NY Marriage Update

According to the Albany Times-Union, Republican Senators in New York State are seriously considering the option of not bringing a bill creating marriage equality to the floor for a vote. They're concerned that the people of New York want the bill passed.

More to the point:

Sen. John DeFrancisco of Syracuse said he was urging cohesion among Republican members because a vote might hurt their razor-thin 32-30 majority...

"A team that operates cohesively with this particular governor ... has to make sure that the Republican team is here next year helping to run the state in a very productive way," DeFrancisco said. "That's why you have to keep the team together on all issues -- that's what we're trying to do."

Here's the situation: New York is one of the most solidly Democratic states in the nation. Through a excruciating process of Gerrymandering, Republicans have been able to maintain a majority in the State Senate.

I know that Upstate New York is generally more conservative than New York City, but that's not the whole story. Buffalo, Rochester, and to a lesser extent, Syracuse, are all rust-belt cities with decidedly liberal cores.

And yet, what do we get? Well, I live pretty close to downtown Syracuse, and I'm represented by a blue dog from the next county over. My urban neighborhood is in a mostly rural and suburban district.

Even with all this fuckery, the Republicans know that a lot of voters want marriage equality. The Republicans are afraid they'll have to publicly take an unpopular stance. They can do the right thing, which would involve angering some of the bigots who elected them, or they can expect to face a backlash for doing the indefensible.

The Republicans' position is a losing one, so they're trying to hold on to power by pretending not to have a position at all. Shameful.