It’s an axiom of modern American politics that most Republicans are reflexively — even stridently — anti-gay. The hiring, then forced resignation in May, of openly gay foreign policy expert Richard Grenell by the Romney campaign enhanced the party’s, and Mitt Romney’s, anti-gay image.
To be sure, anti-gay sentiments still run deep in the GOP. Yet if one digs deeper than the conventional wisdom, one finds large, overlooked pockets of gay tolerance among rank-and-file Republicans. Polling data reveal four common myths about right-of-center attitudes toward gay rights.
Myth No. 1: Most Republicans oppose gay rights in any form. A review of polling data from GOP voters shows a starkly different reality. A 2011 poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research showed 66 percent of Republicans support workplace policies banning discrimination against gays and lesbians.
But Republican support for gay rights doesn’t stop there. In a 2008 Washington Post/ABC News poll, 64 percent of conservatives supported allowing openly gay service members into the armed forces; a recent National Journal poll showed a majority of Republicans satisfied with the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law. Only 37 percent of Republicans expressed support for a federal amendment to ban gay marriage nationwide.
Myth No. 2: Evangelicals are a gay rights wasteland. In spite of the long record of opposition to gay rights on the religious right, the new reality is not as absolute. A 2010 poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 41 percent of Christian conservatives supported legal recognition for gay couples (14 percent in favor of marriage equality and 27 percent in favor of civil unions). A 2011 poll by the same organization found 44 percent of evangelical millennials — those ages 18 to 29 — in favor of same-sex marriage.
Myth No. 3: There is little support overall among Republicans for recognition of same-sex relationships. Even on this contentious issue, there has been substantial growth on the right in support for marriage equality and civil unions. An August 2010 CBS News poll found 59 percent of Republicans support either same-sex marriage or civil unions (25 percent for marriage, 34 percent for civil unions). A May 2011 poll by Public Policy Polling showed a majority of Republicans — 51 percent — in favor of either same-sex marriage (12 percent) or civil unions (39 percent). While the percentage of Republicans supporting same-sex marriage varies from poll to poll, all of them show a majority of Republicans favor legal recognition of gay couples.
Myth No. 4: The “tea party” and the religious right hold the same views on gay and lesbian issues. Despite the significant overlap between these two large groups of voters on fiscal issues, a 2010 Washington Post survey of tea party members found the issue of same-sex marriage near the bottom of their long list of priorities. Only two issues ranked lower: abortion rights and gun rights. Religious right organizations, on the other hand, put their battle against both abortion and gay rights at the very top of their agenda.
The Public Religion Research Institute’s 2010 American Values Survey, the largest study of tea party attitudes ever done, found that 53 percent of tea party members support legal recognition for same-sex couples — 18 percent for same-sex marriage and 35 percent for civil unions. This is an astonishing finding in light of the widespread perception that these two movements are virtually one and the same. A 2010 CBS News/New York Times survey of tea party supporters found similar results: 16 percent in favor of marriage and 41 percent favoring civil unions.
Leading religious organizations and their spokesmen argue that gay rights are simply incompatible with conservative principles and policies. Yet an examination of polling data shows that most rank-and-file Republicans view gay rights issues — including the repeal of state sodomy laws, equal access to the same legal rights and privileges as heterosexuals, and the right to serve in the armed forces — as compatible with core Republican principles of individual liberty, limited government and free enterprise.
Now that the campaigns have moved to general election calculus — keeping the party base intact while wooing independent and moderate voters — the Romney campaign, and Republican candidates nationwide, would do well to take heed.
• Lampo of the Cato Institute is the author of “A Fundamental Freedom: Why Republicans, Conservatives and Libertarians Should Support Gay Rights.”
Comments (19)
Add commentHa ha!
What an adorable, feel-good piece of writing with lots of statistics for people who really can't add!
So, overall, the GOP base "supports policies to prohibit discrimination," in the workplace. Yes, we see that will end it! Just like anti-bully laws have ended bullying in schools, right?
And, approx 75% support a "civil union," which is NOT A MARRIAGE.
The vast majority of Republicans wish to deny fellow Americans their ability to marry the person they love.
That's a fact.
Sad attempt to whitewash the Republican Party
Or I guess that was the point of the piece....
I spent some time trying to understand the Right's opposition to Gay marriage. If you take God completely out of the equation I learned it gets down to $$$$$
1.) Benefits. Businesses don't want to pay the benefits.
2.) Opens the door to sham/liar marriages in order to obtain benefits.
3.) Could open the floodgates to include opposite sex domestic partners for the purpose of obtaining benefits
4.) Family responsibility, no clear man/woman gender role so impossible to determine parental responsibilities and marriage is for child rearing (more people in the pews)
Give me a break! How shallow is this country anyway? Woman - stay in your place and don't even pretend you are equal to men; men DO NOT ASSUME you can assume the woman's roles cause it aint natural.
19th century thinking abounds!!!!
What we should take from this
What we should take from this is people's perception of anything is never the same as anyone else's. Is this persons opinion wrong? I don't think so. Are the above posters wrong in their perception? I would say no as well. You can look at any situation and find a million different opinions or ways to look at it. The only thing wrong I see are the blanket statements. Those are wrong and that's a fact.
If Alaska recognized gay marriage...
...imagine how many same-sex domestic partners would lose state benefits from their state employee partner. It would be interesting to see how many of them would bail rather than be forced into marriage. Opposite sex partners don't qualify for state benefits without a marriage certificate. As it stands, same-sex partners of state employees benefit from no legal gay marriage in Alaska.
