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Title: Mid-Term Shocker: Gay Voters Shifting Toward GOP
Source:
RawStory
URL Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/ ... epublicans-increasing-margins/
Published: Nov 6, 2010
Author: Eric W. Dolan
Post Date: 2010-11-06 12:25:23 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 3511
Comments: 4
National exit polls for the midterm House races show that 31 percent of gay voters backed the GOP, compared to only 19 percent in the 2008 elections. "The gay left would have you believe that gay conservatives don't exist," said Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of the gay conservative group GOProud. "Now we see that almost a third of self-identified gay voters cast ballots for Republican candidates for Congress in this year's midterm. This should be a wake-up call for the out-of-touch so-called leadership of Gay, Inc. in Washington, D.C., which has become little more than a subsidiary of the Democrat Party." "Gay and lesbian voters were enthusiastic supporters of President Obama when he ran for office," adds Richard Socarides, who served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton. "And he made some significant promises to the gay constituency about what he would do when elected president. And largely he's been unable to deliver on these so far." Although President Obama has promised to bring the ban on gays serving in the military to an end, it was a Republican group who successfully argued in court that "Don't ask, Don't tell" was an unconstitutional policy. A federal district court ruled in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States that the military's policy against gays was unconstitutional "These soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen sacrifice so much in defense of our nation and our Constitution," Christian Berle, chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans, said after a court decision earlier that day froze enforcement of the policy. "It is imperative that their constitutional freedoms be protected as well. This decision is also a victory for all who support a strong national defense. No longer will our military be compelled to discharge servicemembers with valuable skills and experience because of an archaic policy mandating irrational discrimination." In a move that angered many gay rights activists, the United States Department of Justice appealed the ruling. "The Justice Department is defending the statute, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged," Tracy Schmaler, a spokeswoman for the department, said in a statement. "The president believes and has repeatedly affirmed that 'don't ask, don't tell' is a bad policy that harms our national security and undermines our military effectiveness because it requires the discharge of brave Americans who wish to serve this country honorably." In a recent meeting with gay rights activists, the Obama administration threatened to end the discussion outright if the Log Cabin Republicans ruling was brought up. During a press conference Wednesday, President Obama said the "Don't ask, Dont' tell" policy could be repealed when the current Congress convenes November 15th for a final legislative session. The legislative repeal of the policy is currently part of a large Defense Department authorization measure. "The problem we have with the defense authorization bill is that it takes a while to get done," said Democratic Senator Harry Reid. "If we can get some agreement from the Republicans that we can move the bill without a lot of extraneous amendments, I think it's something we could work out. That would be my goal." "Republicans, including the pro-repeal Log Cabin Republicans, have argued that the bill is so large and complex that they need to be able to offer amendments," noted Rachel Slajda at Talking Points Memo. "Part of the reason a cloture motion to begin debate on the bill in September failed, they say, is because Reid would not allow any amendments." House and Senate Republicans are almost universally opposed to gay rights.
Gay voters' support for Republican candidates increased by over ten percent since 2008, according to a recent poll.
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#3. To: Brian S (#0)
How is this 'surprising' to anyone? Unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies affect every single one of us, as do the higher taxes and now documented higher healthcare premiums. As does the shrinking dollar, btw. Absolutely no surprise here at all. What is amusing is how some of our resident troll/cranks/leftwingnuts (FRED MERTZ fits all three descriptions) are resorting to gay bashing stereotypes in response to this article.
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