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11/08/2010
NOM loves CNN marriage poll; we love that civil rights are not to be popularity contests
The National Organization For Marriage is touting a CNN Exit poll from last week's midterms, which suggests this breakdown in marriage support among voters:
[SOURCE: CNN]
Okay, so first off: It's a poll. Salt/grain/take. Especially in a midterm election. Especially in this conservatively-charged midterm election, where "high tea" refers to American voter turnout rather than UK dining customs.
Secondly: We're not waiting for public opinion polls to do what's right. Public opinion has *never* been with the subject of any major civil rights struggle. History bears us out on this.
But perhaps more than any other takeaway: This poll, if taken on its face, shows just how woefully out of touch the current incarnation of the GOP still is on this issue of basic fairness. Look at the split between parties: It's essentially an even swap between the Dem. & Repub. Yes/Nos. One party that's admittedly still struggling to find its way towards the principled goal, but that is at least looking in that direction. Another party that's still struggling to halt the sands of time, no matter how ably the pro-equality team (with prominent guidance from Republican Ted Olson) has made the case in the court of constitutional law, or how easily marriage equality states have been able to legally bind same-sex couples without eliciting any of the ills that the conservatives keep promising will befall a gay marriage-d nation.
There are no two ways around it: It's the party of "NO!" that's most fully halting this, yet another deserved civil gain. Or more accurately: The GOP is the party that is trying to halt this train. Fortunately for us, the unforgiving arc of history cares less about polls and more about equal protection, due process, and justice in the face of unwarranted oppression.
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