Maybe Virgnia's anti-gay "marriage amendment" (in quotes because the amendment does absolutely nothing to protect the institution of marriage while trampling on gay AND straight peoples' rights) won't be such a big deal politically after all. Obviously, Republicans are cynically using this amendment to rev up their "base" and to increase turnout this November. However, according to a Pew poll released March 22, the entire "gay marriage" issue is rapidly losing its saliency. According to Pew:
Public acceptance of homosexuality has increased in a number of ways in recent years, though it remains a deeply divisive issue. Half of Americans (51%) continue to oppose legalizing gay marriage, but this number has declined significantly from 63% in February 2004...Opposition to gay marriage has fallen across the board, with substantial declines even among Republicans.
And, Pew adds:
Despite the fact that gay marriage initiatives are on the ballot in seven states this year, the atmosphere surrounding the issue of gay marriage has cooled off, and public intensity has dissipated compared with two years ago. "Strong" opposition to gay marriage, which surged in 2004, has ebbed to a new low. This is particularly the case among seniors, Catholics and non-evangelical Protestants. Among people age 65 and over, for example, strong opposition to gay marriage jumped from 36% in 2003 to 58% in 2004, but has fallen to 33% today. White evangelical Protestants are the only major group in which a majority still strongly opposes gay marriage, but even here the intensity of feeling has receded somewhat.
Overall, only 28% of Americans today say that they "strongly oppose" gay marriage. Among white, mainline Protestants, the figure is just 18%. Among Catholics, it's 19%. Among Democrats, it's 21%. And among independents, it's only 25%.
So, where is the hotbed for anti-gay-marriage sentiment in America today? Pretty much, it's white evangelicals. Even there, however, strong opposition to gay marriage is only 56%, which I would have expected to be much higher (80%? 90%?). And, since white evangelicals make up a sizeable chunk of the Republican coalition, strong opposition overall among Republicans to gay marriage is 41%. However, even among Republicans, opposition is down sharply 18 percentage points since February 2004. In other words, if you're not a white evangelical and you "strongly oppose" gay marriage, you're pretty much in the minority. And the trend seems to be in a pro-gay-marriage direction.
Overall, Pew found that 39% of Americans now favor "allowing gays and lesbians to marry," with 51% against. Sure, that's still a majority of Americans against gay marriage, but it's only a 12-point lead for the anti-gay-marriage people, and that lead is fading fast (down from 33 points in February 2004).
Apparently, it's not just gay marriage either. According to Pew, 60% (!) of Americans now favor "allowing gays to serve openly in the military," with just 32% opposed. Interestingly, white evangelicals and conservative Republicans are the only two groups who oppose allowing gays to serve openly in the military - in other words, ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Among Democrats, it's 70%-23% (+47 points) in favor of allowing gays to serve openly in the military, and among Independents it's 66%-30% (+36 points) in favor. Wow.
The bottom line here is that attacking homosexuals for political gain in this country appears to be rapidly losing its efficacy. In fact, given the trends we're seeing (oh yeah, 46% of Americans now favor allowing gay adoption), there may come a time very soon - if not this November - where going after gays may actually be a big, backfiring liability. Already, it looks like "don't ask, don't tell" has pretty much lost favor with the overwhelming majority of Democrats and Independents, while Republicans are evenly split (46%-46%; can we say "wedge issue?"). Americans are also evenly split on allowing gays to adopt. And, the younger you are, the more tolerant you are according to Pew.
Which means that political "gay bashing" is dying out fast in America. And good riddance to it. Now, what was that I heard about this country being so "conservative?" This sounds pretty damned "progressive" to me.
One issue doesn't a man make, but it seems just a tad discriminatory when Webb backs this issue that is so unpopular with Democrats. It lets me know that he actually believes in DA/DT.
And that’s the scary part. Because it stops being just one issue and lets me know a little about how this man thinks. In his eyes, if I was in the military and serving openly, it would be a detriment to everyone around me.
Which, of course, is insulting. Tell your man to take an educated decision on this one, stop trusting his gut on this issue and I'll hop on that bandwagon allright?
