The Ninth Circuit Court's recent ruling upholding California's ban on same-sex marriage, despite being a blow to civil rights, is a boon to Democrat's chances this fall.
Any favorable ruling would have ginned up the Republican's GOTV efforts -- sorely needed in tight races like the 4th (Doolittle) and 11th (Pombo) Congressional Districts -- and given the Right Wing Noise Machine an excuse to talk about something other than Mark Foley.
The ruling is a small hiccup in the Progressive road and it couldn't have been better timed.