While I don’t discount just about anything happening on the last day of the session, same sex marriage doesn’t seem to have good prospects of passing today. That’s unfortunate, but it probably means we are only going to have to wait until next spring to send Petey Labarbera and gang into permanent irrelevance.
Rich reports some liberals want to blame Mike Madigan. There are many, many things to blame on Mike Madigan–like fountains of bad ideas on pension reform, but his support for marriage equality has been strong and admirable. Greg Harris has been allowed to run the bill by all accounts without any interference and with Madigan’s blessing. Could Madigan twist some more arms? I don’t know. He isn’t known for making public pronouncements about what he is saying to other legislators. He deserves credit for his efforts so far and even if same sex marriage doesn’t pass today, it will pass. The people to hold accountable are the no votes in the House–which amongst Democrats tend to be more of the Black Caucus.