Jon Stewart, Protests and Polls, and Governor Douglas Tapping a Maple: A Busy Weekend in the Marriage Debate

The Doyle Poll results cap a weekend of comedy, protests, and unintentionally funny photo ops in Vermont. The Doyle Poll is conducted every town meeting day of Vermonters. It was first created by Republican Senator William Doyle back in 1969, the first year in which he served in the legislature. The results, which are heavily based upon respondent participation, show that support for same-sex marriage stands at fifty-five (55) percent. Those opposed numbered thirty-eight (38) percent and those undecided totaled seven (7) percent. These numbers closely mirror a scientific poll conducted in January. Twelve thousand respondents sent in their ballots at the beginning of March.

The poll results came in on a day when Governor Jim Douglas’ office was deluged by letters and emails regarding his announcement that he intended to veto the marriage equality bill. More than fifteen hundred letters and emails hit his desk since Wednesday, when he made the announcement. Some of the letters praised Governor Douglas for ‘showing backbone’ in refusing to bow to pressure from gay rights groups. Many, however, were far from supportive of his position. Some were less than kind calling Governor Douglas a homophobe and accusing him of spreading hatred.

Indeed, it has not been a good week for Governor Douglas when it comes to this issue. Many have lambasted him for supposedly kowtowing to Rush Limbaugh, and putting the priorities of the national Republican Party ahead of Vermonters. If this is true, Governor Douglas faces major problems in 2010 if he believes that he will be able to run for office again in Vermont. On Saturday, Governor Douglas went to Poultney to do some maple sugar tapping for a photo op, and was greeted by two hundred protesters, many wearing rainbow shirts with the slogan “Marriage Equality: As Vermont As Maple Syrup.” Some even sang the Beatle’s song “All You Need Is Love.” Governor Douglas was shadowed by the protesters all the way back to his car. Douglas, who was suppose to give a big speech about the importance of maple syrup to Vermont’s economy, ultimately decided to leave without saying anything.

In fact, that day was a day full of protests as nearly a thousand gathered across the state to protest Governor Douglas’ plans to veto the same-sex marriage bill. This included three hundred who packed into the St. Stephens’ Episcopal Church in Middlebury, VT. The crowd was standing room only.

Saturday capped off poorly for Governor Douglas as Jon Stewart of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart played to a sold out crowd at University of Vermont’s Patrick Gymnasium. While at UVM, Stewart, who is known for not backing down from controversy, waded into the same-sex marriage debate. At one point he said “I can understand being against gay marriage — if they decided to make it mandatory. This isn’t a cultural divide: They’re wrong.” Stewart even went after the “gay agenda” with “Here’s the gay agenda. They’d like to get married … and fight in the military and march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.” He even pointed out that those quoting Leviticus should be out there trying to shut down Red Lobsters. Stewart even made an off color remark about Governor Douglas before asking if he was in the audience.

Jon Stewart has earned the ire of many in both politics and in the media for the fact that, while he bills himself as a comedian and an entertainer, he can be extremely hard hitting when he wants to. When confronted by Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson, who were then on CNN, as to why he did not ask John Kerry the tough questions when Kerry appeared on his show, Stewart said, in essence, ‘isn’t that your job?’. Crossfire was cancelled not long after that incident happened. In recent months, Stewart again made headlines for his grilling of CNBC’s Jim Cramer.

All in all, the last weekend in March for Vermont was a strange one.

http://www.vtfreetomarry.org/

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090329/NEWS04/903290381/1024/NEWS04

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990328013