Early Message on Ballot Measures: More Bigger Government

Radley Balko | November 7, 2006

Gay marriage bans win in Tennessee and Virginia.  Minimum wage hikes win big in Ohio and Missouri. 

Keep an eye on the marijuana initiative in Nevada.

Comments

|11.7.06 @ 10:53PM|#

Colorado 0-4: No on same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships, medical MJ, yes on raising min. wage.

Sigh.

|11.7.06 @ 11:01PM|#

I think Gay Marriage should be banned everywhere. I don't understand why any person would vote for Gay Marriage.

|11.7.06 @ 11:11PM|#

I think Gay Marriage should be banned everywhere. I don't understand why any person would vote for Gay Marriage.

Don't feed the trolls.... Don't.... feed... the... Trolls...

|11.7.06 @ 11:20PM|#

You might also want to add Wisconsin to the list of states that want to roll things back to the Dark Ages: The anti-gay marriage amendment looks like it's going to pass by a landslide, while the death penalty referendum looks to be going toward the affirmative only by a slightly smaller margin.

Of course, this being a largely Democratic state, the anti-gay amendment couldn't pass on just Republican GOP votes alone. It seems that while conservatives love to throw around the urban liberal as the stereotype to describe the opposing party, that's hardly the norm. It seems that homophobia is a position that certain segments of BOTH parties seem at home with.

To Wisconsin's Gays and Lesbian community, my sympathies. You got hosed.

|11.7.06 @ 11:20PM|#

Minimum wage hikes win big in Ohio and Missouri.

Minimum wage laws are the kind of thing that are pretty much guaranteed to win if put to a vote.

After all what kind of heartless bastard wouldn't vote for poor people to be paid better wages?

|11.7.06 @ 11:21PM|#

Edit: ...on GOP votes alone...

|11.7.06 @ 11:25PM|#

Minimum wage laws are the kind of thing that are pretty much guaranteed to win if put to a vote.

Just like anti-gay marriage amendments. After all, what kind of pervert would allow faggots and dykes to marry each other? Hell, why aint we stonin' 'em jus' like it says in tha Good Book?

And people wonder why I'm an atheist and why I I vote "None of the above."

|11.7.06 @ 11:37PM|#

Holy fuck. Is this election going to bring any good news to non-bigoted-min/anarchists?

|11.7.06 @ 11:44PM|#

Is this election going to bring any good news to non-bigoted-min/anarchists?

Nope 'fraid not. However, I do think that the Dems are going to have some explaining to do to their homosexual constituents as to how in a Republican upset, they still couldn't defeat the referendums.

|11.7.06 @ 11:45PM|#

"Comming Attractions" was me BTW.

|11.8.06 @ 12:06AM|#

Wow, Arizona's voting AGAINST (knock on wood) a gay marriage ban, SD's only 52-48 for.

|11.8.06 @ 12:19AM|#

I want to know how many times we are going to ban gay marriage in Virginia. Hell, this time they've banned types of unofficial heterosexual "marriages".

|11.8.06 @ 12:31AM|#

The gay marriage ban is failing in Arizona by 30,000 votes with 92.4% of the votes counted. The outstanding votes are largely from the counties voting against the ban, so if the early votes don't turn things around, it looks like the ban is going to fail in Arizona.

|11.8.06 @ 12:32AM|#

Keep an eye on the marijuana initiative in Nevada.

Great, if it passes we can watch the Feds stomp on it.

Paul|11.8.06 @ 12:35AM|#

Keep an eye on the marijuana initiative in Nevada.

I can't see it through the bong smoke.

|11.8.06 @ 2:12AM|#

I posted this on an earlier thread, but this seems like a more appropriate thread.

The decriminalization of Marijuana initiative is going down, the minimum wage will be increased, and not one, but two--two smoking bans will pass.

Surprisingly, to me, anyway, the decriminalize small amounts of mj initiative is more popular in Washoe County (Reno and eastern Nevada) than Clark County (Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, and Laughlin.)

The smoking ban that gets the most votes will be the one that gets enacted, and the last polls I saw (a couple days ago) indicate that the one that will probably win is the less onerous one.

|11.8.06 @ 2:19AM|#

What I don't get is why are the baby boomers against gay marriage and legalization of MJ? They are now the biggest voting block and look to be turning their backs on the freedoms they fought for when they were young.

I would assume the tide would be turning with each election as the "greatest generation" goes away.

