The Maine Reason

Last week, Maine became the 31st state to reject a referendum that would have legalized gay marriage.

With 87 percent of precincts reporting, gay-marriage foes had 53 percent of the vote in a referendum that asked Maine voters whether they wanted to repeal a law allowing same-sex marriage that had passed the Legislature and was signed by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.

“The institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across the nation,” said Frank Schubert, the chief organizer for Stand for Marriage Maine, which lobbied for the repeal.

For the gay rights movement, which has gained a foothold in New England, it was a stinging defeat. Gay marriage has now lost in every state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine, framing same-sex marriage as a matter of equality for all families in a campaign that used 8,000 volunteers to get out the message.

Five states have legalized gay marriage — Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut — but all did so through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote.

Portland resident Sarah Holman said she was torn, but decided — despite her conservative upbringing — to vote in favor of letting gays marry.

“They love and they have the right to love. And we can’t tell somebody how to love,” said Holman, 26.

Hold on a minute here…let’s get the record straight. This vote did not outlaw homosexuality, it only outlawed gay marriage. They are still free to love to each other.

While the gay marriage opponents claimed victory, Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for No on 1/Protect Maine Equality, held off conceding until early Wednesday, when he issued a statement vowing to continue to press the issue.

The fight for marriage equality will continue, he told supporters at the Holiday Inn ballroom, where a buffet table included a three-tiered wedding cake — with two grooms standing side by side, two brides standing side by side and the inscription: “We all do!”

And this is why you will never, ever, ever see gay marriage be voted on by the people, and not ushered in by a small handful of judges. The pro-gay marriage movement knows that gay marriage will not survive a vote by the people…and they will stop at nothing to keep you from voting on it.

But hey, if you want to keep electing people that choose to effectively put duct tape over your mouths, by all means…

Re-elect Deval…

…If you’re out of your mind!

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released it’s state-by-state economic data for the month of August on Friday. Massachusetts unemployment rose from 8.8% in July to 9.1% in August. In the past month Massachusetts has shed an additional 10,494 net jobs. While we are in a national and international economic recession, under one party Democratic rule Massachusetts continues to do one of the worst jobs at handling the recession.

Massachusetts new tax hikes including the sales tax hike went into effect on August 1, 2009. In the first month Massachusetts the unemployment rate rose faster than any other New England state. In Vermont unemployment went down for the third month in a row. Net job loss in Massachusetts exceeded the other 5 New England states combined.

Since January of 2007 when Deval Patrick became Governor and joined the Democratic super majorities in the state legislature unemployment has risen from 4.6% to 9.1%.

UPDATE: More from the Globe, New York Times and Michael Graham.

Deval Goes To Vermont To Tout Health Care

Governor Deval Patrick, who was not involved in the creation of the Massachusetts universal health care law, is going to Vermont with a White House team to talk about his experience with said law.

Gov. Deval Patrick is traveling to Vermont to help lead a White House forum on health care.

The Democrat will join with Gov. Jim Douglas next Tuesday to talk about his experience with a universal health care law in Massachusetts.

President Barack Obama has said he wants to pass legislation this year that will provide health insurance to the 45 million Americans who currently lack it. Massachusetts has dramatically lowered its number of uninsured since enacting its health care law in 2006.

Since that law was enacted, my own health care costs have gone up approximately 20% per year. Don’t forget to mention that, Deval–make sure everyone knows that health coverage for all means all of us who actually have jobs and pay our own health care will have to start covering the costs of the bums who don’t.

Violent Crime Rate Has Gone Down During Romney/Healey Administration

It’s time to do some fact-checking.

Deval Patrick said at the debate that the Romney/Healey administration’s record of crime “has marked Massachusetts as the most violent state in New England,” as well as the Northeast. According to Deval Patrick, “that’s their legacy.”

According FBI crime statistics for 2005, it is true that Massachusetts ranked the most violent state in New England, but that’s not the whole story. Let’s look at the violent crime rates in these states in 2005 vs. 2002 (in parentheses):

Connecticut: 274.5 (312.5) -38
Maine: 112.2 (107.8) +4.4
Massachusetts: 456.9 (484.9) -28
New Hampshire: 132.0 (161.3) -29.3
Vermont: 119.7 (106.7) +13
Rhode Island: 251.2 (285.6) -34.4

What Deval Patrick chooses to ignore is that violent crime rate gone down since Romney/Healey took office. Deval Patrick would also have you believe that it was because of Romney/Healey that Massachusetts ranked #1 in violent crime in 2005 for New England states, when the reality is, it also ranked #1 in 2002 (#2 if you include all Northeast states), before they took office.

It’s disingenuous for Deval Patrick claim that Massachusetts being the most violent state in New England is “their legacy,” as if to suggest Massachusetts was previously #6 in New England and shot up to #1 under their watch. The violent crime rate has gone down on their watch, even if Deval Patrick and his supporters won’t admit it.

Deval Patrick is deliberately misleading the voters of Massachusetts by not telling the whole story. The Romney/Healey administration’s legacy is one of reduced violent crime. Deval Patrick’s legacy is one of coming to the aid of convicted rapists and cop killers.

UPDATE: Irony… Yesterday the Boston Globe reported that many Massachusetts communities are experiencing… (drumroll) a decrease in crime

UPDATE: The Lowell Sun notes that since 1960, Massachusetts”has had a dramatically higher crime rate than the rest of the New England states.” I wonder if Deval Patrick will blame the Romney/Healey administration for that.

Missing UVM Student’s Body Found

It is with great sadness I report that I’ve been informed by my friend in Vermont that Michelle Gardner-Quinn’s body has been found.

My deepest sympathies go out to her family.