The high-profile debate over same-sex rights in Vermont has taken yet another prominent turn: Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan has joined the anti-civil union campaign, sponsoring ads throughout the state.
Speaking on the farm that launched a movement against the Vermont civil union law, passed earlier this year, Buchanan called homosexuality an "unnatural and immoral lifestyle," and said that by offering almost-marriages to same-sex couples "you're making a moral equivalence between some things that are really not equivalent at all."
Buchanan, speaking on the farm of Richard Lambert, the man who initiated the increasingly powerful Take Back Vermont campaign, said he hoped to help elect opponents of the law to state and local offices next month.
"If they can win a victory here in November, that will resonate all across America," he said last week. "And I think you will give heart to other Americans who are fighting this same battle."
But while Buchanan may indeed be adding steam to what is very much a hot issue, his ambitions, according to those familiar with the Vermont civil union debate, reside elsewhere in the country.
"He's not coming for votes in Vermont, he's coming to Vermont to hunt for votes elsewhere," said government professor Dick Winters, a specialist in state politics.
Even the Vermont coordinator of Buchanan's campaign agreed that Buchanan will not be able to influence Vermont policy in any major way, but said the presidential hopeful hopes to support the anti-civil union drive.
"He said he was giving more support to the cause of taking Vermont back and helping out political leaders who wanted to help," Pauline Rocco, his local spokesperson, said.
But where Buchanan will likely have a larger impact is on the national stage.
In states such as California, Hawaii and Alaska, where same-sex marriages have been hotly debated, Buchanan said he was looking to insert influence.
And as a candidate for national office, Buchanan clearly hopes to win the favor of voters across the country who oppose civil union legislation similar to that in Vermont.
Those who have been fighting for gay rights in Vermont question how much Buchanan will hurt their cause.
"I know that a lot of opposition has helped us more than hurt us, especially when they get very mean-spirited," said Andrew Campbell, who works for the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force. "I think he's doing both, hurting us and helping us."
While it is unclear just how much influence Buchanan himself will wield, the Take Back Vermont campaign has grown particularly influential.
The brainchild of a single Vermont farmer, the movement has been joined by anti-gay groups across the country. National conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council, for example, have poured money into the campaign.
And their efforts have been at least somewhat successful.
Polls now show that a slight majority of Vermonters oppose the civil union legislation, and those opponents have become increasingly vocal.
According to Dartmouth women's studies professor Alexis Jetter, an advocate for same-sex unions, Take Back Vermont has "helped to confuse and divide us."
"It has cost the political careers of a few brave people," she said. "But it remains to be seen if it will have a wider effect than that."
Jetter added, "The message they are sending has been one of anger, fear and polarization. Are they being effective? Yes. But are they adding to understanding? Absolutely not."
