SCHWARZENEGGER LACK OF CHARACTER
THE BIGGER ISSUE
Marriage Separate But Equal as bad as it gets,
says San Francisco mayor

SCHWARZENEGGER lack of character is the reason people don't vote,
scorns an angry Mayor Newsom.
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

By Pat Murphy

Thursday, September 8, 2005, 10:30 p.m.

The elected leader of the City and County of San Francisco this afternoon challenged the Governor of California to answer whether Arnold Schwarzenegger would have insisted the people decide legality of inter-racial marriage when 73% of Americans opposed it.

Mayor Gavin Newsom drew the parallel, further condemning Governor Schwarzenegger integrity as an issue larger than the Gay Marriage Act which Schwarzenegger press release announced coming veto.

SCHWARZENEGGER ABDICATES HIS OWN PRINCIPLES

"I hope he stops hiding behind his press secretary. I hope he can come out and explain to the people of the state why he can go on the Jay Leno Show and say, 'I have no problem with gay marriage,' and then he has a historic opportunity to make a decision, and he decides to abdicate," responded Newsom.

"He's got to explain to the voters why it is that the Assembly, which he's constantly criticizing, and the Senate, finally does their job, and now he doesn't want their job to be recognized, and he can't make a decision that's affirmative on the basis of things that's he said not only privately but publicly, and he says 'No, the voters have to decide.'

"I think a good question to ask the governor is ask him, 'In 1958, governor, would you have said the people of the State of California should decide if whether there should be inter-racial marriage?'

"I'm curious for him to answer that question. Or in 1967….because if it did, we would have had inter-racial marriage in this country.

"Should it have gone to public vote for women to vote?

WORST TYPE OF POLITICAN

"Should it have gone to public vote that blacks should become American citizens?

"Should it have gone to a public vote that we advance civil rights?

"That's about leadership, and this guy came into office claiming to be a different kind of politician.

"This is the worst type of politician.

"Because he's not just saying something privately, and doing something, but he said something publicly, and he's not advancing the principles he's expounded in the past.

"I'm not surprised, and frankly I don't think anyone should (be). It's been that way for the last two-and-a-half years.

"I think the most disappointing thing is to see a press release that talks about civil rights, how he's been achieving civil rights, and then he acts as if domestic partnership in the release is somehow equivalent with equality.

"It's as if he hasn't read the Domestic Partnership law to recognize that it's not recognized outside the State of California.

"And there aren't the same rights, privileges, obligations, and opportunities that are afforded with same sex marriage.

HUMAN BEINGS HURT

"A lot of people are being hurt by this. This is about human beings. This is not cute or funny.

"If you're governor of the seventh largest economy in the world, you step up and not stand behind your press secretary, and answer real questions.

"If you're going to claim that you're a civil rights leader - if you're going to claim that you're a leader at all - you have a historic opportunity to stand on principle and fight for equality in civil rights, something that's noble and appropriate, that distinguishes your capacity as a human being.

"But instead you veto it, and you say let the people decide.

LET'S DISPENSE WITH GOVERNOR BEING NEW KIND OF REPUBLICAN

"The guy's aligned himself with George Bush and Tom DeLay. I mean George Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Tom DeLay - there all on the same page.

"…Let's dispense with this being a new kind of Republican.

"…I expect him to have the decency to sit down with human beings, to tell their stories about bigotry, and hate, and how they cannot be fulfilled as human beings the way he's been fulfilled as a human being with his wife and their marriage?

"Do I expect that to happen?

"No, that would require leadership.

SCHWARZENEGGER CHARACTER WHY PEOPLE DON'T VOTE

"That would require character.

"That would require something different than a politician.

"Look back at the tapes of the June 11 show. Look back at what he's said consistently. How can he get away with saying that? And here he has a historic opportunity to advance it.

"Yet you're unwilling to do it. That's politics.

"That's why people don't vote.

"That's why people should not re-elect this governor.

"He's not going down in the history books as a man that has a profile in courage.

"Hands aren't tied (by principles) when people decided it was wrong to discriminate against blacks marrying whites.

"It was bad politics at the time. Look at the polls - 1968 Gallup Poll - 73% of Americans opposed inter-racial marriage a year after the United States Supreme Court finally decided it was constitutional and appropriate.

"That's what the governor is advocating - 'Let the people decide.'

"Would he have said that in 1967, 1968?

"And boy if he says yes, that would tell you more about the person than anything could.

"What distinguishes the decision then from the decision today?

"What is about the lower court's decision on constitutionality did he not recognize and not read?

"What is it about what's going on in the rest of the country, and around the world, Spain, Canada, et cetera, that he doesn't understand.

"The worst kind of cynicism - and I think this is the worst kind of hypocrisy - is when someone says, 'Look, I'll recognize a relationship.' By definition, he said that in his statement.

"'I recognize domestic partnerships,' meaning he recognizes a relationship between a man and a man, and a woman and a woman, but guess what, you'll never have equal status based upon my actions.

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL AS BAD AS IT GETS

"He's arguing for Separate But Equal, and that is as bad as it gets.

"It's bigger than this issue - you can disagree about same sex marriage - but this is a bigger issue.

"It's about integrity.

"It's about leadership. It's about integrity, it's about capacity, and it's about compassion, and about equality.

"Those are the qualities we need in politics today, and I want to applaud (Marriage Equality Act author) Mark Leno for demonstrating all of them.

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