Back in September, on the heels of Ken Mehlman’s coming out, and the entire McCain camp — sans McCain himself — coming out in support of same-sex marriage, I asked, “Is Gay Republican The New Black?” Well, fast-forward to election day exit polls, and the answer is a resounding, “Yes.” It seems that gays are just as human as the the rest of society, and, despite all logic, can vote in large numbers against their self interests. Or, are they?
In “GOP: Gay Old Party? More gays voted Republican than in 2008,” the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart writes, “If you want more data that gay men and lesbians are pretty much just like everyone else — worried about the economy, freaked out about the direction of the country and perhaps ticked at the slow pace of change with regard to their civil rights — get a load of this exit poll result.”
Here it is — based on CNN’s exit polls.
In 2006, one in four self-identified gay men and lesbians voted Republican. That number dropped to one in five during the presidential election of 2008. This year, that number jumped dramatically. Amplified by a new, out loud and proud gay Tea Party PAC, GOProud — whose nationally-noted tony Manhattan fund raising party was headlined by extreme homophobe Ann Coulter — gay men and lesbians voted against their better interests one-third of the time. In other words, an astonishing thirty-one percent of self-identified gay men and lesbians voted Republican on Tuesday.
There is no doubt some politically-aware Republicans are courting the gay vote. This week, the day after the election, former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani came out — in contrast to his 2007 position — in support of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and finding a way to praise the Log Cabin Republicans. Back when he was elected, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said his GOP needed to do a better job of wooing candidates and voters who support marriage equality.
Amanda Terkel in The Huffington Post adds, “I have been very concerned over these last two years that the connection between the gay rights community and the Democratic Party is in danger of being broken, because I think expectations were set so high as a result of the 2008 election, and people are extremely disappointed,” said Richard Socarides, a former assistant to President Clinton and senior White House adviser on gay rights.”
“More conservatives have been speaking out in favor of gay rights as the issue becomes more mainstream amongst the general public, and Republicans perhaps sense some vulnerability and dissatisfaction with Democrats.”
But the obvious question is, who are these people responding in exit polls? And, did “the gays,” frustrated by a perceived lack of action from their “fierce advocate” presidential candidate merely stay home and not vote?
The other obvious bit of information: in 2008, 56.8% of “possible” voters actually voted. In 2010, only 41.3% did.
The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne, Jr. adds, “Voters younger than 30 made up nearly a fifth of the electorate in 2008 but only about a tenth on Tuesday, according to network exit polls. This week’s verdict was rendered by a much older and more conservative electorate.”
It bears mentioning too, that, after the 2008 exit polls were “analyzed,” the “news” was that blacks were primarily responsible for passing Prop 8. (They were not.)
The truth of the matter is that in times of economic distress — and America is certainly is in one — people choose financial security over social agendas. “It’s the economy, stupid,” may be the most-true statement ever uttered in politics. Of course, the “stupid,” long-term, may apply to gays who vote for a political party that wants to put them in jail for being gay. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that wants to keep the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in place. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that continues to discharge them from the military, even after a federal court has ruled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unconstitutional. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that wants to block legislation that would protect them from being fired because they are gay. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that is happy to take their money but works to deny them their inalienable civil rights.
The question becomes, which party are we talking about?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party. The GOP is merely pandering to the LGBT community. They can say they want to be more “inclusive” all they want. The proof is in the pudding, and their pudding comes without any rights for the LGBT community.
It’s time to get the Democratic Party to once and for all pander — and put their money where their mouth is — to “the gay agenda.”
For some, perhaps, it can feel liberating to berate their political leaders. At times, I certainly have done so — and with good reason. But there is a stark difference between being a critic of one’s own party — and country — and voting for the other side. The side, for instance, that wants, literally, to imprison us.
(Oh, if you actually like the shirt, yes, it’s for sale. No, I get nothing for telling you that.)
The New Civil Rights Movement
// <![CDATA[
google_ad_client = “pub-6759057198693805”;
/* 468×60, created 10/21/10 */
google_ad_slot = “8507588931”;
google_ad_width = 468;
google_ad_height = 60;
// ]]>