{"id":2430,"date":"2009-06-24T15:12:11","date_gmt":"2009-06-24T19:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2430"},"modified":"2009-11-19T12:50:54","modified_gmt":"2009-11-19T17:50:54","slug":"chris-dodd-flips-on-gay-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/24\/chris-dodd-flips-on-gay-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Dodd Flips on Gay Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember the anti-gay marriage stance Chris Dodd took during his presidential bid? It’s apparently become a liability in his senate reelection bid so he’s now in favor of<\/a> gay marriage:<\/p>\n

Public officials aren\u2019t supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it\u2019s important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut meeting with members of the gay and lesbian community from across the state, I had the opportunity to tell them what I\u2019ve learned about marriage, and about equality.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve long been for extending every benefit of marriage to same-sex couples, I have in the past drawn a distinction between a marriage-like status (\u201ccivil unions\u201d) and full marriage rights.<\/p>\n

The reason was simple: I was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. And as many other Americans have realized as they\u2019ve struggled to reconcile the principle of fairness with the lessons they learned early in life, that\u2019s not an easy thing to overcome.<\/p>\n

But the fact that I was raised a certain way just isn\u2019t a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore.<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Supreme Court, of course, has ruled that such a distinction holds no merit under the law. And the Court is right.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Say what? No one has ever argued that public officials can’t “change their minds”… Public officials can and do change their mind all the time. That’s not the issue, as Jim Geraghty says<\/a>:<\/p>\n

It’s the craven, sudden about-faces, taken in response to shifting poll numbers, that spur the cynicism and the snickering.<\/p>\n

You know, like when a senator runs for president and takes a position on gay marriage that’s designed to get him into national office \u2014 you know, opposing it, but insisting that the same “traditional view of marriage” that stirs him to oppose it leaves\u00a0a loophole for civil unions \u2014 and then throws it away when he faces a tough reelection campaign in\u00a0his home state.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And there in lies my problem with Sen Dodd’s flip-flop… I’m pretty much an agnostic on the issue of gay marriage but I don’t believe a minute Chris Dodd’s change of position has anything to with fairness or principle. It has everything to with political expediency, he’s facing what maybe the toughest reelection fight of his political career so he’s pandering to every interest group he can in effort to garner their support.<\/p>\n

Simply put Chris Dodd is the embodiment of everything that’s wrong with our political class… When it was in his political interest to be opposed to gay marriage he was. Now that it’s in his political interests to be a supporter of\u00a0 gay marriage he is. The man is nothing if not a profile in political courage!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember the anti-gay marriage stance Chris Dodd took during his presidential bid? It’s apparently become a liability in his senate reelection bid so he’s now in favor of gay marriage: Public officials aren\u2019t supposed to change their minds. But I firmly believe that it\u2019s important to keep learning. Last week, while I was in Connecticut […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[534,164,209,215,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-2430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-politics","7":"tag-2010-elections","8":"tag-chris-dodd","9":"tag-connecticut","10":"tag-gay-marriage","11":"tag-senate","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-Dc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":736,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/10\/connecticut-supreme-court-rules-gay-couples-can-marry\/","url_meta":{"origin":2430,"position":0},"title":"Connecticut Supreme Court Rules Gay Couples Can Marry","author":"Jeff","date":"October 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that gay couples have the right marry. Personally, I'm not at all surprised by the ruling, and frankly I'm not bothered by it. HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3145,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/06\/dodd-dorgan-to-retire-wont-seek-re-election\/","url_meta":{"origin":2430,"position":1},"title":"Dodd, Dorgan to Retire; Won’t Seek Re-election","author":"Jeff","date":"January 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2010 mid-term elections are still months, but things aren't looking good Democrats. Two long serving high profile Senators, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have announced that they won't seek re-election: Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a Democratic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture of Corruption"","block_context":{"text":"Culture of Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/culture-of-corruption\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1766,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/22\/ap-dodds-stock-with-voters-began-dropping-before-aig\/","url_meta":{"origin":2430,"position":2},"title":"AP: Dodd’s Stock With Voters Began Dropping Before AIG","author":"Jeff","date":"March 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"As a Connecticut resident I've been hearing the rumblings about Chris Dodd for a while now but they're finally starting to come into national focus: HARTFORD, Conn. \u2013 Howard Rosenblatt voted for U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd five years ago. He won't do that again. \"It's time for Chris to resign,\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1646,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/10\/oh-happy-day-dodd-trails-simmons\/","url_meta":{"origin":2430,"position":3},"title":"Oh Happy Day, Dodd Trails Simmons","author":"Jeff","date":"March 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Politico: Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) looks like he\u2019s in serious trouble for reelection if he faces former GOP congressman Rob Simmons, according to a newly released Quinnipiac poll. Dodd trails Simmons by one point, 43 to 42 percent.\u00a0 In a head-to-head matchup with CNBC host Larry Kudlow,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2544,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/28\/ap-dodd-conrad-told-mortgage-deals-were-sweetened\/","url_meta":{"origin":2430,"position":4},"title":"AP: Dodd, Conrad Told Mortgage Deals Were Sweetened","author":"Jeff","date":"July 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Associated Press is reporting that Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd was told from the very start that hes was getting a VIP mortgage discount: Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Culture of Corruption"","block_context":{"text":"Culture of Corruption","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/culture-of-corruption\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1942,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/17\/only-5-connecticut-residents-donated-to-dodd\/","url_meta":{"origin":2430,"position":5},"title":"Only 5 Connecticut Residents Donated to Dodd","author":"Jeff","date":"April 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Senator Chris Dodd has a problem, he supposedly represents the people of Connecticut in the Senate but he's apparently having to look elsewhere for campaign cash... Only $4,250\u00a0 of $604,745 raised during the first three months of 2009 by Chris Dodd for 2010 his re-election campaign came from Connecticut residents:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}