Iowa

[solarbird]

Remember that meme where red states are "real America" and (mostly blue) coastal states aren't? My immediate reaction to the Iowa Supreme Court ruling overturning Iowa's ban on marriage was that now that this has happened in Iowa, maybe the political class might shift a little, given how it considers places like Iowa to be real and coastal states (where, you know, most of the people live) somehow fake. Then I read this almost immediately afterwards:

"I think it's significant because Iowa is considered a Midwest state in the mainstream of American thought," Socarides, a senior political assistant for Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin in the early 1990s, said Thursday. "Unlike states on the coasts, there's nothing more American than Iowa."

Still comin' right out and saying it! So don't think that's gone. Iowa: Real America. Coast states: fakey aliens, probably traitors, to be ignored.

The state GOP is already ratcheting up for a Constitutional amendment banning marriage, of course. The soonest that can be on the ballot is 2012.

Comments

[mysticalforest.livejournal.com]

The "real America" BS is part of a branding effort to divert attention away from the fact that the midwest has almost nothing to recommend it at all. If where you live sucks, you might be tempted to say "no, where they live sucks" instead. Part of "Real America" is that effort.

As someone who grew up in the midwest, no, it sucks. There's virtually no reason to live there other than simple inertia. It's part of America to be sure, but it's neither "the" America nor "real" nor anything, it's just a part (but a less popular part) like anything else.

[avram]

the midwest has almost nothing to recommend it at all

Senators and electoral votes. If not for those, we wouldn't hear a tenth as much nonsense about how the states where fewer people live are somehow more representative of the country than those with most of the population.

[hubbit.livejournal.com]

I live in Chicago, which is an open oasis in the middle of an otherwise unrecommendable midwest. I'm probably as shocked as anyone by where this happened. Not New York. Not California. Nowhere 'civilized'. IOWA.

And yes, the coasts are the 'Real America'. What is not influenced from New York is influenced from California.

Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage are as useful as the one we had banning the manufacture, sale, and consumption of potable alcohol. It's a waste of time and money to do what will eventually be undone by those more enlightened.

Oh, I almost forgot: WOOO! I'm watching Vermont as well.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

And maybe Iowa's constitutional-amendment process has more firewalls on it that will prevent stampedes like those in California.

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

It seemed to work pretty well in Mass. The delay seemed to kill momentuum for the OMGTEHGAYS idiots.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

How pathetic does the Washington State Supreme Court's ruling look now?

[solarbird]

srsly

[silussa.livejournal.com]

I find it interesting that, while the California Supreme Court made its ruling on a 5-4 split, Iowa's Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision.

And given the delay in any constitutional amendment until 2012, people will have plenty of time to get to know couples that just happen to share a common gender.

I don't think this one is going to go away.

Take that, RRR. :)

[elfs.livejournal.com]

You do know who Richard Socarides is, right? He's Charles Socaride's son. You know who Charles is: he founded NARTH with Joseph Nicolosi. If that's not making your anti-gay-wingnut radar burn like it just sucked down a cockfull of Dave's Insanity Sauce, well...

[epawtows.livejournal.com]

Nate over at fivethirtyeight (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/) has an interesting statistical take on it.

[starfallz.livejournal.com]

Pretty happy to be living in Iowa right now. :)

[batyatoon]

Eh, they're just getting back at us for thinking of them as "flyover country".