Gay marriage opponent decides he won't seek another term

[paineinthearse]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/17/gay_marriage_opponent_decides_he_wont_seek_another_term/

Gay marriage opponent decides he won't seek another term
Travis says Mass. now more liberal
By Scott Helman, Globe Staff | November 17, 2005

State Representative Philip Travis, the preeminent gay marriage opponent in the Legislature, announced yesterday that he will not run for reelection next year. Travis insisted he was leaving to spend time with his family and pursue other interests, but he added that he fears Massachusetts is becoming more liberal than it already is, and contended that the House has moved too far to the left under Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. ''I just think that we're losing our moral compass," Travis, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, said in an interview at his State House office.

After the Supreme Judicial Court legalized gay marriage in November 2003, Travis helped lead a fight in the Legislature to pass a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex weddings. In the summer, with support for that amendment waning, Travis became a lead proponent of a separate proposal for a gay-marriage ban aimed for the 2008 ballot. Earlier this week, he took to the House floor to attack a bill that would allow pharmacies to sell hypodermic needles without a prescription, arguing that it would encourage drug use. He also gave a spirited defense of the death penalty in a separate debate. ''I stand on principle, and principle leads me to be more conservative," said Travis, 65. ''I could say, for who I see in the House today, that I am probably the most conservative Democrat in the House. And I'm proud of that."

In many ways, Travis has a kindred spirit in Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican to whom he wrote a letter yesterday thanking him for his leadership on taxes, emergency contraception, and other issues. ''It's too bad, because conservative Democrats are a vanishing breed in Massachusetts," Romney's communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, said in an e-mail. ''Phil Travis works hard for his district, and he is a strong defender of traditional values. We're going to miss his voice in the Legislature."

Travis, in his 12th term representing Rehoboth and neighboring communities, said that after two dozen years at the State House it was time to focus on life after the Legislature: teaching at a community college, enjoying his grandchildren, and continuing a quest to document Native American history in Southeastern Massachusetts. ''I came in as someone who wanted to make a difference in government," Travis said. ''I think I've done that to the best of my ability, and I'm leaving on a very high note that I've accomplished very, very much."

more.....

[ET Awful]

1. "Conservative Democrats" are indeed a vanishing breed, One hopes

that in time, we can bring it to the point where they are a footnote in history. Sorry Travis, you're either a Democrat or you aren't. Your contempt for your constituency shows that the only difference between you and the opposition party is a checkmark on a voter registration card.

[shawmut]

2. Good riddance n/t

[TaleWgnDg]

3. Travis will NOT be missed . . . not by Democrats in the House

Travis' voting record and his stance with advocacy groups is dismal . . .

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=BS022947

And, if you don't already know it, Philip Travis is a damn homophobe from the get-go. Anti-gay this, anti-gay that . . . and sponsored many anti-gay legislative acts, e.g., the anti-same sex marriage amendment, the movement to rid Massachusetts of the 4 Supreme Judicial Court justices who voted in the majority in favor of same-sex marriage! Unreal.

Hey, Travis, don't let the door kick you in the *ss when you leave, and do so quickly, please.


~ NO DISCRIMINATION in the MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION ~

.

[Ian David]

5. So, what gay people can we get to run for his seat?

You have to run TWO candidates- One liberal Dem, and one Republican (or independent) who is PRETENDING to be a fundie-conservative.

See my related post:

4. How to beat Santorum
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=221&topic_id=12809#12817


The general idea is to register someone as a Republican or third-party candidate on an outrageously conservative platform for the purpose of acting as a spoiler to split the reich-wing vote.

*Remember: Alan Keyes carried 30% of Illinois. As Jon Stewart put it, "30% of people in Illinois wear tinfoil hats and diapers."* If an Alan-Keyes impostor ran against Santorum and got even 5% of the vote...


1) Register someone to run in the district as an independent candidate.

2) Campaign on the most fundamentalist, anti-gay platform you can imagine. Wake-up in the morning and say to yourself, "Today, I am going to pretend to be Alan Keyes."

3) Reach-out to fundamentalists, evangelicals, and other un-enlightenment types.

4) The spoliers platforms are going to be "protecting" marriage, denying civil unions, keeping gays out of the military, making sure that private companies are not allowed to extend domestic partnership rights, gay people can't file domestic abuse cases against their partners, banning gay-straight alliance groups and tolerance training from public schools, forbidding gay pride events, etc.

More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=221&topic_id=12809#12817

[MalachiConstant]

6. evangelicals are in the minority in mass.

some of the new england states are actually the only states where catholics are in the majority. i don't think it's going to be possilbe to find this "spoiler" republican or independent. who's going to support them? and why would you waste your time supporting him if you wanted the liberal dem to win?

[Ian David]

7. All he needs is 1-2 initial supporters until he gets a critical mass...

of right-wing supporters.

And in the meantime, he'd have a unique opportunity to observe and report on right-wing malfeasance along the way.

Imagine if this person wore a wire and recorded every meeting he had with right-wing politicians and religious leaders?

He wouldn't just be a spoiler-- he'd also be a Narc/Mole agent!

[NMMNG]

4. *Waving goodbye*

I'm tired of conservatives thinking they've cornered the market on morals. Liberals have plenty of morals, they are just a different breed of morals, than the ones conservatives worship. Inclusiveness, the end of poverty, marriage equality, universal healthcare, religious freedom, etc. These are all moral values--just not the regressive ones conservatives are always clamoring about.