- Oct 29, 2003
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79389.html
Indeed, it is not 2004 anymore with regards to this issue's political usefulness. I sincerely hope that everyone opposed to SSM lives long enough to see it become a reality in more states than it is denied... so they can see how non-falling the sky remains.
Excerpt from the article said:Most Republican Party leaders seem to have lost the stomach for this fight, said Dan Schnur of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. Some of that results (from) the number of large-scale donors who support same-sex marriage, some of its a result in an increasing number of party leaders who support same-sex marriage, and a lot of it is public opinion polling which shows a shift in the way voters feel about same-sex marriage, he added.
It is, Schnur said, still an issue that motivates the party base, but it motivates the Democratic base, too.
It was just eight years ago that Republicans, looking to turn out their base, put gay marriage bans on ballots in key states. The measure in Ohio is widely credited with boosting turnout that benefited President George W. Bushs reelection effort.
And it was just three years ago that a Maine law allowing same-sex marriage was repealed by voters.
But in recent years, polling and ballot initiatives have shown the American public coming closer to a rough consensus on the issue.
In a Pew Poll released last week, the Democratic base has moved significantly on the issue since President Barack Obama announced his support of same-sex marriage, with 65 percent now backing it making it an easy call for the Democratic convention. Among Republicans, Pew showed less movement, with 70 percent opposed to gay marriage. But equally significant was the figure showing 51 percent of independents supporting gay marriage, along with 48 percent of voters overall, compared to 44 percent against.
I think that they [the right] know that this issue doesnt have the same potency that it had in 2004, said Christopher Barron, co-founder of the gay group GOProud. The gay marriage issue for the anti-gay marriage right has always been one of those issues of diminishing returns, and its gotten to the point now where its often a loser.
If youre talking about it, youre not talking about what people care about, he added.
Indeed, it is not 2004 anymore with regards to this issue's political usefulness. I sincerely hope that everyone opposed to SSM lives long enough to see it become a reality in more states than it is denied... so they can see how non-falling the sky remains.