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 Michael Medved

Gay Marriage Issue Actually Helps GOP

November 20, 2012 @ 11:20 am

Conventional wisdom argues that opposition to gay marriage hurt Republicans in the recent election cycle, but nothing in the numbers suggests that this is true.

In the four liberal states where advocates for same-sex marriage won their victories, the redefinition of marriage proved much less popular than Barack Obama. In Maryland, for instance, Obama cruised to victory with 62 percent of the vote, but same-sex marriage squeaked by with just 52 percent. In other words, more than one out of six of Obama supporters voted with Republicans, not their fellow Democrats, against same sex marriage.

In Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota, opposition to gay marriage averaged more than 48% but Romney averaged only 41%. In other words, traditional marriage is more popular than the GOP itself - providing a way to win over new votes, not to lose them.

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Comments (45)


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  • halfshaft wrote...
    Are you suggesting..........
    November 20, 2012 10:41 am
    ...that GOP candidates should promote traditional marriage to win over some of the voters that they lost a couple of weeks ago? That would hardly be a ground-breaking stance for the GOP. I think I must be missing your point on this one, Michael. I am serious; I can't even argue with you on this one.
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  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Michael - this is an even more bizzare stretch than your previous!
    November 20, 2012 11:45 am
    Dang Michael - this conclusion of yours is even more of a bizarre stretching of statistics to support a predetermined conclusion (boo Obama, Yeah! Republicans) than your 'Good News for GOP: The Party of Grownups' column was! Particularly since anti-gay marriage proved to be such a losing stance for republicans across the board!
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  • Pair o'dimes wrote...
    So every Republican votes exactly the same?
    November 20, 2012 1:25 pm
    Please Medved could you put a little more thought into your comments? So 1 in 6 who voted for Obama voted against state licensing of gay marriage. Did you try to find out how many who voted for Romney voted for state licensing of gay marriage? While I'm sure the ratio is much smaller, you also have to factor in the Libertarians who (if they were true to their philosophy) should have also voted for less government restrictions on personal behavior. (wait-don't Republicans believe in that?). As for Evangelicals, since when did they believe that government has any right to legislate a sacrament of the church? Since they believe that marriage is from God, "what God has joined together, let no man separate", a marriage license from the state is only a legal formality, and can neither validate a marriage or in its absence invalidate God's approval. This was the most serious problem with I-74. The homosexual community promoted it as marriage equality, but it was only about the wording on a piece of paper, NOT equality, since all the legal rights were already in place.
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  • Siriusly wrote...
    Good Point, Mike
    November 20, 2012 2:19 pm
    "The numbers suggest..." Remember your favorite book, "The Case Against Obama"? The numbers "suggested" Obama would lose.
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  • SeattleD wrote...
    Touche
    November 20, 2012 6:03 pm
    that is a stinger
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  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    That is a bizarre analysis.
    November 20, 2012 2:45 pm
    Public opinion has ALWAYS been against gay marriage. The fact that it passed at all shows the position is shifting. The shift has been growing for decades. So now, it's going to be hard to turn it around. You spin it anyway you want dear sweet psycho, gay marriage had a clean sweep on election night.
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  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    The more I think about your post election comments, the more I realize that you are in outright denial!
    November 20, 2012 3:40 pm
    Michael - your pre-election day anti-Obama diatribes were pretty consistent and barely grounded in actual reality... Then when Obama destroyed your fantasy world of Republican wins, you just don't seem to be able to cope in a world that soundly rejected the extremist republican line that you'd been spewing. Each reach to prove that it was actually good for Republicans gets strained further and further as you struggle to find ways to show that Republicans came out on top (not just 'got some good news, but you seem to actually be trying to convince us that Republicans got the better deal in this election). This is making your writings in this column are outright bizzare.
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  • sportsguru wrote...
    It's starting to get to the sad level
    November 20, 2012 4:35 pm

    Reading Medved trying to find some positive in the republican party right now. It's almost like he has been punched and he still haven't gotten his wind back from the body blow he took,lol.

    After that book you published that apparently was not based on any facts, why would any sane person believe anything you have to say now?

