GOP radio ad blasts Democrat Vida Miller's refusal to support Marriage Protection Amendment in 2007, after voter approval
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2008
CONTACT: Tom Swatzel 843-222-7456
GEORGETOWN -- The Georgetown County Republican Party today started running a second radio ad that blasts Democrat State Rep. Vida Miller's refusal in 2007 to support ratification of the state's Marriage Protection Amendment, even after 77 percent of voters in the county had in November 2006 approved the amendment to constitutionally define marriage as only between one man and one woman.
The ad states: "In 2005, liberal Democrat Vida Miller refused to support putting the marriage amendment on the ballot. Next, the people vote. In 2006, Georgetown County voted 77 percent for the marriage amendment. Then lawmakers ratify the people's vote. In 2007, they ratified the marriage amendment, 92 to 7. But not Vida Miller. She still wouldn't vote for it, even after the people did. Vida Miller. Against constitutionally protecting marriage. Out of step with Georgetown County."
Click here to listen to ad
Georgetown County Republican Party chairman Tom Swatzel said, "Incredibly, even after 77 percent of her constituents voted in favor of protecting traditional marriage, Vida Miller went to Columbia nearly three months later and sided not with her constituents, but with extreme liberal activists by refusing to support ratification of the Marriage Protection Amendment."
"Rep. Miller's repeated refusal to support the Marriage Protection Amendment shows that she cannot be trusted to represent Georgetown County values in Columbia," he said.
Two weeks ago, the county Republican Party starting running radio ads that targeted Miller's refusal in 2005 to support efforts in the General Assembly to put the Marriage Protection Amendment on the ballot.
Click here to listen to ad
According to House Journals, in 2005 Miller used a parliamentary maneuver to delay consideration of the amendment in February, and in March she joined 17 other Democrats who were present the day the amendment passed 96 to 3, but refused to cast a vote either way, abstaining on the issue.
Click here for 2005 House Journal excerpts
After the marriage amendment was approved by voters in November 2006, the General Assembly was required to ratify the amendment to the state constitution, which Miller did not support.
The House Journal for January 25, 2007 recorded Miller as present in the House on the day when the motion to ratify the voter-approved amendment was finally approved by a vote of 92 to 7, but in addition to the seven Democrats who voted against ratification, Miller joined 14 other Democrats present on the House floor who refused to cast a vote either way, again abstaining on the marriage protection issue.
Click here for 2007 House Journal excerpts
"With the California Supreme Court decision and the recently passed Massachusetts law that allows gay and lesbian 'marriage,' traditional marriage in South Carolina remains at risk in the federal courts by liberal activist judges. Now more than ever, Georgetown County needs a representative in Columbia who will fight for, not against, our family values," Swatzel said.
According to Swatzel, Miller's refusal to support the marriage amendment both before and after it appeared on the 2006 ballot is consistent with the national, state, and local Democrat Party's support for homosexual activists' political agenda.
The national Democrat Party platform says about same-sex marriage, "We support the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections. . . We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us."
According to the S.C. Democrat Party platform, the party will "oppose any amendments to the South Carolina Constitution that codifies discrimination in any form harming the equal treatment under law for all citizens; and to support equal and full civil rights for all citizens, including gay, lesbian, and transgender citizens."
Georgetown County Democrat Party chairman Jamie Sanderson recently confirmed that the county party's web blog advertises and links to a website for a group that advocates gay and lesbian 'marriage' rights.
Sanderson said in the August 8th edition of the Georgetown Times regarding the marriage amendment issue, "The beauty of our Democratic Party is that we stand for choice. Ultimately, we are not the ones who decide what is right or wrong, nor are we to be judgmental of a person's lifestyle. . . The Democratic Party is the party for all people and we stand for the civil rights of those people at all times."
Miller faces Republican Jill Kelso for the House District 108 seat in November.