This raises a broader point: do I need to agree with someone on every issue in order to support them? No. But do I need to agree with them on most issues, believe they are far better than the alternative, and feel comfortable that their minds are open to progressive change? Yes. And that is definitely the case with Jim Webb, who I am proud to support for US Senate against George Allen.
The bottom line for me is that I am NOT a "litmus test" voter. I look at the whole man or woman running for office, and make my decision accordingly. And, with Jim Webb, I agree with him far, FAR more than I agree with Harris Miller or - horror of horrors - George Allen. On "don't ask, don't tell," all I can do is express my views on the subject to him, and also to make him aware of polls like this one. Which I plan to do.
Now, Sean, what about your candidate on this issue? How about talking about Harris Miller for a change, that "Old Testament kind of guy" (whatever THAT means; stoning, anyone?)
And let us know what Miller's position is on this issue. My guess is that with this recent poll, he'll now come out against DADT, though it's hard to be sure where his real opinion lies on the matter, if he has one. After all, Miller has now evidently promised to vote against the Anti-gay Marriage Amendment after learning that Kaine opposes it. According to numerous reports, Miller originally stated at the Loudon County Democratic Committee meeting that he would "take whatever position Mark Warner and Tim Kaine took" on the amendment and then said "And they support it, right?" Doesn't sound like a guy you can be sure will protect your interests in the Senate to me. Just my 2 cents.
I recently read that McCain "went off" at a group of 9/11 family members who had come to the Hill to lobby on behalf of more secure borders. They approached him, introduced themselves, and noted that they opposed McCain-Kennedy. He began yelling at them, saying, among other things, something about how he had done so much for them, why were they causing him all this trouble, and offering to debate them in AZ, where he'd gotten 77% of the vote. Please note that these folks were simply lobbying their representatives in Congress. They were not waving signs, shouting, or otherwise out looking for a fight.
He also offered to debate FAIR, which opposes his bill. FAIR accepted and it has been 288 days and counting since that happened and McCain has declined to take up the offer. He sounds like a man who has trouble controling 1) his anger and 2) his tongue. 2008 could be interesting.
McCain was a major disappointment on MTP this morning.
Russert’s a tough interview and he had some damaging stuff, but this was NOT the “straight talking†John McCain that conservative/centrist America thinks they’re getting in a candidate.
He sounded measured, careful, and old.
His inability to stick to his guns on the criticism of the campaign the right ran against him in 2000 and his well-founded stab at Falwell were particularly troublesome.
The guy looks like he’s got a gun to his head.
Or stolen and replaced by some RNC bodysnatchers, perhaps.
It’s sad that he’s so bent on saving the Republican party single-handedly. He SO badly wants to be the guy who returns the mantle of true conservatism to the GOP. McCain’s a political giant in this country, he can beat the RNC machine this time. The Bush 43 WH hadn’t ruined Republicanism for so many GOPers in 2000; now they have, and they’re dying for McCain. The REAL McCain, not the sell-out politicized party-line version we saw this morning.
Personally, this is so troubling to me, because I have tremendous respect for McCain, and think we need more elected officials like him.
Politically, it’s just as bad. I’m a Democrat, and one who isn’t convinced that we have a candidate who can beat McCain. Despite the fact that I think REAL McCain is the least of all Republican evils, I’d rather have just about any Democrat.
But at least if the REAL McCain runs and wins (against a non-Hillary candidate who doesn’t fire up the right), we’ll all be treated to an election year where the radical right-wing base stays home and doesn’t dominate the election agenda.
Aside from my substantive disagreements with Miller, I also don't think he is electable. No chance at all. Zip. To quote my good friend Paul over at Virginia Centrist, "When Harris Miller falls flat on his face and loses by 15-20 points (that's probably being generous..."
And then there are those things that can be explained in a single image. For example, you can define "cute" with a picture of a baby panda. And you can define "political whore" with a picture of John McCain's lips planted firmly on Jerry Falwell's fat ass.
This post is going to explain what is wrong with politics today
Whenever the eventual democratic nominee talks to or visits a left wing group/person his image will be trashed by members of the right including the RNC.
See what is wrong with this picture... We both know its wrong to associate the views of an individual with a candidate just because he visits the location or heaven forbid talks to them for a little bit. But, we also know that this is politics these bits of information are red/blue meat for our respective bases. Its this kind of crap that fires up the base and brings in donations.
