An Open Letter To Republican State Senator Michael Doherty
Dear Senator Doherty:
You’re new to this, so I hope you’ll listen up. As you obviously know, your district includes the wonderful city of Lambertville, a beautiful and joyous place that represents some of the best New Jersey has to offer, and where all is truly well and in balance. Newcomers and old-timers embrace, young people and seniors enjoy each others’ company, dogs of all sorts regularly walk their humans along the towpath, and yes, there are gay people there. Lots of them. That’s one of the big reasons Lambertville is so wonderful: it welcomes gays as complete human beings. Gay people tend to like that when they find it.
Sadly, the state of New Jersey isn’t quite as welcoming, yet. It’s close, but you — yes, YOU! — could help get it all the way there.
So if you’d like to see Lambertville vote for a Republican for state senate for the first time ever, perhaps you might consider voting YES on the marriage equality bill that will come before you on Thursday. I promise we will cheer you every time you walk down Bridge Street. (Other reasons to vote YES: It’s the moral, fair, just and right thing to do. I put those reasons in parentheses because I understand that getting elected is much more important to most politicians than doing what’s morally right. But perhaps you’re different and I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.)
If you vote no, you will demonstrate to many thousands of good people, in Lambertville and throughout the state, that you don’t value their vote, their service, their families or their taxes as highly as you do those of the straight majority. You’ll just uphold the stereotype of the bigoted conservative made so popular by the likes of US Reps. Virginia Foxx and Michele Bachmann, and we already have a full quota of them so why would we want to add you? You graduated from West Point so I’d like to believe you’re smarter than they are, and more morally upstanding (you do have to be morally upstanding to graduate from West Point, as I recall). I hope I’m not wrong.
Please don’t let us down. In Hunterdon County you’re all we have. Many of us aren’t hopeful you’re on our side, but I’m writing anyway just in case. Please, for the sake of all the gay people who make Lambertville and New Jersey a richer place, do the right thing and vote YES on marriage equality. We would gain so much, and no one else would lose anything. (Ask Massachusetts. They seem to be doing fine, unless you count the Patriots’ current woes …) Think of how proud you’d feel — a freshman senator from a Republican district, voting for what’s right rather than what’s popular! It will warm your heart for the rest of your career.
Thank you for reading this; I know you’re busy. And I do look forward to thanking you for your YES vote. Now go do the right thing!
Elaine Clisham
Delaware Twp, NJ