The decision by a Maryland court stiking down the state’s law against same-sex marriage continues to push Maryland Democrats towards strange and unprecedented behavior. Last month, I reported that Democratic lawmakers were contemplating legislation that would prevent the state from appealing the court’s decision until after the November election. The idea was to keep the issue out of the headlines as the election approaches.
Yesterday, the Dems took the unprecedented step of closing the House of Delegates in order to quash a constitutional amendment endorsing traditional marriage. As the Washington Times reports, House Speaker Michael Busch abruptly recessed the chamber to block a vote on a proposed amendment that would define marriage as a union only of one man and one woman. According to the Times that maneuver means that, for technical reasons, the proposal likely will not be voted on by the full House this session. This, in turn, means that Maryland voters will not be able to vote on the amendment in November.
The standard explanation for trying to minimize the role of the same-sex marriage issue in the election is that the Dems don’t want the Republicans to “energize their base.” The Washington Times story seems to buy into this. But Republicans can’t win in liberal Maryland by energizing their base. Thus, real concern must be with centrist and moderately liberal voters. Indeed, according to the Times, a Rasmussen poll shows that 54 percent of Maryland voters support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
The strategy of liberal Democratic politicians has long been to have the courts do the heavy lifting in implementing the social revolution they crave. Now, at least in Maryland, the politicians must do some lifting of their own to protect themselves against the backlash from that revolution.

The decision by a Maryland court stiking down the state’s law against same-sex marriage continues to push Maryland Democrats towards strange and unprecedented behavior. Last month, I reported that Democratic lawmakers were contemplating legislation that would prevent the state from appealing the court’s decision until after the November election. The idea was to keep the issue out of the headlines as the election approaches.
Yesterday, the Dems took the unprecedented step of closing the House of Delegates in order to quash a constitutional amendment endorsing traditional marriage. As the Washington Times reports, House Speaker Michael Busch abruptly recessed the chamber to block a vote on a proposed amendment that would define marriage as a union only of one man and one woman. According to the Times that maneuver means that, for technical reasons, the proposal likely will not be voted on by the full House this session. This, in turn, means that Maryland voters will not be able to vote on the amendment in November.
The standard explanation for trying to minimize the role of the same-sex marriage issue in the election is that the Dems don’t want the Republicans to “energize their base.” The Washington Times story seems to buy into this. But Republicans can’t win in liberal Maryland by energizing their base. Thus, real concern must be with centrist and moderately liberal voters. Indeed, according to the Times, a Rasmussen poll shows that 54 percent of Maryland voters support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
The strategy of liberal Democratic politicians has long been to have the courts do the heavy lifting in implementing the social revolution they crave. Now, at least in Maryland, the politicians must do some lifting of their own to protect themselves against the backlash from that revolution.