Social liberals need to vote like social liberals

[dsc]

Our party takes quite an electoral hit for taking socially liberal positions. In return, those of us who benefit from those stands should stand with our party. Sadly, many of us don't.

Among GLBT voters Bush got 23% to Kerry's 77%. That is a scant 2% worse than Bush did in 2000 and only 7% better than Gore did in 2000. This when Bush was the first President since Woodrow Wilson to try to use the Constitution to restrict the rights of the people. That is nothing short of appalling.

It is actually worse among pro choice voters. The always legal portion of the voters, voted 25% for Bush versus 73% for Kerry. The mostly legal portion split 38% to 61%. The average of that is 33%. One out of three functional pro choice voters voted for Bush.

Social liberals can't and won't be taken seriously in an electoral sense unless we can and will provide votes. If there ever were an election where we should have proven this, this was the one. The Supreme Court was up for grabs. A Constitutional amendment outlawing not only gay marriage but civil unions was up for grabs. Yet we did around the same as we did in 2000.

In comparision, pro life voters voted a little more for Bush than they did in 2000. They voted around 24% for Kerry. We have to do better than this. It is hard for us to be taken seriously until we vote for our issues. 1 out of 4 GLBT voting for Bush and 1 out of 3 pro choice voters voting for Bush? What on earth could those people have been thinking?

[Egalitariat]

1. What if their economic views are more important than their social ones....

and their economic views are different than ours? It's a value judgement that we can't make for them, and I think we're obviously missing the appropriate balance.

[American Tragedy]

6. The basis of social liberalism is equal personal rights

freedom for all people to live as they see fit, and do what they wish so long as it doesn't unconsensually impose upon the rights of others, no matter how poor or powerless they may be. What could possibly be more important than that?

I support the populist angle, but I expect civil libertarianism to also be part of the Democratic platform. Montana just legalized marijuana, so there is obviously some interest in this view.

[Egalitariat]

7. For some people, including LGBTs, the answer is money***

nm

[pelagius]

2. Am I reading this correctly? 1 in 4 LBGTs voted for Bush?

Bush ran the most openly anti-gay campaign in American history. This is just shocking.

[The Jacobin]

3. I was listening to aar during the repug convention

And Sam (on the evening show) was shown on the site holding a sign on the floor that asked for a log cabin republican. He never found one to talk to him.

I would like to know why the log cabin republicans still exist and who is silly enough to still be a part of it.

[BillZBubb]

4. More Chickens for Colonel Sanders it appears.

This country has no shortage of them.

[JFW]

5. reply

yep.

[Iris]

8. I read somewhere that 35% of people don't even know Bush's abortion stance

is pro-life. Which kind of goes with your figures of pro-choice folks voting for him.