ABC’s Good Morning America led the pack with two quick mentions. In the first hour, Diane Sawyer told George Stephanopoulos: "In Maine, you probably heard about this, voters were voting on gay marriage. They decided against gay marriage, 53 to 47 percent." That’s 22 words. In the 8 am hour, this squib from news anchor Chris Cuomo: "And we do have the results of one widely watched ballot initiative. Voters in Maine repealed a law that allowed same-sex marriages." That’s also 22 words.
At least the networks didn’t offering the typical labeling imbalance, where "conservatives" defeated "gay rights activists." In his 8 am newscast, Cuomo noted "conservative Republican" Bob McDonnell won, and Bill Owens "defeated his conservative opponent in upstate New York."
Maine is the 31st state to vote against "same-sex marriage," although the margins of victory have shrunk over the last few years. A left-wing victory there surely would have been a striking new development. But the avoidance of electoral results that cause liberals to gnash their teeth (or make liberalism less than the inevitable wave of the future) give the networks a very politically selective image.
