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07/12/2013
Weird you chose *that* SCOTUS poll, NOM
In its latest fundraising blast geared toward raising money off the silly (/deeply offensive) suggestion that their discrimination-geared towards organization is the victimized one, the National Organization For Marriage cites this poll from conservative pollster Scott Rasmussen:
If you are as mad as I am at this judicial usurpation of our rights as Americans, know this: you and I are not alone.
A Rasmussen poll released after the Supreme Court issued its terrible rulings on marriage reports Americans' support for the Supreme Court is plunging: Just 28 percent say the Court is doing an excellent or good job, while 69 percent say the Court is doing only a fair or poor job. “[P]ublic approval of the court has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded in more than nine years of polling,” reports Rasmussen. (And yes, liberal positive views of the court remain unchanged, it is the slippage among conservatives and moderates—more than 30 points since 2009—that is making the difference). [NOM]
First off, even NOM's numbers are fallacious. Why the hell did they put "fair" and "poor" into one lump figure? In reality, 28% in this poll from this right-leaning firm gave SCOTUS "good" marks, 30% gave SCOTUS "poor" reviews, and the biggest percentage, 40%, gave SCOTUS a "fair" rating. The poll actually shows 68% weighing in with a view that says the Supreme Court is either good or fair, which is not surprising. When it comes to austere bodies like the Supreme Court of the United States, people are much more likely to be in the "meh" category than they are to have a Ruth Bader Ginsburg pullout poster tacked to their walls. No surprise that "fair" would rule this poll—but that's a far different impression from the one NOM is trying to create!
But regardless of that, this is not really the poll that even matters for NOM and its interests. If the NOM staffers really wanted to inform their readers about where the public stands (hint: they don't), then NOM would show two recent polls that directly speak to the marriage cases and public support for marriage equality in general. These two:
Washington Post-ABC poll shows support for Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage [WaPo-ABC News]
Poll: Support for gay marriage hits high after ruling [USA TODAY]
Both polls show a plurality of Americans supporting what SCOTUS did on DOMA and Prop 8, and both polls show a majority of Americans supporting marriage equality in general. These polls speak right to the heart of NOM's cause, and both polls directly repudiate NOM's mission. Thus the reason why NOM obfuscates with this only tangentially related Rasmussen poll, which they can't even report accurately. So typical of the NOM way.
I've said it several times before, but it bears repeating: As a gay man, I of course oppose NOM's more obvious work striking at the heart of my marriage, family, and life. But even just as a politico and news junkie, this organization's sheer brazenness constantly shocks and disgusts me. It's just a daily delivery of bad political form!
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