Yes on 1’s Thirty Pieces of Silver

11/02/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
By now, many of the people watching the battle in Maine have heard that Yes on 1 has increased their ad buy to $25,000 on the eve of the election, and yet, this is the campaign that, until this past Friday, was deep in debt and running out of money. The question that every Maine voter tomorrow should be asking themselves as they go to the polls is whether or not they want their votes bought by people outside the state. That is what this coming to. Yes on 1 has received little money from inside Maine, and now they are suddenly able to buy more ad time with money that they did not have even four days ago? This is fishy.

In all likelihood, the money comes from the National Organization for Marriage out of New Jersey who are trying to buy- yes BUY- the election in Maine. If it does not come from NOM, then it may come from the Roman Catholic Church who are shuttering schools and churches in an attempt to stay solvent and running the risk of splitting their congregation at a time when the Catholic Church is already bruised from repeated scandals involving priests assaulting children.

The people of northern New England have always been proud of their independence. When outsiders have come to take our Senate seats, we have sent them packing. When the battle over marriage equality hit Vermont and New Hampshire, the outsiders were all but told to leave.

Tomorrow, Maine voters will go to the polls, and they will be offered their thirty pieces of silver by the potentates sitting in some exotic location like Atlanta, Salt Lake City, New Jersey, or even Rome. Tomorrow they will face the biggest decision of what it means to be a Mainer. Will they sell their votes to those who have provided all but nine percent of the funds for this No on 1 campaign and strip their fellow citizens of the rights that they worked so hard to obtain. Will they follow the nameless, faceless financiers of this campaign and condemn their fellow citizens to second class status?

Today, there were seven rallies in support of No on 1. At one rally, there were as many as two thousand people gathered. People of all faiths, all races, and all traditions gathered to state clearly that any nation that is willing to sell out the freedom of a few risks having freedom for none.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

In Georgia, I watched a political campaign in which a Mormon was smeared as being a non-Christian. His opponent said ‘vote for me, I’m a real Christian’. In Georgia, I watched as Catholics were discriminated against and called Papists and treated as if they were trying to take over the country. I listened to people talk as if Catholics liked to not only rape young children, but drank their blood and ate their flesh at Mass. In Georgia, I listened to people talk as if Jews were greedy, and that they too ate young children.

Bigotry does not stop simply because you say that you support their causes on one issue. The day will come when Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and others will be the next target. They do not want to hear that, but that is the reality.

This country was founded on the principles that all were created equal, and that freedom and liberty were for all people. In 1961, a war broke out to try and bring freedom and equality to all. That work is still not over.

But, tomorrow, Maine’s voters will go to the polls and they will find out whether or not their vote can be bought by a coalition of organizations who have made up, now, about ninety-two percent of the money used to fund the Yes on 1 campaign.

Only know this, if your vote can be bought, when they come for you, none of us will speak out for you.