Carville In Atlanta; Don't Blame Gays for Dem Loss

At an Atlanta Human Rights Campaign black-tie dinner, Democratic strategist James Carville made some comments involving the role of gays, namely ballot initiatives to ban gay marraige, in the re-election of President George W. Bush:

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry lost the key state of Ohio in last November’s election, one of 11 states with a same-sex marriage ban on its ballot. Some political pundits and key Democrats, as well as many social conservatives, have suggested the issue of gay marriage is what put Bush over the top in Ohio and cost Kerry the election.

But Carville, married to key Republican political strategist Mary Matlin and a co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire,” said it was simply poor Democratic campaigning that put Bush back in the White House.

Why is it important that Carville brings this up at a Georgia gathering? Because, as the Southern Voice reports, the gay marraige issue could once again bite Georgia Democrats in the ass in 2006:

The 2006 statewide elections, particularly the race for the governor’s mansion, could be one of the final opportunities for the Democratic Party to remain relevant in state politics, according to one political expert.
...
But the Democrats’ chance of reclaiming the state’s top elected office, already a tough task after the party lost control of the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature in the last two elections, may be even more difficult if Georgia’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage reappears on the 2006 ballot.
...
The gay marriage ban was approved with 76 percent of the vote in November 2004, but is currently being challenged in court on the grounds that it was improperly presented to voters. If the lawsuit is successful in striking down the amendment, the GOP-dominated state legislature is widely expected to reintroduce the measure and again place it before voters.

Will it really be a replay of 2004? I seriously doubt it. Democrats were mollywhopped in the state of Georgia in the election; Republicans controlled both the state House and Senate for the first time in history. However, in regards to the statewide elections, the Democratic Party simply ran weak candidates. For Senate, Denise Majette, a 1-term Congresswoman ran for Senate, and subsequently, won the nomination. She had no chance against a seasoned candidate like Johnny Isaakson. One of the reasons why the Senatorial candidates were so weak was because a lot of Georgia's strongest Democrats were planning on making moves in 2006; in particular, I'm referring to Lt. Governor Mark Taylor and Secretary of State Cathy Cox, both of whom are running for governor. Because of the relative strength of these two candidates, and the relative weakness of Gov. Purdue, I'm confidant that the Democrats have a fighting chance in 2006, gay marraige boogeyman be damned.

Another point (also from the Southern Voice article):

When Georgia’s gay marriage ban was introduced in January 2004, Cox issued a statement opposing the measure on the grounds that it was “unnecessary” because it duplicated the 1996 state Defense of Marriage Act.
...
Taylor — who presided over the Senate in 2004 when it passed the gay marriage ban, but only votes in case of a tie — has been publicly mum on whether the Georgia constitution should ban same-sex unions.

Considering that Cox, the only one of the two candidates that has said anything about the gay marraige issue (in this case, her opposition to the ban, although her reasoning behind her opposition has earned her some criticism), is currently polling evenly with Purdue, I am even more confidant that the issue won't be that great of a boon to Democratic candidates. But then again, I have been wrong before.