Anatomy of a politically driven flip-flop -- Sen. Jim Alesi tries to explain his NO vote on same-sex marriage in 2009:

"So it’s kind of shameful to admit, but in the world we live in, politics decides a lot of how you act. And knowing that the bill wasn’t going to pass because the other side didn’t have enough votes meant that you don’t put yourself out there politically for a bill that is going to fail, when your conservatives and your right-wings will work against you in the next election."

... I said in my conference, “I’m going to vote ‘no’ for the sake of this conference, but if anybody in this conference votes ‘yes’  then I will leave, I will quit the Senate.”

... It was very, very hard for me.

Some people say it was theatrical. If that was theatrical I’m in New York so I’m going to get my SAG card. It was very hard.

I did promise myself I would never vote “no” again, no matter what the circumstances were." -- New York Times