Thanks for the rant. Going to crawl back into my warm fuzzy wonk space now :)
How we "drafted" James Webb was actually not that complicated, since Webb had expressed interest in running as a Democrat for Senate from Virginia. Once we had that to go on, our job simply was to show Webb that he had a tremendous amount of grassroots support. We did this primarily through our Draft James Webb site, our electronic "petition" effort which gathered 1,000 signatures in a few weeks, and our "pledge" campaign, which gathered $40,000 in the same period. Anyway, step #1 is contacting Zinni and seeing if he's at all interested in running. Have you done that already?
To get someone who can catapult the government lies one most likely will end up with a scoundrel since lying doesn't bother them.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/richmondreport/
Nice. You sure did your homework on this Webb nut, didn't you?
Good Democrats stick together. You're no good Democrat, and Webb sure as hell isn't one, either.
Shame on all of you for encouraging this guy to run as a Democrat.
Now with Miller's people mining for crap to sling against another democrat.....I am trying to decide whether to turn in the petitions I collected for Miller or whether to shred them.....
You have forgotten that Allen is the target. Allen!!!
Also, Lowell, think Webb can help convince Zinni to come over the reality based community and/or run for office? I'm not sure why he identifies so strongly with the Republican Party, but that party is no longer a place for any sort of moderate. My guess is that he and Webb switched parties for the same reason (I believe that Zinni was a Democrat in college as I recall reading that he volunteered for Johnson's campaign) and thus I pray that he can see that the party of the 60s is dead and the emergent Democratic majority is the party of National Security.
Anyway, if any of the Draft Webb folks have any advice on how to successfully Draft Zinni, I'm all ears. And if the Blue Force site can be of any help to the Webb folks, please let us know- it is here to serve these candidates.
Thanks for all you do- and go Webb!
Don't you guys have any principles? Why don't you stand behind the guy (Miller) who is the real Democrat. I mean, the guy is unabashed about being a tried and true Dem. It's amazing how you're willing to throw your principles to the side and support an R(Webb) who just isn't as bad as Allen.
BTW, I'm not a Miller supporter, I'm actually a Republican who finds it hilarious that Democrats have to pretend to be Republican to have any chance of winning...
Losers.
Sometimes you just know who will cover your back and who will leave you hanging. I got yours Mr. Webb.
Wendell
Christiansbug
Im sure that Gore and Clinton are just beating down the doors to support Webb.
TotalDem= hack. Yawn. There seem to be quite a few new one's out there tonight.
I'm saying you are a hack. I would even say you not African-American. Typical childish Miller hack pretending to be a concerned citizen. One can spot your kind miles away. Its funny how all the Miller hacks are out tonight.
This is a non-story as you would see. Webb has nothing to hide unlike Miller who has nothing to offer except attack, attack, attack. How do you expect people to root for Miller?
If you have the ears of the campaign, let them know they have to do a much better job in terms of rapid response.
BTW - Republicans desperately want Miller - for good reason...
Slimeball politics has got to end so good, honest, principled, and competent people can be in politics again. That was true of your race, and it's true in the Webb/Miller race too.
You'll remember that Clinton sent his daughter Chelsea to Yale, which he attended. Why not send her to the University of Arkansas and give that slot at Yale to some deserving black kid? I have noticed that a lot of folks support "good works" only as long as they don't affect them personally.
I think the most important thing Blacks can do for politics is to simply run for office in the professional manner you did.
If you can’t meet Jim Webb then read his words, He discusses this issue in detail with his reasoning explained and supporting data in “Born Fighting†(I don’t have my copy with me but I believe it is at the end of the next to last chapter).
I will not try to encapsulate his writing (I could in no way do it justice) but I will say that I was also a bit alarmed when I heard “Jim Webb is against Affirmative Action†with no other context. I have since read “Born Fighting†which allayed my fears since I saw that he was interested in improving social equality rather than hindering racial equality.
I have also since read “The Nightingale’s Song†and learned that Jim Webb is the reason that the statue at the Vietnam War memorial has an African American soldier (The only statue on the mall with an African American).