Tonight marks a historic moment.  Amidst the tragedy and failure of government, the California legislature has not failed the people.  The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act that will permit gay and lesbian couples to marry legally passed in the California Assembly tonight.  Now it moves to the governor's desk.  

It was close.  The bill passed in the Senate last week and moved to the Assembly, where it had failed earlier in the year and many expected it might fail again.  But tonight the Assembly passed it by a single vote.  California has truly made a statement against discrimination.

Now, it's up to Governor Schwarzenegger.  No one is sure whether he'll sign the bill or not.  Many think he will not.  He is truly in a tight spot, given his tanking approval ratings and his position as a generally socially liberal Republican.

Regardless of an impending veto, this is the first time a state's legislature has passed and sent a bill to a governor that would bring equality to marriage.  This is why I moved to California.

The hurricane disaster has at last been turned into a presidential photo-op, and it looks from the front page of CNN that the balls that organization appeared to be growing yesterday have retreated and atrophied once again. See the front page image from CNN below.

This is historic. Today the California Senate passed AB 849, the bill that will allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

This is the first time a legislative body in the U.S. has passed a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry. It now heads to the Assembly, which will be a tough fight. The bill was failed earlier in the session in that body.

But, I'm going to enjoy this moment. I've got hope! Here's a news item on it:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-090105gays_wr,0,1012820.story?coll=la-tot-promo&track=morenews

Can anyone explain to me what in this world is a "conservative progressive?"

Katherine Harris has used the term to describe herself as she kicked off her bit for a Senate seat for Florida. I watched the video of her appearance on Hannity & Colms on C&L (at the 2:54 mark of the video), and there it was, describing herself:

And so we look soooo much forward to talking about the issues and voting records, and who really is the conservative progressive that's in the mainstream of Florida.

Oxymoron alert. I think the right is testing a new strategy to co-opt the term "progressive," using it to dilute it's strength and meaning when brought in opposition to conservativism.

Keep your ears to the ground and see if "conservative progressive" pops out of any more mouths over the coming months.

I can't keep up with how many GOP officials and aides are gay and being outted nowadays.  

The latest is Robert Traynham, the communications director for Senator Rick Santorum, who has confirmed rumors that he's gay.

Despite working for a stridently anti-gay politician who has asked, "Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?", Robert Traynham doesn't have a problem with that.

"Senator Santorum is a man of principle," said Traynham in an interview with PageOneQ.com and blogACTIVE.com, "he is a man who sticks up for what he believes in, I strongly do support Senator Santorum."

California has been a leader in equality. In 1948 the California Supreme Court became the first state court in the nation to strike down laws prohibiting interracial marriage in Perez v. Lippold, nearly 20 years before the U.S. Supreme Court did so in 1967. Now California and its citizens have an opportunity to step up to lead the country in equal rights.

AB 19, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, is a bill before the CA Assembly. It would allow same-sex couples access to the same rights and responsibilities under state law as opposite-sex couples through marriage, while at the same time assuring that religious organizations cannot be forced to perform ceremonies for same-sex couples if they do not wish to.

Equality and California's leadership role has today fallen just six votes short. We've got a chance to make this right. Here's how you can help.

To win future votes, are Democratic leaders willing to gnaw off their own limbs?  

From Diane Feinstein in today's SF Chronicle:
"The whole issue [of gay marriage] has been too much, too fast too soon."

From Doug Schoen, a Clinton pollster:
"The party's got to get repositioned first. It has to get back to the center with an aggressive assertion of traditional values."

There are more of these out there, and we will see more of them over the next few weeks I'm sure.  Is this what we're reduced to after such a close election?

This is unbelievable.  The Republicans in Kentucky are scared because Bunning is losing his marbles.  What would be worse than having a Senator who's crazy, in order to win with your crazy candidate?

For Republicans, it would be a Senator who's gay, and that's the new tack they're taking against Dan Mongiardo, and even trying to get a few more laps off Mary Cheney's lesbian legs indirectly.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/2004/10/28/news/state/10033680.htm

Is it halloween already? Tonight President Bush appeared in another persona during the debate, this time as the fuzzy, chuckling, frat-president. His ill-timed (and personally grating) chuckles and his (for the most part) lousy levity were disconcerting. This all worked so well for him in 2000, why now does it fail?

To paraphrase the president, his campaign, and everyone else on the planet, "9/11 changed things."

Yes it certainly did. The American people are not in the mood for likeable goofs as their leader in the world when soldiers are being killed, and we're all just holding our breaths and looking over our shoulders for the next attack the administration says is coming, while almost simultaneously telling us we're safer now.

The era of pretty presidents with whom you might like to have beers is past. I don't want to have a beer with my president right now. I want to go to sleep at night knowing the guy in charge knows his stuff, is smarter than me, wiser than me, can use diplomacy to solve problems, but can kill when he must.

Questions: How many enemy soldiers has George W. Bush personally killed? How many people--friends--has George W. Bush watched die right next to him?

During a war, who would you rather have leading your troops? A soldier or a fratboy?

I'm going to place my bet on the table for who's going to be running mate to Kerry:  Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa.

He's got a good stategist's appeal, from a midwestern state, etc.  He showed up on the national news today to call for Rumsfeld's resignation.  The Dems are running a litmus test, seeing how Harkin plays on a national level on a major current issue.  It's enough of a blip that they could register a read from focus groups and polls on Harkin's appeal, etc.