As almost everyone in the gay blogosphere knows by now, the California Assembly passed a bill legalizing gay marriage yesterday.
As I mentioned in talking to Blog Ally Dunner yesterday evening, my "educated guess" was that Schwarzenegger would let the bill pass without his signature. However, this morning, in the bus on the way to the airport, I was thinking through the issue again.....and the old political adage suddenly came to mind, "Do nothing for those who will not appreciate it."
Quite frankly, not vetoing this bill holds nothing for Schwarzenegger. Vetoing it earns him the ire of groups who already hate him and reinforces the support of groups that already do. Not vetoing it would earn him the ire of groups who support him and perhaps make the groups who already hate him change their reasons for doing so. From a sheer political calculation standpoint, it will do little to nothing to garner him support he doesn't have already and will alienate that which he does.
Schwarzenegger is wrong to veto this bill. Even though I have my doubts that the Assembly is representative in doing it, allowing gay marriage is simply the right thing to do, period. There is no reason other than crass politics for him to do otherwise.
But I completely understand why he will veto it.
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