Americans pride themselves on plain talk and fair dealing, and as a result, they have procured themselves leaders like Washington, Lincoln, and Harry Truman.  They have little patience for duplicity and shady deals, and that is why a brilliant and effective leader like Richard Nixon is still disliked by so many people.  Nixon always held his cards close to his chest, and a part of him remained walled-off and inaccessible to the American public. Schemers by their very nature invite distrust.

Governor Baldacci’s own lack of candor may prove to be his downfall in November. Ask nine out of ten people if Governor Baldacci supports gay marriage, and they will answer “no.” But the Governor has admitted in his own writings that he is at least open to the idea, and the facts prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that if the Governor is reelected, he will sign gay marriage into law.

The Governor has been careful to keep this out of sight of the voters.  When a gay marriage bill was introduced in the Legislature last year, the Governor’s spokesman, Lee Umphrey, said that the Governor felt the “time was not right” for such legislation. Gay rights activists joined in the deception by stating that the Governor was against gay marriage under all conditions. They failed to tell the public that the Governor was against  gay marriage only “at the present time.”

Indeed, the Governor’s own website says the following: “There is currently no law or bill passed in the Legislature to permit same-sex marriage in Maine. I will consider that legislation very carefully at the time. However that time is not now.” The plan from the beginning was to win incremental progress in gay rights until the time was right to introduce a bill on gay marriage. That time will be in 2007 after the Governor is reelected.

I find this sort of duplicity fascinating.  The Governor gave me his personal assurance he was opposed to gay marriage when he interrupted a televised debate between me and Ted O’Meara just before the gay rights vote last November. He  stated he was categorically opposed to gay marriage. No doubt the Governor said this to influence the outcome of the vote on gay rights.

After the vote, Equality Maine, the state’s largest gay rights organization, soft-peddled the issue of gay marriage, since most Mainers are strongly opposed to the idea. When Baldacci appeared at the Equality Maine Annual Banquet last year, there was no mention of the subject.  But now, two months before the gubernatorial election, gay rights advocates can barely control their enthusiasm.   

Equality Maine has decided the time is right for a full court press on gay marriage. The latest offering on their website is “Let’s Talk about [Gay] Marriage,” which concludes that “It’s time to have an honest and open discussion about gay marriage.” According to Evan Wolfson of the organization Freedom to Marry, a gay marriage bill is “pending and has a chance of moving forward in Maine.”  With the most liberal governor in the U.S. as an ally, the prospect for success is great.

Along with gay marriage, we can expect a bill to be introduced in the Legislature, similar to an existing law in Massachusetts, which will mandate lessons against homophobia in our public schools.

The Governor needs to be forthcoming with the people of Maine. Does he or does he not support gay marriage?  If he does not, he ought to say so in plain terms. Otherwise, the public will be right in concluding that a vote for John Baldacci is a vote for gay marriage.