I truly believe the conservative philosophy as embraced by Goldwater: that the government has no role in the private lives of the citizens. In the 1980s, there was a coming together of the religious right and the Goldwater right, sort of a marriage of convenience. It propelled Ronald Reagan to the presidency. Reagan never repudiated that but — this is just my view — I don’t think he really embraced it either. In no way do I want to put down people of strong religious convictions; I happen to have very strong religious beliefs myself. But it was a merger of those two, and the religious [right’s issues] were about same-sex rules, same-sex marriage, abortion, gun rights, these sort of core, litmus-test issues.
—Roy Ashburn, the Republican California state senator, who has given up drinking, explains his belief in limited government — forgetting that he used his position in government to vote against gay people’s private lives [via]
Brutus
I’m pretty sure he’s explicitly explained this. He instinctively voted against anything favorable to gays due to his deep fear of being outed.
ron
He’s scum, plain and simple. I don’t care about his fear, I only care about how he voted. If it was so important to stay closeted then don’t run for political office, where your vote matters! I have absolutely no sympathy for him.
B
No. 1 · Brutus wrote, “I’m pretty sure he’s explicitly explained this. He instinctively voted against anything favorable to gays due to his deep fear of being outed.”
His explanation was that he voted the way his constituents wanted him to vote (and they are as conservative as they come). The fact is that any replacement would more than likely vote against gay-rights legislation.
Possibly his change of heart was due not only to the shock of being outed but because the fact that he can’t run again (because of term limits) sunk in to the point where he finally realizes he can vote for gay rights with impunity.
B
No. 2 · ron wrote, “He’s scum, plain and simple. I don’t care about his fear, I only care about how he voted.”
… what you should care about is how his opponent was likely to have voted, particularly his opponent in a primary. His district is very conservative socially and otherwise. There is no way a Democrat would be elected there (the gerrymandering that goes on in California ensures that, but also ensures a Democratic majority in the state assembly and state senate as politicians of both major parties care mostly about staying in office).
While the voting record of every other Republican in the state senate is essentially the same as Ashburn’s (very rarely, someone will vote in favor of an LGBT-friendly bill, and sometimes someone will miss a vote, but in nearly all cases they vote against such bills), a few might actively try to introduce anti-LGBT bills. You know, like the now deceased “Pete” Knight (different district than Asbhurn’s) who introduced Proposition 22 (the original same-sex marriage ban) and most likely would have introduced Proposition Eight if he hadn’t kicked the bucket in 2004. The best you can hope for in a district like Ashburn’s is someone who quietly votes against LGBT rights but doesn’t actively stoke the fires, and it will be years before that changes.