Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld has now officially admitted that he's entering the 2006 New York gubernatorial race, as was speculated earlier this week. Weld, who was so bored with being MA Governor that he unsuccessfully ran for Senate and then resigned so he could try to get on Jesse Helms's good side, is apparently now tired of private sector life as well. New York State Republicans are apparently hoping that the key to beating Attorney General Elliot Spitzer is to run someone who is just as liberal socially, but without all that pesky history of corporate oversight. Weld did signal a slight move to the right, however in this New York Times article:
But Mr. Weld said yesterday that he supported gay marriage only in Massachusetts, because the legal decision correctly interpreted the state's Constitution. He said he supported civil unions - and not gay marriage - for New York and elsewhere...This strikes me as an even more tortured position than Tom Reilly's support of the 1913 law which bans out-of-state couples from getting married if their union would be illegal in their home states. Personally, I think it's silly to let other states dictate what we can and can't do, but at least there is a logic behind supporting that law. Weld, who if I recall correctly actually officiated at a same-sex wedding, is now saying that while gays deserve the right to wed in Massachusetts, they don't deserve it in New York. Notice how that's different from Reilly's position which is, essentially, let New York (and every other state) make up its own mind. Weld, on the other hand, is now against equal marriage rights in New York, but enthusiastically supportive of them in Massachusetts. What other reason than pandering to NY conservatives could he have for this strange position?
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