This ad from the Yes On 8 campaign? You’ve probably seen it at least a half dozen times if you were following California’s marriage equality battle. And while pretty demoralizing, you’ve got to hand it to opponents of same-sex marriage for snagging San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s words for their own benefit. In fact, someone did hand it to Frank Schubert, the ad’s creator: the American Association of Political Consultants, which awarded Schubert a 2009 Pollie Award for the spot.
Speaking to a mixed crowd, Schubert explained how the Yes on 8 campaign was so successful: “a gift from God: Gavin Newsom.”
Sonnie
Even though Gavin Newsom looked pretty crazed in that clip, the conservatives used it, and it was effective (and now award-winning) for the opposition to use it, in the long run what really matters is that he’s right: we are achieving and will prevail in keeping our marriage rights, “whether you like it or not.”
Sceth
I know I’m in the minority, but he has more than support; he has blind loyalty simply the for the sake of vindication.
Alex
@Sceth: Yeah, a friend of mine who worked fervently on No on 8 and basically felt personally attacked when it passed has said he wouldn’t support Newsom in the gov primary because he’s frankly not that progressive on a lot of issues. I don’t know if that many queer folk are single issue voters (thus the gross 27% for McCain/Palin).
Michael
Knew it wouldn’t be long before those influenced by the Love to Hate Gavin cottage industry clocked in. He’s far from perfect, as the unwise ready-made opposition sound bite and an affair he had with a aide/friend’s wife demonstrated, but he’s the best friend gays AND progressives of all orientations have among straight politics today.
Ask your friend, Alex, to be explicit about what he means by “progressive” and decide for yourself.
Most of the anti-Newsom lunatic fringe is still fooled by the lies that were hurled by his opponent’s campaign when he first ran, which included, falsely, that Newsom was “anti homeless people” [as opposed to anti homelessness] simply because he wanted to do something about homelessness and not simply keep throwing money, literally and figurately, at them. Where they imagined that he was “racist,” as flyers that were put up in the Castro claimed, escapes me entirely.
The other meme was that his opponent came from a poor Mexican family while Newsom was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The facts, save the Mexican ancestry, were virtually the direct opposite. As for that opponent, his current political perspective was most vividly revealed when he ran as Ralph Nader’s VP candidate last year. Gee, kids, wasn’t giving Bush the White House in 2000, resulting in a blood-soaked Iraq enough?
Proof that Newsom isn’t a one-issue candidatE/that the popularity of his positions extend way beyond gay marriage and the Castro, is that no serious candidate ran against him when he was up for reelection. Gays may make up a greater population of SF than any other city but they hardly control reality that much.
He has brought about city-sponsored universal health care [for people unemployed while the City requires all but the smallest employers to provide healthcare, something restaurant owners have sued to stop], “green” innovations, personally marched with workers picketing the hotels refusing to support them, worked for free citywide WiFi, moved 7000 homeless into housing, inspired 20,000 people to volunteer to work with the remaining homeless to get them meals and medical care, etc., etc.
I don’t agree with him about everything, but there is nothing I disagree with about enough to make me forget that despite death threats against him [over 1400 at last count five years ago]; despite his having been publicly pilloried by his own party for his marriage initiative, including by Feinstein and even gay Frank; despite Obama refusing to even have his photo taken with him at the US-Senate race fundrasier that Newsom was hosting FOR HIM for fear he’d be stained by the Marriage Mayor; despite still being punished/held-at-arms length by the now Obama-controlled party [why wasn’t this young, handsome, eloquent, charismatic Democratic mayor given a primetime place on the platform at the Convention?], despite the likelihood that it will cost him the governor’s race if he even gets the nomination…..Newsom is STILL defending the marriage equality revolution he’s help lead.
As recently as Monday, he told the “Advocate”:
”I’m not looking at public opinion polls to decide where my values are. Principles are more important to me than politics. It’s something that transcends political life and political careers. So I’ll fight for the things I believe in. The point that I guess I can say to everybody is, you know where I stand.”