Some hope same-sex marriage ruling helps drive voters to midterm polls

As reported by Jordy Yager of The Hill. 

As the summer campaign season barrels into high gear, the overturning of California’s ban on same-sex marriage last week puts an already contentious debate in prime position to be sparked anew among national congressional candidates.

But while Democratic groups who support gay marriage have been quick to use U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling to try to spur voters to donate to candidates, Republicans have preferred to stay focused on issues like the economy rather than delve into the socially conservative areas that have cost the party centrist voters in the past.

Earlier this week Walker overturned California’s Proposition 8 — an initiative that state voters approved banning same-sex marriage — saying that the measure violated constitutional due process and the equal protection of citizens.
In the hours following the ruling, Equality California — a staunch advocate for same-sex marriage — sent out an e-mail blast to thousands of voters asking them to donate money to help “defeat anti-equality candidates.”

Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, said the ruling will help drive turnout within the gay and lesbian community, especially in support of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Palm Springs's Steve Pougnet — the openly gay Democratic candidate pitted against Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.).

“I think it’s a small minority that gets angry when a court makes a decision they don’t agree with and I think those right-wing voters are turning out regardless in this election; the trick is going to be to get the rest of the voters out,” Kors told The Hill. “It’s our job to get more moderate and more progressive voters out and I think this decision will help.”

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is backing Boxer’s opponent Carly Fiorina, said it is more intent to focus on the economy as a voter-driven issue.

“To be sure, there may be other issues such as Proposition 8 that will come up during the campaign, but ultimately they will be overshadowed by the No. 1 issue on the minds of voters, which is the direction of the California economy,” said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the NRSC.

The head of the most prominent Republican pro-gay and -lesbian group said that because the GOP took a plethora of congressional casualties in the 2008 election, the party has made a concerted move away from focusing on socially divisive issues, such as the debate over whether to sanction gay marriage.

“Having our teeth kicked in during the 2008 election helped many Republicans realize identity politics had a diminishing return,” said R. Clarke Cooper, the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans.

“Moving forward, the Republicans can win by offering alternatives to the lackluster and big-government policies of the Democrats. Better for fellow Republicans to engage voters on common themes. Everyone is concerned about the economy and everyone would like to see market-driven job growth.”

The Stonewall Democrats — a national Democratic activist group in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality rights — agreed with the Log Cabin Republicans that same-sex marriage is not the firebrand issue it once was. But the group said that it needs to guard against the LGBT community viewing the recent ruling as a victory, and thereby becoming not as apt to turn out to vote in November.

“Given the direction that public opinion is going for marriage equality around the country, I think the steam is starting to go out of using marriage for same-sex couples as a divisive issue in elections,” said Michael Mitchell, the executive director of the Stonewall Democrats.

“Our job is to remind people that we can’t let Congress flip into the hands of people who are working against our full equality,” said Mitchell, adding that the group is working through a local affiliate group to donate money and manpower to support Pougnet’s campaign.

The ruling and the varied partisan reactions come as the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network announced plans to extensively lobby senators this month in 10 states, asking them to support the repeal the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law that bars openly gay people from serving in the military, which The Hill reported last week.

Anthony Woods, an openly gay former Democratic congressional candidate in California’s 10th district who was discharged from the Army under the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” rule, said that the issue of same-sex marriage is more likely to propel Republicans to the polls than Democrats, now that Walker’s ruling overturned the ban. To prevent this lackadaisical turnout, it’s imperative that groups like Stonewall Democrats reach out to their base, he said.

“Liberals could think, ‘We finally got this disgusting law overturned and now we don’t have to worry about it as much,’ ” Woods told The Hill.

Woods added that Republicans would be wise not to posture on the recent ruling on Proposition 8.

“If voters see Fiorina, or any Republican candidate for that matter, really focusing on wedge issues based on social matters, they’re not going to want to hear it,” he said. “I think that would actually lead to Boxer’s advantage, or any Democrat, if a Republican really chose to focus on this sort of firebrand social issue.”