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  • Forrest wrote...
    Obama came out in support of gay marriage before the election.
    November 21, 2012 8:56 am
    If what you say is true Medved, your guy should have won. It seems that many of the voters preferred Obama over the Romney the country saw during the primaries. I know Romney flip-flopped on his positions during the debate but the electorate saw what a disingenuous person Romney was.
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  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Hey, if Sean Hannity can involve in immigration anything can happen.
    November 21, 2012 5:42 pm
    What's next? Newt Gingrich will stay married?
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  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    Your right
    November 25, 2012 5:12 pm
    Romney wwas the biggest flip flopper ever, and we all saw it (the ones not in denial) On abortion he changed from free choice to no choice so much he was multiple choice.
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Sad thing for Left wing Parrots here
    November 23, 2012 10:07 am
    They accuse us of Hate, racism, bigotry you name it. And non of it is true. We Americans do not want Obamunism in our lives. We do not want this Obama government recognizing Homosexual unions as marriage and a Constitutional right. Normal Man woman marriage is a Sacrament from God. Not even mentioned in our US Constitution. Marriage has been redefined by Liberals to recognized Homosexual unions. Since they already had all the rights of Married people, now they have all the special right and privileges that Obamunism will provide to them. And at our taxpaying and the government attempting to force us Americans to comprise our morals and the brainwashing of previous and generations to come!
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  • PaperMachete wrote...
    It's Me
    November 23, 2012 6:47 pm
    Here are a few responses. First off, your posts are probably the most un-American posts on these blogs. Why? Because you only consider those who agree with you to be American. It shows in every post when you write "we Americans" or "us Americans." Just because someone disagrees with you does not make them un-American or a parrot.

    Secondly, obviusly Americans did want "Obamunism" or he would not have been re-elected (and no, I did not vote for him.)

    Third, if, as you suggest, marriage is a sacrament from God, the government should have nothing to do with it. Besides, marriage has been redefined countless number of times. If you truly want the biblical definition of marriage, why are you not out demanding the country recognizes polygamy or allows concubines?

    Lastly, why are you so arrogant that you think you can tell me that I can't marry someone I love? There are plenty of straight marriages I personally don't agree with, (intergenerational relationships, celebrity marriages that last a couple days) but I don't feel I have a right to tell those people that they can't get married because I have a problem with it.

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  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    PaperMachete
    November 25, 2012 5:16 pm
    Go get'm. Couldn;t have said it better myself.
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  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    We Americans do what Obamunism (whatever that means)
    November 23, 2012 7:18 pm
    and we do want to recognize homosexual unions as marriage and a constitutional right. We had a chance for something different and America said no.
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  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    Truth is...
    November 25, 2012 5:13 pm
    I have always found those that yell gay the loudest are usually the biggest faggets. Nobody is telling you to do anything but stay out of the lives of other Americans. It's you who is trying to shove your "morals" on everyone else.
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    I believe that I can see how this will work to Americans advantage.
    November 23, 2012 10:26 am
    Left wing Parrots are brainwashed into thinking that anything that is contrary to what they are conditioned to think and say is hate filled racist, Homophobic etc etc. We have been subjected to all this Liberal insanity for years. It just gets more shrill with each passing year. Now that you Parrots did your jobs and Dear Leader is re immaculated and UN accountable, we may expect this insanity to become more shrill and obscene within the next four years.

    I believe that a lot of you Parrots will become just as tired of this insane left wing political agenda pushed by these minority groups and the demands they expect from this regime and Dear Leader that are forced upon us Americans that you will grow just as sick of as the rest of us are who are living under what you Left wing Parrots are conditioned to support, and voted for , today!

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  • fedral way, rick wrote...
    michael gay marriage will not help the repub-teabaggers
    November 23, 2012 5:06 pm
    Michael America is moving forward more and more americans have family members they love are gay if they want to marry live and let live.Your party is dieing YOU AND THE OTHER HATEFIL REPUBS cannot see it. Why hate is blinding.Your party talks about gaining the latino vote hahahahaha you never MENTION BLACKS OR ASIANS getting there vote cause they know your nasty hatefilled hearts AND THE LATINO'S know it to.Period your party is truly old middle age mean nasty ugly lowdown bigots and racist .The people from coast to coast border to border know this. But you want to believe differently until the defeat in 2014 and 2016 when demo's run a women ms clinton or ms warren and one of the twin latino brother's in san antonio,texas. Only then you may get it until then you lust lieing to your self just like the election you thought you where going to win...hahahahahahaha glory glory
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