What I find interesting...
...is how adamant and complete the republican party's opposition is to recognizing gay rights, despite so many republicans being gay.
What a conflicted life those poor gay republicans must live.
You know, from the comments
You know, from the comments here, there is far far more political affiliation hating then towards any minority, sex or group of people. Interesting, your sure not elevating yourselves or helping your cause/opinion by sinking as low if not lower then people that disagree with you.
The reality
The reality is that the vast majority of conservatives JUST DON'T CARE! It's liberals that insist that everyone accept everything they believe. Conservatives just want to be left alone, especially by agenda-driven morons who believe that if you don't bow down and slaver at their feet and rave about their self-righteous cause you should immediately be labeled a bigot.
You know, from the comments
You know, from the comments here, there is far far more political affiliation hating then towards any minority, sex or group of people. Interesting, your sure not elevating yourselves or helping your cause/opinion by sinking as low if not lower then people that disagree with you.
This is a letter of warning
This is a letter of warning to GOP political candidates and operatives. The message I get is that those who self-identify as republican are moving toward more support of their gay and lesbian family and friends having the same rights as heterosexuals. This guy is saying that a candidate will not do well by appealing to the radical fringe - you know, those "christians" who want to put homosexuals into an electrified enclosure until they die out - because the actual polling data show that, as akjim pointed out (too bad he didn't read stu's appeal to stop with the blanket statements), most voters do support equality and protection against discrimination despite their party's platform.
California is about as
California is about as liberal as it gets and they voted yes on Proposition 8 to keep marriage between a man and a woman. Go figure.
So ok...take god out of the discussion
and explain why gay marriage shouldn't be allowed
this isn't about gay marriage
this is about those in power in the republican party with one ideology and those who are rank and file members with another. why do we need another re-hashing of why gays should or should not have the same rights as their hetero-brethern?
again, referring back to alaska stu, just because california is viewed by some as a liberal state doesn't mean that liberal ideology (whatever that is) holds sway. and lots of organizations that are outside of california sunk a lot of money into the prop 8 campaign. but the fact remains that it was the church leaders who decided to spend their tax sheltered dollars promoting this campaign and not necessarily their congregation. this letter points to the fact that polls show just under 50% support of GOPers supporting some form of marriage equality for gays ... it's not a done deal.
the cato institution supports less government intrusion, generally, and that would seem to go along with getting government out of the business of legislating who can and cannot have that privilege. i'll leave it to the homophobes and radical ideologues to continue the snide comments without furthering the actual discussion.
That Health Insurance
State Health Insurance for same sex domestic partners does not come without a cost. The cost of covering the partner is considered income for Federal Incone Tax purposes. Plus it is a paperwork intensive process. If you have the marriage certificate that is all you need to show. You don't have to prove or actually be living under the same roof. I know couples who didn't get divorced because they wanted to keep Health Insurance, but didn't live together anymore.
HEEEERE'S THE KWEER!
Glad ya missed me Rough Cut.
As the self-appointed homersexual of this forum, here are my thoughts...
This piece is nothing more than election year pandering, trying to get the gay vote for GOP candidates, and it ain't gonna work.
Opposition to all things gay has been a part of the republican party platform for the last 50 years. Thank you Ronald Reagan.
A brief history:
1. Republicans screamed the loudest at the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" saying it would be the demise of the military. The repeal came and left, and there was hardly a whimper. That was a GREAT day in gay rights history and most people yawned. Soldiers and Marines are having sex right and left (and always have), but are now more open about it. Check any porn site and search "marines." See what pops up (no pun intended, seriously).
2. Republicans constantly condemn gay marriage, and they base their bigotry either on tradition or the bible.
3. Republicans constantly battle equal protection for gays in the workplace, saying gay is a choice. They are wrong. Trust me. I've been fired for being gay.
4. Bashing homosexuality is at the core of the evangelical christian community because they think their god wants them to. And that very community is the core of the GOP. So the GOP always wants to appease them, praise the lord.
5. Even Dick Cheney wouldn't let his lesbian daughter join him on stage at the 2008 GOP convention. Feel the love.
6. SCOTUS conservapuke Justices Scalia, Thomas and Rhenquist dissented in the landmark 6-3 SCOTUS ruling in Lawrence v. Texas which decriminalized consensual sodomy in all 50 states. Ya gotta read it. It's hilarious. Scalia blasts the court for bowing "to the homosexual agenda."
7. Republicans constantly pass "don't say gay" legislation like in Tennessee where teachers are prohibited from even saying the word "gay" or teaching anything about homosexuality.
But the cool thing in all of this is, they are fighting a losing battle. For every step back the gay rights movement has faced, we've taken a dozen steps forward.
And we will not stop until we have equal rights like everyone else.
Next on the gay agenda: Repealing Alaska's Constitutional Marriage amendment. Give me a few years. It's gonna happen.
You heard it here first.
Now, I want everyone to grab their mimosas and let's all dance! "It's raining men! Hallelujah it's raining men!!!"
Gay republicans like Larry Craig and Michelle Bachmann's hubby
"I've never understood why republican politicians hate gays so much...because they sure do like gay prostitutes!"
-Margaret Cho
But I'm worth the wait
Judging by the thumbs up next to my name. I feel the love.
p.s., the gerbil thing is a myth. Pass it along.
Don't go getting your tutu in
Don't go getting your tutu in a twist Jo...