Who Drove the Bus?

Last September, legislative members and opponents of the Gay Marriage proposal were told that the “fix” was in and that it was a done deal that the legislature would pass and Gov. Corzine would sign the “Marriage Equality Act” allowing homosexual marriage in New Jersey.

At the time, several groups had been working on the opposition to that measure. Among them were the New Jersey Catholic Conference, The National Organization for Marriage, the Family Policy Council, and a number of individuals who were working for the defeat of the measure.

However, given the amount of time and money that had been expended to pass the measure by proponents like George Soros and Tim Gill, passage was leaning in their favor. When the massive organized efforts of pro-gay marriage groups like Garden State Equality were added to the equation, the anti-homosexual marriage movement seemed doomed.

Not surprisingly, the majority of support for the measure came from Democrats. Remarkably, however, the legislature was also gaining the support of a number of Republicans. The reason for this bi-partisan strategy was to ensure that the bill could not possibly fail. If you look at the raw numbers, the Democrats had 23 senators in favor of the bill; this majority was more than enough to pass the measure, but clearly even a minute number of defections would then require Republican acquiescence.

It was very clear that the Democrat senators did not want to be solely responsible for giving New Jersey homosexual marriage, yet those pursuing the religious and moral argument wanted to argue exactly that. In so doing, they were clearly ignoring political realities that were needed to give some senators a reasonable way out. Therefore, for opponents of the legislature, there were two possible strategies that could be employed, which stated succinctly were:

1. Attempt an appeal to the moral and religious basis that has held marriage to be between a man and a woman for centuries or

2. Take neither a pro nor con stance; rather appeal to the logic of not allowing such a measure to be passed in “lame duck session”. Instead, by turning the measure into a ballot issue, the decision would be left up to a vote by the people sometime in the future.

The anti-homosexual marriage “lobby” had been using the moral and religious argument for years, and clearly it had not been working since at least 6 Republican senators were ready to vote in favor of the measure. The six were: Diane Allen, Andrew Ciesla, Sean Kean, Bill Baroni, Jennifer Beck and Kip Bateman.

Einstein once defined insanity as: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. The “insanity” of the religious and moral approach was beginning to become clear—the argument was falling on deaf ears.

Enter a new player into the fray—the New Jersey Conservative Republican Leadership Committee (NJCRLC). NJCRLC employed the strategy that this bill did not belong in lame duck, but should be treated as a ballot issue. They also decided not to focus on people like Speaker Roberts or Senate President Richard Cody. Instead, they decided that it would make more sense to get the Republicans off the bill. If they succeeded, it would collapse Democrat support because the Democrats would no longer have the cover that they needed.

NJCRLC started a campaign that flooded the reluctant senators’ offices with e-mails, phone calls, faxes and the like, and also ran radio ads identifying those Republican senators who were considering voting in favor of the measure. The response and cooperation from the base of New Jersey residents was overwhelming.

Remember, in September, it was all but a done deal. However, in early December, Republican support was waning so much so that all but two senators, Diane Allen (who had been gravely ill throughout the discussions) and Bill Baroni, publicly expressed their opposition to the lame duck measure.

The measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by the slimmest of margins, 7 to 6 with Senator Baroni as the only Republican voting in favor. At that point, it became clear that support for the bill was beginning to wane, a fact that became even more obvious when the Senate punted the measure to the Assembly to have more hearings.

It seems as though that tactic was ill advised because Speaker Roberts, who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, refused to have hearings and sent it back to the Senate saying that there was more than enough testimony and that the Senate should go first.
In early January a vote was held in the Senate and homosexual marriage was defeated, 20 to 14. The only Republican senator voting in favor was again Senator Bill Baroni. The legislation died and will remain dead for a long time since Governor Chris Christie has made it very clear that he will not sign such a measure.

Given the millions of dollars spent in favor of homosexual marriage, thanks should go to all who worked against this measure for their tenacity and perseverance in the face of such opposition.

However, a special accolade should go to what appears to be a new and very influential player on the block, The New Jersey Conservative Republican Leadership Committee. Until they were formed and went into action, it was clear that the measure was going to pass. The NJCRLC’s political savvy and strategy unquestionably lead the way in defeating homosexual marriage in New Jersey.

Among the NJCRLC’s other victories is the defeat of a measure to provide tuition breaks to illegal aliens. In two short months, this organization has done more than any other to further conservative republican values through out New Jersey. Let’s hope they stay involved in pro-conservative measures. It will be in all of our best interests.

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