Gay-marriage foes hire California firm that ran Prop 8

But Mainers have their own political culture and dislike outside interference, so the strategy could backfire, an expert says.
By MATT WICKENHEISER, Staff Writer June 18, 2009

Opponents and supporters of gay marriage are laying the groundwork for a tough summer political campaign that experts say will put Maine in the national spotlight.

Organizers of an effort to overturn a new law legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine have hired the California public relations firm that ran the successful Proposition 8 campaign to overturn same-sex marriage there.

Supporters of the law have hired a seasoned Maine political strategist who ran the successful Maine Won't Discriminate campaign in 2005. That campaign fought a people's veto of Maine's gay-rights law.
...

The hiring of a proven California firm to run the Maine campaign speaks volumes, according to Amy Fried, a political scientist at the University of Maine.

"It shows that the national organizations opposed to marriage equality see Maine as an important place to take a stand," said Fried. "It will be getting national attention; this will be watched around the country."

Fried suggested that hiring Schubert Flint might backfire, however.

"People in Maine do not like what they might see as outside interference," Fried said.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=262924&ac=PHnws

And Jesse Connolly has been hired to head up the fight to keep the law in place. Good move!