We’ve been having the debate all week about whether Republicans are hijacking the LGBT rights fight from the party everyone assumed would be more likely to champion it, but what’s it say that Democratic candidates running for House seats are less likely to highlight their commitment (or opposition) to equality than their Republican counterparts?
Running the numbers Nate Silver finds that when it comes to the campaign websites of some 30 races in “toss-up districts,” gay rights is mentioned by 21 percent of Republicans and just 7 percent of Democrats.
But either way, do you find it remarkable that so few candidates in these swing districts are mentioning LGBT rights at all? Is it a sign that DADT and DOMA and Prop 8 and ENDA remain issues too controversial for voters that haven’t outwardly declared their support for one political party over another in the run-up to November?
Of course, does highlighting gay rights equal supporting gay rights? Nope. Log on to the site for West Virginia 1st District hopeful David McKinley, a Republican, and you’ll find this: “Marriage: Marriage is between a man and a woman. Period.” But hey, at least he’s honest?
How about we take this to the next level?
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PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Is it a requirement that most repugnatican haters have bad hair, fat bellies, and 70’s porn star moustaches?????
PS: Dude in hat is kinda sorta cute…….. :p
rrr
Since when does being loud and blunt mean you are being honest? Considering the number of GOP closet cases and cynical GOP politicians with gay family (e.g. Dick Cheney and Karl Rove) who spend their political careers working against gay rights, guys like David McKinley may well be more full of bullshit than anyone.
Chuck
If you hate having a black president but want to express your rage in less obviously bigoted ways, yea! Vote Republican!
Chuck
They’ll hate on the Jews, err, Catholics, err, Women Voting, err, the Gays, err, the Muslims, heck, if you got it, they’ll hate on it. Plenty of hate to go around. Don’t believe me? Turn on AM radio anywhere in the United States.
L.
I guess Dems feel – rightly or wrongly – that they have more to lose by voicing their opinion, whatever it is, because they think they’d be bound to alienate a fraction of their voters either way.
Reps just don’t have that to worry about, do they.
L.
(Ah. Thumb logic says Reps do voice more their opinion on gays than Dems because they fear losing their gay electorate. Okay.)
McMike
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS: Sorta cute? He’s so pretty he’s probably illegal…
Queer Supremacist
@L.: Bigots trying to attract other bigots can be honest about their bigotry.
Bigots trying to look tolerant have to lie to do so.
L.
@Queer Supremacist: Well, quite. That’s basically what I was trying to say, but your version is better.
I need an editor.