Anti-Gay Marriage Effort Gears Up for Role in Senate Battle
Paterson directive mobilizes political, financial support for vulnerable senators
Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:17:00
By Sal Gentile
Just before the end of session, pastors, reverends and priests gathered in the Well of the Legislative Office Building to rail against that constant political flashpoint: same-sex marriage. Their voices echoed down the building’s marble hallways. They blasted horns.
Events like these, sponsored this time by New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF), an evangelical lobbying group, accompany the start of every election cycle.
The difference this time is that they had Gov. David Paterson's (D) late May directive to state agencies to recognize out-of-state same sex marriages to rail against. And they drew several prominent and targeted elected officials to the rally to join them.
As State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Queens), one of the featured speakers at the rally, told them, they did so at a cost.
“We are jeopardizing our political futures by being here,” he said, referring to the dozen or so legislators—all but one, State Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx), Republicans—who stood and spoke at the event.
If so, they were also getting a sizeable return: the political and financial support of a network of deeply motivated grassroots activists stretching throughout the state.
“Same-sex marriage is an issue that our base gets passionate about, and as they see it, this is a real issue, not just something that’s under the carpet, that they need to be engaged in,” said Jason McGuire, legislative director for NYCF. “I think it’s going to bring people to the polls.”
Others at the “Power in the Pulpit” rally included State Sens. Mary Lou Rath, James Seward, Thomas Morahan, Joseph Griffo, Frank Padavan, Martin Golden, George Maziarz, Hugh Farley, William Larkin, James Seward and Thomas Libous. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco also spoke.
McGuire said his group had already identified key seats held by Republicans that it would help defend in order to keep the State Senate in Republican hands. He declined to comment on specific races, but said his group and its allies were actively interested in energizing voter turnout for select Republican candidates.
Some of those candidates are facing tough re-election battles. Shoring up support for vulnerable Republicans like Maltese has become particularly urgent this year for groups like NYCF, with members seeing a potential Democratic State Senate as a major threat to their agenda.
“I think people realize that this is very close to tipping, and that, if the Senate tips, that would be a whole different ballgame,” McGuire said.
In order to prevent that, NYCF and its allies will use a two-pronged approach. First, they will use churches and ministries throughout the state as a loose network of organizing cells, urging their members to support certain candidates who oppose same-sex marriage. They will also act as intermediaries between donors, fundraisers and selected candidates, in order to stoke the cash flow necessary to defend against significant Democratic momentum.
NYCF has a political action committee that it intends to use as well, routing funds to candidates they want to defend.
Ethan Geto, a Democratic consultant and longtime LGBT activist, disagreed that same-sex marriage would help vulnerable Republicans.
“While of course there are a number of conservative voters who are hostile to same-sex marriage, in New York State in particular, it is not a significant determinant of voter choices among competing candidates,” he said. “The same-sex marriage issue is secondary at best as a factor in voter decisions.”
That does not seem likely to stop opponents of same-sex marriage from trying.
“We are not pleased with what the governor has done,” Michael Faulkner, a pastor from Harlem, shouted into a microphone in front of the applauding crowd which gathered in the Well in June. “And we intend to let him know that."
Just before the end of session, pastors, reverends and priests gathered in the Well of the Legislative Office Building to rail against that constant political flashpoint: same-sex marriage. Their voices echoed down the building’s marble hallways. They blasted horns.
Events like these, sponsored this time by New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF), an evangelical lobbying group, accompany the start of every election cycle.
The difference this time is that they had Gov. David Paterson's (D) late May directive to state agencies to recognize out-of-state same sex marriages to rail against. And they drew several prominent and targeted elected officials to the rally to join them.
As State Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Queens), one of the featured speakers at the rally, told them, they did so at a cost.
“We are jeopardizing our political futures by being here,” he said, referring to the dozen or so legislators—all but one, State Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx), Republicans—who stood and spoke at the event.
If so, they were also getting a sizeable return: the political and financial support of a network of deeply motivated grassroots activists stretching throughout the state.
“Same-sex marriage is an issue that our base gets passionate about, and as they see it, this is a real issue, not just something that’s under the carpet, that they need to be engaged in,” said Jason McGuire, legislative director for NYCF. “I think it’s going to bring people to the polls.”
Others at the “Power in the Pulpit” rally included State Sens. Mary Lou Rath, James Seward, Thomas Morahan, Joseph Griffo, Frank Padavan, Martin Golden, George Maziarz, Hugh Farley, William Larkin, James Seward and Thomas Libous. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco also spoke.
McGuire said his group had already identified key seats held by Republicans that it would help defend in order to keep the State Senate in Republican hands. He declined to comment on specific races, but said his group and its allies were actively interested in energizing voter turnout for select Republican candidates.
Some of those candidates are facing tough re-election battles. Shoring up support for vulnerable Republicans like Maltese has become particularly urgent this year for groups like NYCF, with members seeing a potential Democratic State Senate as a major threat to their agenda.
“I think people realize that this is very close to tipping, and that, if the Senate tips, that would be a whole different ballgame,” McGuire said.
In order to prevent that, NYCF and its allies will use a two-pronged approach. First, they will use churches and ministries throughout the state as a loose network of organizing cells, urging their members to support certain candidates who oppose same-sex marriage. They will also act as intermediaries between donors, fundraisers and selected candidates, in order to stoke the cash flow necessary to defend against significant Democratic momentum.
NYCF has a political action committee that it intends to use as well, routing funds to candidates they want to defend.
Ethan Geto, a Democratic consultant and longtime LGBT activist, disagreed that same-sex marriage would help vulnerable Republicans.
“While of course there are a number of conservative voters who are hostile to same-sex marriage, in New York State in particular, it is not a significant determinant of voter choices among competing candidates,” he said. “The same-sex marriage issue is secondary at best as a factor in voter decisions.”
That does not seem likely to stop opponents of same-sex marriage from trying.
“We are not pleased with what the governor has done,” Michael Faulkner, a pastor from Harlem, shouted into a microphone in front of the applauding crowd which gathered in the Well in June. “And we intend to let him know that."
