It would have been satisfying — or at least a minor consolation for a stinging defeat — had Democratic state Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago called for a vote Friday night in Springfield on his bill to legalize same-sex marriage.
Satisfying in that it would have created a record for all time of those members of the House standing against the tide of history. Satisfying in that it would have generated a list of lawmakers for advocates to target with petitions, phone calls, faxes, emails, protests and even potential challengers aimed at getting them to change their vote.
Satisfying but stupid.
Harris didn’t have the votes. After more than three months of working the roll call, lining up support, counting noses and doing everything diligent legislators do to try to get their bills across the finish line, Harris said he knew, by midafternoon Friday, the final day of the session for the General Assembly, that his efforts had fallen short.
How short? He isn’t saying. “I never talk about who and how many,” said Harris in an interview Monday. “On Friday morning I was very hopeful,” he said. “But throughout the day I had members coming up to me individually and in small groups saying they needed more time. They told me they want to go back to their districts and talk to their constituents to clear up misunderstandings about what the bill does and doesn’t do” regarding the protection of religious freedom.
And it’s Politics 101 not to call your bill when you don’t have the votes to pass it. Why? Because you’re likely to push the fence-sitters and not-quite-persuadeds into a “no” vote that will be difficult for them to reverse should their minds ever change. Better to leave them undecided than to try to persuade them later to become flip-floppers.
And, when it’s an emotional, controversial issue such as gay marriage, calling for a vote risks saddling supporters with feckless “yes” votes that can be used against them when they run for re-election.
The reality is that a “yes” vote for a bill that fails is far more politically dangerous than a “yes” vote for a bill that passes.
For example, there was speculation that votes in late 2010 and early 2011 to approve same-sex civil unions and to abolish the death penalty in Illinois would come back to haunt legislators who represented more conservative districts. But once Gov. Pat Quinn signed both into law, the issues largely dropped off the radar and were not factors in the 2012 state election cycle.
And another reality is that when a bill that goes down to defeat — particularly the solid 10- to 20-vote loss predicted for gay marriage — it acquires a stink of failure and futility that makes it harder to revive down the line.
Facing these realities, Harris made the smart, even savvy decision not to call for a vote Friday. He not only sidestepped the quick-drying cement of a disadvantageous roll call, but he also preserved the bill for possible approval later this year, by which time the U.S. Supreme Court stands to have handed down rulings signaling support for gay marriage.
For this bit of gamesmanship, Harris, who is gay, suffered harsh criticism from advocates within his own community, some of whom were in the viewing gallery Friday and many of whom wanted to force opponents onto the record.
“Harris should step down now as chief sponsor of this legislation,” wrote publisher Tracy Baim in Windy City Times, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender weekly publication, in a stinging editorial Saturday. “He has proven he is tone deaf to the wishes of both the grass-roots and leadership of this community. They almost all called for a vote, no matter what. Instead, Harris chose to give cover to his political colleagues rather than follow through on his own on-the-record promise to call for a vote.”
Harris told me that his promise — consistent with what he’s told me and other reporters all along — was only to call for a vote if he was sure the measure would pass.
He faced a tough fight. Tepid support from Democratic leaders who were, understandably, distracted by other major issues in Springfield. Recalcitrance from Democrats in the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, where prejudice against gays mind-bogglingly thrives. A state that’s not nearly as blue as the electoral map suggests.
By playing it smart Friday and resisting the clamor for satisfaction among his more naive supporters, Harris earned the chance to continue leading that fight. And to one day bask in his inevitable victory.
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Monday, Harris and Baim issued this joint statement that was posted to Facebook and elsewhere:
We as a community can work together for the common cause of marriage equality, even if we have differences of opinion on strategy and tactics. We both have a respect for the role that each aspect of the community plays, including elected officials, activists, donors and the media. All those things are needed to achieve full equality. We urge the community to understand that disagreement is part of our work, but we can all still be civil and achieve success. When there are disagreements, it is about politics, it is not personal. In the years of ACT UP, the successes against HIV/AIDS came because of work from all sides of the community—those in the streets, those in the suits, those in the media, and those in power. We must unite fiercely as a community and focus our efforts on carrying the beacon of hope and equality for all families, and against those who wish to defeat the full promise of America for all her peoples.
In adddition, Harris was one the legislative signatories to the following letter:
Dear Marriage Equality Advocates,
Like you, we are incredibly disappointed about what happened Friday in Springfield. But let’s not forget something very important: Marriage equality is going to happen.
As a community, we must come together, assess our strategy, and redouble our efforts in the fight for fundamental fairness. This is not the time for us to splinter — for that is exactly what our opponents want.
The more united we are in the coming days and weeks, the sooner the bill will get passed — and the sooner our dream of full equality will become a reality.
We want to extend our sincerest apologies to the families who rushed to Springfield in the waning hours of session to support equality in anticipation of this historic vote. You have been and continue to be our inspiration and we pledge to fight together until we achieve full equality for all Illinois families.
At Capitol Fax, Rich Miller eviscerated Baim’s column in a post headlined Dumbest. Idea. Ever.Just because a handful of political amateurs demand a vote so they can have a little closure doesn’t mean it should be done. This line of attack is completely absurd, particularly since the roll call was so far from passage by Friday that no last-minute switches would’ve helped. Instead, if history is any guide, the vote would’ve gone backwards. And that would’ve hurt far more. Also, Rep. Harris is by far the most committed and able sponsor that marriage proponents will ever hope to get.
Posted at 12:30:00 AM in COLUMNS