After posting some lighter fair, I happy to share my next diary entry.
This isn't so much about the failure of the gay marriage bill in the New York Senate, although like you, I am of course disappointed, and hopeful the bill will get another chance. Instead, this diary is about surprise. It is about a new friend, hero and true American. Her name is Sen Diane Savino.
When I think about DKos' mission of electing Democrats, this is the kind of Democrat I envision. And now, whenever I am nauseated by the conservative mad-lib boilerplate speeches and verbal salad of wing-nut women like Palin, Bachman or Coulter, I will only need to look at this clip to remind myself that all is not lost.
Watch as I did, in the following clip, as Sen. Diane Savino rips the whole right-wing anti-gay marriage agenda apart, point by point. That she does this will such passion, such conviction, such intelligence, not to mention a great New York sense of humor, makes it all the more amazing. I hope you'll agree.
I'm still digesting the failure of the gay marriage bill in the New York Senate.Shock and anger mingle with resignation. I mean, I know it's going to happen some day. But, on balance, I'm more angry than I am resigned. And even though, obviously, this is not an issue that has a personal effect on me, there are a million reasons to feel irate about it. I'm not going to list them here, because this speech by Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) is an amazing summary of almost every reason why this bill should have passed.
I'd never heard of Sen. Savino before today either, but I'm also moved and extremely impressed. Here's some good information from her website.
In 2004, she was elected to represent the 23rd Senatorial District, encompassing the North Shore of Staten Island and portions of Brooklyn, including Borough Park, Coney Island, Bensonhurst, and Sunset Park.
In their endorsement of the Senator Savino, the New York Times described her as "scrappy and effective". Her dedication to her constituents, earned her the Staten Island Advance’s "strongest endorsement for a third term", saying "no lawmaker works harder and no lawmaker commits herself to the fight for her constituents more than Ms. Savino".
Senator Savino has passed important legislation, including a law that ended the 5-year statute of limitation on sexual assualt, a bill establishing a task force for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer, the Olive Oil Labeling Bill, which prohibits additives in virgin olive oil, the Prompt Pay Bill, which ensures prompt payment to construction contractors and their employees, a cost-of-living increase in the death benefit for widows and widowers of police officers and fire fighters killed in the line of duty.
So I ask you my fellow Kossacks, "What else can you tell me about Sen. Savino? And who else inspired you this week?"
UPDATE:Because New York State Sen. Joseph Addabbo was the second name called during the gay marriage roll call vote, "some" are blaming him for setting the tone among Democrats, where his "no" vote snowballed into other Democratic senators also voting no. It sounds a little preposterous to us, mostly because the New York Senate is a place where bills rarely make it to the floor without their outcome guaranteed, so we imagine Addabbo — who never promised you nothin'! — and his fellow "no"-voting senators knew about each other. Even Sen. Tom Duane might have, at the very end, known this wasn't going his way. Either way, Addabbo is was on the defensive Friday, once again speaking to reporters, and denying this conspiracy theory.
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