Liberal Oasis (via apostropher) has an interesting reading of Gavin Newsome's move to issue marriage certificates to everybody in San Francisco. The idea is that this issue will play well nationally 10 years down the road, and that Newsome's immediate political goals — consolidating support on the left — therefore aren't at odds with a national political future.
I agree that Newsome looks smart here, but the real reason is that he's put different issues on the table, issues much easier for Democrats to deal with. All of a sudden, it's not a question of whether we should allow gay marriage, but whether we should prevent it. This forces opponents to attack (rather than preempt), and it puts a human face on what they're attacking. This is key, because while a majority of Americans probably don't like the idea of gay marriage, a majority of Americans are not mean spirited and hateful.
Newsome's move also takes the attention off the courts, nullifying the conservative argument that somehow activist courts have hijacked the issue. Newsome is an elected official, answerable to the voters and directly responsible for policy. What happens when the people of San Francisco reelect him? What about the rights of local governments?
I've argued before that this this a great issue for Democrats, and I'm even more convinced of it now... it makes the Republicans look bigoted and intolerant, divides their caucus (conservatives vs libertarians), and politically engages younger voters on the Democratic side. If they're smart, the Republicans will drop the issue for 2004 and let the states decide. If not, Gavin Newsome has perfectly framed the debate...
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