So many people, so much effort. We needed 50 votes in the Vermont House to hold the veto in place. We got 49. It all came down to one vote in Vermont. Governor Jim Douglas stood against the tide for what was right but others chose to waffle under pressure. Who was that one vote? It could have come down to a number of people, but today it came down to Sonny Audette.
Sonny Audette originally voted for marriage. Valiantly he stood with the governor against the tide, but as the pressure increased, he waffled, and flipped:
“I apologize for voting this way, I’m a devout catholic,” said Audette.
The 4 term house member plans to change his vote, but not because he’s changed his mind about same sex marriage.
“What I’m doing is changing my contempt for the way the governor has treated the house of representatives,” he said.
Audette says he’s still angry for the way governor Jim Douglas announced his plan to veto the bill before the house had a chance to vote.
That’s why Audette says he’s willing to change, even though he knows he could end up being the one vote that ultimately passes the bill he morally opposes.
“I hope it doesn’t come down to that, if it does, I’ve got some more thinking to do,” said Audette. –Fox44News
Today, this is how it played out for this one vote. While everyone else stood and were counted, Rep Audette abstained.
Rep. Sonny Audette of South Burlington did not vote. It wasn’t clear whether he intended to vote to override. Audette opposed gay marriage but also opposed the governor’s early announcement of a veto as “interference.” –wcax.com
Interference? He abstained because he was offended? I wonder how he feels about that now.
The last few weeks we’ve had several instances on this theme. How issues surrounding marriage and families have become so divided among our people that the swaying vote has come down to one, or two or just a handful of people making a principled stand. Today we have the flip side.
Families could have used your help today Mr. Audette.
For the rest of us, we’ve got to decide, where do we stand? And are we willing to make that stand, even under pressure? Even through persecution? Hate mail? Angry friends? What price is there on your vote?
How incredibly powerful one vote can be, and how dear the cost.