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Gay Marriage, Obama and a Poll Tested CampaignBy: Jon Walker
May 8, 2012
This is a small drop in support from 2011 and slight reversal of a recent trend. Slightly more Americans support same-sex marriage than oppose it, but the nation is basically evenly divided. Given that people who actually turn out to vote tend to be older than the general adult population, it is possible that the actual voting electorate is slightly opposed.
This is basically why President Obama has adopted the incredibly weaselly position that he is still evolving on gay marriage. With the country so evenly divided the political thinking is that actively supporting marriage equality would hurt him with half the electorate that opposes it, but it wont really gain him anything.
While equality supporters would love to have a sitting presidents official backing, the Obama campaign seems to be banking on the fact that given how bad Mitt Romney is on LGBT issues, marriage equality supporters have nowhere else to go. Taking full advantage of the two party system allows a campaign to expect support for simply being least bad.
http://elections.firedoglake.com/2012/05/08/gay-marriage-obama-and-a-poll-tested-campaign/
uponit7771
(90,336 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)The Link
(757 posts)There is no good justification for not fully supporting civil rights for gays.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)And while it is very true that I have nowhere else to go on this issue, there's a whole lot of other issues that I have nowhere else to go on.
But I cannot allow a shallow, ignorant, bigoted 1% republican to take the WH.
I wish that the President would just take the high road and advocate for human rights.
If he does not take this position before the election, I hope that he is elected, and then rapidly "evolves" to the point where he openly and very forcefully makes every attempt to allow everyone to have the equal human rights that they deserve.
If Obama is elected, and does not rapidly "evolve" and openly and very forcefully makes every attempt with in his power to make sure that every citizen has the equal human rights that they deserve, that may destroy the Democratic party, as many, and not only the LGBT community, will lose all faith in the party to act in their most profound interests.
And these interests are my interests, and these interests are deserved recognition as a fully equal human being, someone that I am not recognized as at this time.