When Pols Don't Stay Bought.

Voters with special issues should take a lesson from how the Dems, especially in California, are handling the gay marriage issue.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said Friday that she is concerned that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has decided to test the state law that specifically excludes same-sex marriage. That law, approved by voters in 2000 as Proposition 22, says the state will only recognize marriages between a man and a woman as valid.

"The people of California voted on Proposition 22 and by an overwhelming majority passed a law which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. If the mayor believes that law is unconstitutional the place to go is the court," said Feinstein, a Democrat and former San Francisco mayor. "I believe this makes the national situation much more complicated and gives ammunition to those who are pushing for a constitutional amendment."

Boxer, who is running for up for re-election this year and one of the state's leading liberals, has been a longtime supporter of gay rights. Still, she has refused so far to speak out since the gay weddings began and has only issued a statement through her spokesman saying that California law "is fair and appropriate because it gives equal rights to all citizens."

Note that Senator Boxer carefully parses her words when the issue threatens her re-election, after raising funds from the gay community for twenty years she dissembles when a basic plank of the gay rights platform is within reach. Coward.