George W. Bush’s former campaign manager and former chairman of the RNC must feel like he has some atoning to do. He apparently provided the impetus behind the new amicus brief featuring more than 100 top republicans that has just been filed with the US Supreme Court urging the overturn of Prop 8 and full marriage equality for same sex couples, the New Yorker reports:
It’s not just that Ken Mehlman is a prominent Republican, which makes him an important asset to–and, now, organizer in–the gay-rights movement; it’s that he is one of the smartest political operatives anywhere in the country right now, and that he understands better than perhaps anyone how moderate and persuadable Republicans think. These are the very people the gay-rights movement is now trying to speak to. As Mehlman told the Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “We are trying to say to the Court that we are judicial and political conservatives, and it is consistent with our values and philosophy for you to overturn Proposition 8.”
Mehlman eats a little crow in the article for failing to speak out sooner:
“At a personal level, I wish I had spoken out against the [anti-gay] effort… As I’ve been involved in the fight for marriage equality, one of the things I’ve learned is how many people were harmed by the campaigns in which I was involved. I apologize to them and tell them I am sorry. While there have been recent victories, this could still be a long struggle in which there will be setbacks, and I’ll do my part to be helpful.”
While we agree, we also think that late is better than never. And who knows? This could be the brief that makes the difference.
