Gay marriage loss in Maine had NOTHING to do with Obama.

[RBInMaine]

First, I am disappointed as I voted to support gay marriage, sent a donation, wrote a letter to the editor, and my parents phone banked a lot. (I had to work like hell on the NO ON TABOR (right wing tax cap initiative) campaign which we SMASHED to pieces ! YAY !)

Here is why gay marriage lost:

1) AGE DEMOGRAPHICS: Maine is one of the oldest if not THE oldest state in the nation. UPHILL from the get go. The older folks don't like to buck tradition on issues like this.

2) OFF YEAR CYCLE: Good turnout for an off-year, but still too many younger folks and liberals did not engage, enhancing the older demographics advantage on the other side.

3) CHURCH ORGANIZATION: The churches organized heavily here. Many Dems and moderates voted their religion on this instead of "liberal" as they do on most other issues.

4) NEGATIVE ADS: The anti-gay folks ran hard-hitting ads claiming gay marriage would seep into school curricula, even in the lower grades. It was effective, much as the other side tried to counter.

5) RURAL DEMOGRAPHICS: Maine is a rural state, and many are pretty darn conservative on some social issues. Pro-gay marriage only won (I think) three of our 16 counties.

Put it all together, and the pro-gay marriage folks should be pleased that they tried so hard and were able to win over 47% which would have been inconceivable even five years ago. It did not fail because Obama didn't publicly endorse it. It failed for the reasons I've stated. I think the best bet is to bring it back as "civil union" or "domestic partnership," and then it would probably win as it did in Washington. Too many are just not ready for it being called "marriage."