By Jack Danger

The post-election analysis is almost as depressing and fucked up as the actual election was. Why did we lose? What did we do wrong? With all the voter registration drives, the get out the vote efforts, the zillions of ads, phone calls and door knocking zealots, how the fuck did Bush win? He not only won the Electoral College vote but also took the popular vote by a margin of over 3 million votes. I’m shocked and awed.

What happened to the youth vote? Were they only in it for the t-shirts and P. Diddy bling? What could have possibly motivated Cuban-Americans in Florida who no longer can make yearly visits to see their families in Cuba thanks to George Bush’s crusade to isolate, decimate and demonize Cuba? Why did they vote for him? What about all those workers and their families in Ohio who have seen their jobs evaporate or emigrate? They pulled the Republican lever and went back home wondering how they’re going to feed their children and heat their house this winter. How could anybody with a lick of sense vote for a man who does not have the people’s best interest in mind and who has led this country into a hell-hole of perpetual fear. That portent fear which obviously has made Americans deaf and blind to the truth. Whose fault is it? Who can we blame?

Me, blame me. That’s right, it’s my fault. Me, the big old queer who galvanized the right and not so right into voting for George Bush. Bush promised to protect marriage as God intended; one man, one woman. That promise propelled the masses to vote for him. They gathered in their churches, filled out their ballots together and organized car-pooling to the polls. It would have been a sin to cast a vote for Kerry. The evangelical fundamentalists coupled with the obscenely wealthy are truly Bush’s people. And the people spoke: No queers allowed in the marriage club.

This theory is making its way through the columns and the commentaries. And unfortunately it not just the right wing wack jobs that are making this point. The truth is I think there is some truth to it. I think a strategic error was made. I think that identity politics got in the way of the big picture. Love can be blind and that’s fine when it’s just you and your obsessive-compulsive partner. But when we’re talking about who is going to be crafting policies and laws that will negatively impact us and our neighbors and our friends and our families on so many different levels, then I think it was time to say we can wait.

Do I think that the beloved Brigette and I should have all the benefits and responsibilities that comes with marriage, yes I do. Do I think that my 10-year committed relationship with Brigette has earned me the right to be listened to and obeyed if Brigette is unable to speak for herself in a medical emergency? Fuck yes. I believe that same sex marriage is a human rights issue and those who voted against it, in the words of Jon Stewart, wear hats made of aluminum foil and diapers.

I also firmly believe that this was not the year for the issue of same-sex marriage to be decided. It was the year to defeat Bush.