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A local lesbian blogger has been going out of her way to point out how Hoeffel is her pick for PA governor, and it isn’t hard to see why. Hoeffel is painting himself as the same-sex marriage candidate. This quote is from John Micek’s column today, where  John is pointing out how, in general, PA Democrats are still fairly uninvolved, and then goes on to give a brief overview of each candidate. That he highlights Hoeffel’s same-sex position is telling.

Bald and professorial, Hoeffel favors full marriage rights for same-sex couples. And he bills his governing approach as a “move to the progressive center” because it mixes fiscal conservatism and liberal social policies.

My position has been pretty clear, and if it hasn’t, let me clarify it now. Support for same-sex marriage is a red herring of an issue in this coming election. It does only 2 things. It attempts to paint Hoeffel as a very progressive progressive, and it serves as a lure for the lesbian and gay community which has been so brutalized by the ongoing attacks on our basic civil rights, and the broken campaign promises by the current “Democratic” president. The simultaneous loss of Marriage Equality in California with the election of Hope was a traumatic wound from which our GLBTQ community has not yet fully healed. Truly, the wound will always be there- it demonstrated the degree to which those who seek our support don’t really come through for us in the end. I think we might be more over this assualt, except that time and time again, Obama has continued to call himself a fierce ally while he has continued to inflict injury upon us.

California politics are a mad house, and the fact that their constitution can be changed so easily is frightening. True lunacy! But we (in the general sense) don’t think about that part of it. We still cringe, and have an immediate knee-jerk reaction, gravitating to anyone who will say so unabashedly that he supports same-sex marriage. We need and deserve the comfort this position suggests. But what will it actually accomplish?

However this is 2010, and this is Pennsylvania politics, and what about same-sex marriage? I’m thrilled that Hoeffel is such a progressive! We need more progressives, but we also live in a state with few of them, except in the far east and far west corners of the state. So, rather you than tell me how big of a progressive he is, I care more about what can he or any candidate do to keep this state moving towards protecting all PA residents from discrimination, while allowing our state to succeed in these tough economic times.

Hoeffel’s support for same-sex marriage is a red herring because as governor, there will be nothing he can do with it to bring this level of equality into being. Nothing. I do not doubt the integrity of his position (he has been a progressive for a long time), but it is really easy to be so supportive for something that has no possibility of happening in the state. He will get the accolades for holding such support, but no criticism when it doesn’t come into being. And Pennsylvania is no where ready to accept same-sex marriage. Even with strong proponents like Daylin Leach, the Senate is no where near ready to embrace the full equality of Lesbians and Gays. We can’t even get full protections in employment, housing and public accommodations passed, let alone marriage.

But Hoeffel isn’t the only candidate to make direct comments about same-sex marriage. Jack Wagner has recently tried to also use this issue to win some votes. The PA Family Institute released a questionnaire for all of the candidates, and the other 3 Democratic candidates didn’t respond. But Wagner did, offering his comments to the right wing questions. On a question about support for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by defining marriage as between one man and one woman, Wagner points out (to the far right readers of the questionnaire) that he voted for the states DOMA. It is like he is saying, “I might be a democrat, but I’ve been on your side against gay marriage.” Wagner is not the only democrat who is not fully supportive of same-sex marriage, but he is the only one who wanted to highlight his connection to the far right so vividly.

Some within the Pittsburgh LGBT community have gone out of their way to attack Dan Onorato for not being gay supportive enough, and Dan’s support from civil Unions or Domestic Partnerships has been a part of that. Not all of it, but a big part of it. But it is more than that. A Hoeffel staffer, who I won’t name, was quick to point out how is boss was in favor of same-sex marriage, unlike the candidate I have shown the most support for. Red Herring! The next governor of PA will not have any influence on what happens in terms of same-sex marriage here, unless it is Tom Corbett who will fully support a constitutional ban on gay marriage! Would Wagner join Corbett in supporting such a ban? Based on his response to the PA Family Institute, he just might.

via Scant interest in 4-way governor’s race – mcall.com.