Republican Insiders Divided on How To Address Same-Sex Marriage
The Republican Party remains divided on how to address the issue of same-sex marriage, according to a poll of political insiders conducted by National Journal.
Of 99 Republicans polled, 48 percent said the party should avoid the issue of same-sex marriage altogether.
“Government doesn’t need to be in every facet of our lives. Politically, we should probably avoid the issue so as not to alienate the base, but Ted Olson is right…. This is a basic right, and if forced to a discussion, we should support it,” one respondent told National Journal. “No good can come from messing with it,” another Republican respondent added.
According to the poll, 27 percent of Republican respondents said the party should support same-sex marriage and 11 percent said the party should oppose it.
“Wouldn’t it be fascinating if, for once, the Republicans were on the front side of a historic wave, rather than thrashed around in the undertow?” said one Republican respondent.
Not surprisingly, Democratic support for same-sex marriage was much higher with 97 percent of 109 polled Democrats saying the party should support same-sex marriage, 2 percent saying the topic should be avoided and 0 percent saying the party should oppose same-sex marriage.
The poll comes as the GOP continues to grapple with its position on same-sex marriage after a series of defeats at the ballot box last November that have been partially credited to the party’s views on social issues. In the 2012 presidential election, LGB voters made up 5 percet of the electorate, 76 percent of whom voted for President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney.
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