Yes on 1 campaigner expresses regret over campaign tactics
April 19, 2011
Marc Mutty, the campaign manager for Yes on 1 in Maine, admits that his NOM-backed campaign used distortion and hyperbole to repeal the state’s freedom to marry law. Mutty made the admission in the new documentary Question 1.
One of the problems that I have: I know what we need to do and what we need to do is slam people over the head, not only with a two-by-four, but a two-by-four with nails sticking out of it. ... Unfortunately, I think it's a lousy approach, but it's the only thing we've got and it's the only way. That's the way campaigns work. And we use a lot of hyberbole, and I think that's always dangerous. You know, we say things like 'Teachers will be forced to (teach same-sex marriage)!' Well, that's not a completely accurate statement and we all know it isn't, you know? ... Let's look back at our ads and see what we say. And I think we use hyperbole to a point where, you know, it's like 'Gee-ee-eez!'
Mutty wonders what impact his anti-gay campaign will have on his professional life. Instead, he should be concerned about the unnecessary harm he’s caused to thousands of same-sex couples and their families who live in Maine.