At a news conference in Manhattan on Thursday, Mr. Paterson, a Democrat, invoked the abolitionist movement of the 1800s, the writings of Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision to argue that New York had neglected civil rights for gays and lesbians for too long. "I’m putting a stop to it," he said. "We have a duty to make sure equality exists for everyone."
Peters downplayed the obvious point that Paterson’s poll ratings are dismal. He ended up sounding like a reporter arguing that President Bush could push a bill through Congress with an approval rating in the 20s:
Gay-rights advocates expressed confidence on Thursday that Governor Paterson’s personal involvement could make a difference, despite his dismal approval ratings and struggle to advance other aspects of his agenda. They said lawmakers sometimes feel less confined by partisan loyalty on civil rights issues like same-sex marriage.
"This isn’t something that hinges on his popularity — it’s too personal of an issue," said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the gay-rights group pushing same-sex marriage. "It defies ordinary Albany political logic."
Peters not only made the gay-left lobby sound powerful, he left the impression there was no social-conservative lobby or constituency in the state of New York. Not even new Cardinal Timothy Dolan?
Gay advocacy groups are a powerful force in Albany. The Human Rights Campaign, Gill Action Fund and Empire State Pride Agenda funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into a handful of competitive campaigns last year, helping Democrats pick up two seats to capture a majority in the Senate for the first time in more than four decades.
Peters ended his "perfect" piece with more glowing (and insulting) historical analogies:
His emotional investment in the issue was on display Thursday in a 15-minute speech that placed gay marriage in the historical context of slavery, disenfranchisement of women and shunning the disabled.
"We have all known the wrath of discrimination," said Mr. Paterson, New York’s first black governor. "We have all felt the pain and the insult of hatred. This is why we are all standing here today."
Surrounded by some three dozen members of the state’s political establishment, including members of Congress, senior state legislators and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, he added: "We wish to fulfill the dreams of those Americans, both the living and the dead, who struggled unremittingly and courageously over the past two centuries to expand those freedoms to more Americans. Often we have fallen short, but the marvel and the miracle of America is that we keep marching forward for justice."
The leftist editors at the New York Times seem like they're reenacting a scene from Animal House. It didn't matter if the Germans didn't bomb Pearl Harbor. Paterson's on a roll for the side that they favor, so it doesn't matter if he's technically correct.
