In the radio advertisement I heard, the speaker said he was just a regular guy who wanted to have a voice in this debate. Fine. Then the guy started talking about the homosexual agenda and how gay rights would "ruin our Maine way of life," which muddied the message from one that would appeal to moderates into one that preached to the choir.

Newspaper ads are employing similar language.

Don’t be deceived about what’s at stake. This is NOT an issue of discrimination. This is NOT about unfairness. This is about paving the way for same-sex marriage to become the law of the land in Maine. Once that’s accomplished, Maine will NEVER be the same, and our children will be the losers. From hate crimes to homosexual indoctrination in schools, the independence and freedom that has historically defined Maine will be gone forever.

Whoever is in control of the rhetoric meter needs to dial it back a bit. This isn't effective political advertising, and I think it will further diminish the stature of the Christian Civic League of Maine (which might not be a bad thing).

The CCLM is fighting hard on this, because it's all they have left. Heath and the board have pushed that organization into an all-gay, all the time direction. That probably helps to explain some of the extremist talk coming out of the House of Heath. Plus the man has won similar battles twice by using the same approach.

Unfortunately, I think even Christians are beginning to see the disconnect between these types of words and the lives that gays and lesbians lead. Most of us know someone who is gay or lesbian, and don't see any seething need in them to destroy our way of life, nor any desire to do so. I think Heath is about to learn the lesson of Chicken Little - the sky hasn't fallen yet, despite all of his warnings, and I think people have just tuned him out.