From Matt Arnstine, writing in the U of MD student paper, the Diamondback:
During his 2010 campaign, Arora raked in campaign donations from area progressives, many of whom he met while working on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. In a survey by Equality Maryland, Arora declared he would co-sponsor civil marriage legislation. Yet, during last year's legislative session, Arora backtracked and withdrew his co-sponsorship of the bill.
Years ago, before the netroots and social media were prominent in politics, Arora's betrayal would've been unknown to those who don't follow the minutiae of legislation and political leaders. However, in today's world of Change petitions, Twitter feeds and Facebook pages, there's nowhere for cowardly politicians to hide. Every political issue has dedicated bloggers who closely follow political developments. In short, Arora isn't going to get away with his betrayal.Never forget: Arora didn't just fill out a survey saying he's support marriage equality, he cosponsored the bill, he tweeted about how the legislation met the concerns of religious people, and he went out of his way, publicly and behind closed doors, to gush to gay constituents about how he was going to get marriage equality passed in Maryland. The guy didn't just change his mind on a vote, and he didn't simply do it for religious reasons. Something mysteriously happened during a three day period in February of 2011.
When you spurn O'Malley, Clinton and McAuliffe, there isn't really a place for you in the Democratic Party. So long, farewell, we needn't say goodbye.
Joe recounts, via the link above, the story of one supporter with whom Arora shared his emphatic support for marriage equality. I know of another. A friend of mine who knows Arora. He called her the first day of the Maryland legislative session last year to say that he wanted her to know that he sponsored the marriage equality bill.
This wasn't some guy who had religious objections to the bill. He had already come to terms with any religious concerns he had a long time ago. He was an avid supporter of the legislation. He gushed to people about it. And then, suddenly he didn't.
Something happened during a three day period in February of last year. And the fact that Arora can't even explain why he changed his vote, or what happened during those three days, makes the entire affair that much more noxious.
This is not some guy who had religious objections to a piece of legislation. Something happened behind closed doors and Sam Arora is making clear, by his silence, that whatever it was, it can't have been good.
Sam's got a secret.
