Dan Amira and Jonathan Chait of New York magazine have a pitch-perfect March Madness breakdown of the Senate Democrat holdouts who oppose gay marriage— Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.). The list got cut down to a Final Four after Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) endorsed gay marriage earlier today.
Here’s the first two paragraphs:
Dan: Well, Jon, it’s been a crazy month, but today, after Joe Donnelly and Heidi Heitkamp dropped out of the tournament, we’re down to the Final Four: Mark Pryor, Joe Manchin, Tim Johnson, and Mary Landrieu. The moderate powerhouses are the only remaining Democratic senators who haven’t come out in support of gay marriage — but only one can be the last Democratic senator not to support gay marriage. Let’s take a look at the field. Landrieu is an interesting case, don’t you think? You could argue she should have been knocked out last week.
Jon: I’m going to get a lot of heat from Landrieu’s fan base, but I’ll just say it: She does not belong in this tournament. She said last Thursday, “The people of Louisiana have made clear that marriage in our state is restricted to one man and one woman. While my personal views have evolved, I will support the outcome of Louisiana’s recent vote.” She has already dropped the e-word. We’re seeding her a distant No. 4.
You can read the whole article here.