Republicans Put Themselves in a Pickle Over Gay Marriage Amendment

With Beverly Perdue's exit from the governor's race this fall, the proposed state constitutional ban on gay marriage just got interesting.  Passage of the controversial amendment on the May 8th primary ballot was a foregone conclusion when the only big race on the ticket was the Republican presidential primary.  Now, with a Democratic primary for governor on the ticket as well, the Republicans in the Legislature have a problem.

Keep it on the ballot and face the embarrassment of possibly losing, or try to remove it from the ballot and face the embarrassment of having to explain why - not to mention facing the wrath of those who pushed for the amendment in the first place.

This is not a statement on the rightness or wrongness of the amendment itself.  I'm not here to pontificate on social issues one way or the other. 

However, I've always thought that putting this on the ballot in a primary was the wrong way to go.  Turnout is always abysmal in primaries, and deliberately choosing to put this on the ballot then seemed like a bad idea to me when it happened.  Putting it on the ballot in the general election this year would also be risky with NC being such a critical swing state in the presidential election.  A small bit of swing in partisan turnout either way will likely be the deciding factor.  Having such a controversial issue on the ballot throws a wild card into the electoral calculus that nobody can control.

Beverly Perdue's decision to not run has made this a toss up.  It may be her last parting swing at the Republicans who she can't cooperate with on anything, but they threw up the softball.

For more on this one take a look at WSOC TV here.