There is a Steve Beshear sign on my front lawn, but I didn’t vote for him this morning.
I couldn’t get over his fumbling response to reactionary smear campaigns intended to portray him as pro-gay (which is apparently undesirable if you want to be elected in the Bible Belt).
To paraphrase what I remember from a television broadcast last night, Beshear said something along the lines of “People know I believe in traditional marriage between a man and a woman… I oppose discrimination.”
I really read this message as “I’m not gay. I think being gay is wrong. Please, still vote for me. Oh and by the way don’t discriminate against gays and lesbians, because it’s not their fault they’re gay, which is wrong.”
I do respect this point of view. Most of my family shares it, and they are by-and-large decent, loving, and generous folks in spite of their bigoted disposition toward homosexuals. But it’s weak coming from a candidate who has such a strong lead at this late stage in a race. I regard it as homophobic, in the same way I regard a comment, such as “Some of my best friends are black,” as racist.
In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to vote a party ticket. I couldn’t vote for someone I perceive as an openly declared homophobe. In the gubernatorial box, I penciled in a poet: Wendell Berry. This commonwealth could do much worse. (I don’t actually know his position on public policy and affectional orientation, but it doesn’t bother me.)
At our polling place, children are given a chance to vote in a mock election. The volunteers were a wonderful help, explaining elections and democracy to Graham and Evan, who really ate it up.
Graham also wrote in his choice for governor.
“Who do you want to vote for for governor?” I asked. “Fletcher is governor now, and Beshear wants to be governor.”
“No,” he said, “Jack White.”
“Of the White Stripes?”
“Yeah, it would be good for the band and for rock-and-roll.”
“He’s from Michigan.”
“I was born in Michigan too,” he squeeled. “Good. Jack White.”
“Why not Meg?” I asked, assuming her being a girl would have influenced his choice.
“She plays drums.”
“OK, then,” I told him, “fill in this box and write Jack White on the line.”
Both boys voted for Republican, Stan Lee for Attorney General.
“Mom thinks Jack Conway is cute,” I told them.
“No,” they said, “we like comic books, especially Fantastic Four.”
This is fine. It’s probably time members of the arts community had some say in forming public policy anyway.