I guess it's up to the gen-xers and gen-y(is that what they call those little degenerates?)

Sigh - geologic clock, geologic clock......

Czar|11.8.06 @ 4:40AM|#

You know, maybe the solution to all this bullshit (gay marriage bans, MJ legalization going down, etc.) is just to reverse the voting age entirely: from now on, only people 18 and under are allowed to vote.

|11.8.06 @ 4:45AM|#

"Wow, Arizona's voting AGAINST (knock on wood) a gay marriage ban, SD's only 52-48 for."

Arizona already has one. This one amounted to a proposed ban on civil unions as well. The Arizona Republic was pretty thorough of its coverage of this one.

Unfortunately, it appears you can forget about smoking in indoor public places in Arizona from now on.

I'm neither gay nor a smoker but it's a shame each party in this state takes turns telling me how to live. That it happens in one of the more traditionally libertarian states in the country is even less comforting.

woohoo|11.8.06 @ 6:29AM|#

Where's the coverage of Proposal 4 in Michigan passing by a landslide?

"Prohibit government from taking private property for transfer to another private individual or business for purposes of economic development or increasing tax revenue"

I couldn't believe this passed by such a big margin. Most of the (well-educated, voting) people I talked to didn't even know it was on the ballot -- all the local news coverage was about Proposal 2 (eliminate affirmative action for state govt jobs and contracts).

|11.8.06 @ 6:37AM|#

What I don't get is why are the baby boomers against gay marriage and legalization of MJ?

Simple, they've "grown up." That is, they've sold out their principles for social acceptance, better jobs, and, now that many of them they've found traditional religions who routinely condemn drug use and sexual freedom, a chance to go to heaven.

In short, they philosophically sold out.

|11.8.06 @ 6:40AM|#

...from now on, only people 18 and under are allowed to vote.

Or at very least a MAXIMUM voting age of at least 45. It's bad enough America's senile old koots are allowed to drive, we also let a bunch of stubborn, bigoted, old farts into the voting booths.

|11.8.06 @ 8:39AM|#

Come on Akira, you're betraying your age. ;)
Don't throw us all into the same barrel. I still have plenty Old Hippie friends who wouldn't be caught dead voting for the Reps. Trouble is they haven't noticed that the Dems aren't any better. Everybody wants to tell the other guy how to lead his life.
Power corrupts.

|11.8.06 @ 10:09AM|#

I guess it's up to the gen-xers and gen-y(is that what they call those little degenerates?) - Schempf

I use 13ers and Millenials, myself, but I'm a Strauss and Howe afficianado.

Points of hope in Wisconsin:

1.) The death penalty referendum was only advisory.

2.) While the Crooked Bastard Incumbent (D) beat his Pork-barrelling Challenger from the Congress (R), the Reps took the Attorney General's office. That may mean real criminal investigations into the influence peddling that helped CBI win a second term.

3.) The Dems took the State Senate, while the Reps held onto a slim Assembly majority. Put 2 & 3 together and we may get gridlock, glorious gridlock! Maybe not, though. See [Dark Side: 2]

4.) Tim Peterson got about 3 times the vote he needed in the State Treasurer's race to keep ballot status for the LP. He beat the Greenie, too. Quite a bringdown from Ed Thompson's 10% in the last governor's race, and we'll lose our seat on the State Elections Board, but at least nobody is going to try to beg me to circulate petitions for whomever runs in `08.

On the dark side:

1.) Dave Obey as House Appropriations Chair. *shudder*!

2.) The governor is veto-proof, and WI's governors have the strongest veto in the land.

3.) All Congressional incumbents who ran, won.

4.) Herb Kohl is now free to sell the Bucks.

Kevin

|11.8.06 @ 11:07AM|#

"Wow, Arizona's voting AGAINST (knock on wood) a gay marriage ban, SD's only 52-48 for."

Arizona already has one. This one amounted to a proposed ban on civil unions as well. The Arizona Republic was pretty thorough of its coverage of this one.

That statement is true, but it is also true in every other state where a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions passed with flying colors. Thus, the defeat of the proposition is a big deal on a symbolic level, even if nothing changes in the law right now.

The other big libertarian victory in Arizona was the wide passage of the anti-Kelo amendment.

Otherwise, as far as the propositions went, it is statism all around... (smoking bans, a new minimum wage indexed to inflation, and banning parole for meth convictions, making it different from other drug convictions).