Yesterday, Chris Christie — likely in an attempt to extricate himself from an uncomfortable political pickle — proposed putting gay marriage up for a popular vote in November. Instead, Democrats moved closer to forcing Christie to veto the legislation by passing it through the Judiciary Committee, and the president of the state senate, Democrat Steve Sweeney, went apocalyptic on Christie:

“The governor may not have said it directly, but yesterday saw the official opening of his campaign for vice-president,” said Sweeney. “There’s only one reason for the governor to abandon his moral compass so quickly, and that’s to bulk up his conservative bona fides in a transparent audition for a Mitt Romney-Chris Christie ticket, plain and simple. What a sad rookie mistake.” ....

“To say that a matter of civil rights should be subject to a political campaign is not only a cowardly abdication of leadership, but a slap in the face to those whose rights are being trampled,” said Sweeney. “It’s an embarrassing display of political greed. It is shameful for the governor to use his office to bully members of his party into abandoning their consciences in the name of his own political ambition.”

So, this ballot thing ... happening or not happening?