay and lesbian Georgians and their families deserve basic legal protections, all three candidates fall far short.
So keep your vote for governor in your pocket, but vote for every other fair-minded candidate down the ticket, especially lieutenant governor. Pay close attention to legislative races, as well.
Returning Karla Drenner – the state’s only openly gay member of the state legislature – and electing Allen Thornell to the General Assembly will send a powerful message. Make sure we also return our staunch legislative allies.
Georgia Equality has thoroughly screened candidates and carefully selected those who merit your support. A list of those candidates is at www.georgiequality.org.
Voting in your party’s primary – whether Democratic or Republican – ensures that other candidates who deserve your support get it.
Some have argued that LGBT voters should take part in the Republican primary to support Casey Cagle against Ralph Reed for lieutenant governor, but that tactic might mean fair-minded Democratic candidates will lose votes – and maybe elections. You can’t vote against Reed in the Republican primary and for a good candidate in the Democratic primary or Democratic primary runoff.
And there’s no way to measure the effect of LGBT crossover votes in the Republican primary. If we all vote in our own party’s primary, but skip the governor’s race, we can show where more votes were cast for “down ticket� races than for governor. And that will make a difference this fall, and in the future.
So here’s the strategy: Check out Georgia Equality’s candidate endorsements or the endorsements of any LGBT-friendly organization or person you respect.
Do vote in your party’s primary and vote for the candidates you support.
Don’t vote for any candidate for governor.
Do vote for lieutenant governor, state House, state Senate and local candidates.
And take a few friends to the polls with you when you go. Pass it on. Make your vote count!
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Tony
July 14, 2006 1:38 PM | Link to this
So much for Debbie’s “Mass Gay Conspiracy” to cross over and vote for Cagle. Perhaps two or three writers doesn’t add up to the entire gay community flocking to Cagle’s camp and voting Ralph out. Great way for a GReed supporter to stereotype every gay as liberal and Democrat as well.
By harold
July 14, 2006 1:43 PM | Link to this
it’s not like the evening news has a big comparison chart showing gubernatorial votes vs liuetenant gubernatorial votes.
if you dont vote, nobody but you will ever know you didnt vote!!!
this is absolutely idiotic.
By debbie
July 14, 2006 2:02 PM | Link to this
Gays are still crossing over. Southern Voice has not taken Georgia Equalities position.
Someone at the GOTV rally at Jim Miller Park mentioned a gay attorney in a Marietta drug saying he was going to cross over and vote for Cagle.
By mike
July 14, 2006 2:02 PM | Link to this
You know before the Georgia Supreme court re did the ban on gay marriage the gays were yelling “isn’t there anything better we could be worrying about”. Not that it’s been banned again it seems like the gays aren’t on board with the “better things to do” mantra we got spoon fed when it was overturned. Funny how that works.
By Tony
July 14, 2006 2:08 PM | Link to this
Southern Voice as a whole OR just a writer or two? Debbie you sure seem plugged into the gay community. Is there something you’re not telling us all?
And ‘someone’? Someone at the rally? Any names in particular? Or is this just hearsay? I mean after all Debbie, you shouldn’t be mentioning things you cannot prove. Put up or shut up remember?
By Debbie
July 14, 2006 2:27 PM | Link to this
She was a friend of Babe B.
By GayVoter
July 14, 2006 2:47 PM | Link to this
if you dont vote, nobody but you will ever know you didnt vote!!!
That is not true at all. You can definately measure the number of people who pull a ballot to vote versus the number of people who vote in a given race. We’ll be able to tell the exact number of people who pull a Democratic ballot, but who did not vote in the Governor’s race. So, if 200,000 pull a Democratic ballot, but only 150,000 people vote in the Governor’s race, we’ll know that 50,000 did not vote in the Governor’s race.
By GayVoter
July 14, 2006 2:48 PM | Link to this
Oh, and Debbie, the Southern Voice’s lead editorial today endorsed the Georgia Equality plan:
http://www.southernvoice.com/2006/7-14/view/editorial/brown.cfm
By GayVoter
July 14, 2006 2:51 PM | Link to this
In case you don’t bother to pull up that link Debbie here is an exerpt:
the reality is that Cagle is no better on gay issues
By Al
July 14, 2006 3:01 PM | Link to this
GE only seems to want to feel good about itself, not actually get someone worthwhile elected. If Cathy had said she supported gay marriage, gays would be so overjoyed for about 4 months, then disappointed in November when she got trounced in the general election. Instead, she equivocated on the issue of gay marriage, and gays are going to boycott her campaign. What a waste of time. You know damn well that only Cathy Cox will support issues important to gay Georgians. No, she won’t be able to support them to the extent GE would like, but you still live in Georgia after all. A gay governor is not likely anytime soon.
By Tony
July 14, 2006 3:05 PM | Link to this
Watch out! Debbie might say it’s all trickery on the part of the “gay liberal military industrial complex neo-con taliban”. I’m sure she will have some colorful rebuttal as she always does.
By GayVoter
July 14, 2006 4:08 PM | Link to this
Al, you’re wrong. None of us ever expected Cathy Cox to support gay marriage.
You’re missing the source of the outrage. She will not even acknowledge us. She will not even acknowledge her gay sister.
She opposes civil unions, domestic partnerships, employment discrimination laws.
Just what “issues important to gay Georgians” does Cathy support Al? Pray tell.
By Leo Wilde
July 16, 2006 11:08 AM | Link to this
where can I find a Sample Ballot for Gwinnett County???????????
By Debbie
July 16, 2006 11:18 AM | Link to this
If you go to the Gwinnett Justice Center they had sample ballots on Friday. My hubby votes in Gwinnett and I picked up one for him there.
I have heard from two different people that have reported they hav been told by gays that they plan to cross over and vote for Cagle. One was a gay attorney in a drug store and one was attending his high school reunion was told the same thing by a formr gay classmate.