Thursday, March 28, 2013

Senator Mark Warner announces his support for gay marriage, an “evolution” in thought


On Monday, U.S. Senator from Virginia, Mark Warner, rejoined the fold momentarily of progressive members of congress when he announced on Facebook his support for gay marriage.[1]

The following disclosure comes from Sen. Mark Warner’s Facebook page[2]: “I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do. Like many Virginians and Americans, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and this is the inevitable extension of my efforts to promote equality and opportunity for everyone. I was proud to be the first Virginia governor to extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBT state workers. In 2010, I supported an end to the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, and earlier this month I signed an amicus brief urging the repeal of DOMA. I believe we should continue working to expand equal rights and opportunities for all Americans.”

Before Sen. Warner’s Facebook announcement on Monday, he had supported civil unions that give some rights to same-sex couples that heterosexual married couples enjoy. Thus, Sen. Warner’s views on same-sex marriage have evolved at a time when a majority of the country also appears open to the idea of same-sex marriage.[3]

Far from being a trail blazer, Sen. Warner has yet to step into an understanding of just how serious climate change is and, consequently, how foolish it is to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, regardless of how much “business sense” it may appear to make.  Also, as Lowell Feld points out, Warner is due for a healthy infusion of social justice and economic fairness as opposed to his obsession with cementing his ‘legacy’ with a long-term, never-going-to-be-forgotten, debt reduction deal.[4]

When it comes down to it, Warner simply isn’t the kind of progressive Democrat that progressive thinkers like me are looking for, he’s simply the best that we have for now.

I have respect for Sen. Warner’s intelligence and business acumen, but it shouldn’t have taken any intelligently open-minded individual this long to figure out that same-sex marriages are “the right thing to do.” And as I mentioned above, Warner is still set on setting the planet’s heater on high as exemplified by his support for the Keystone XL pipeline.

I get it though Sen. Warner, you want to play the moderate card. The only problem is that you continually overplay your hand, going too far right and then attempting to jump back into the land of reality where your constituent base is. As a consequence of your actions, you strike me as insincere and phony and  unworthy of representing your liberal base in Virginia.


[1] http://bluevirginia.us/diary/8974/sen-mark-warner-announces-support-for-marriage-equality
[2] https://www.facebook.com/MarkRWarner/posts/10151583789527853
[3] http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/polls-show-consistent-gains-in-support-for-same-sex-marriage/
[4] http://bluevirginia.us/diary/8974/sen-mark-warner-announces-support-for-marriage-equality

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