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Loading ...Obama has 58-point lead among LGBT voters
08.20.2008 9:58am EDT
(Washington) A new poll shows that among LGBT registered voters Democrat Barack Obama has a clear lead - with 68 percent favoring the Illinois Senator.
Ten percent of those surveyed support McCain, while three percent favor Ralph Nader and one percent supports Bob Barr. Three percent chose “other.” Fifteen percent of all LGBT voters still are not sure which candidate to support.The Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between August 1-7 among 2,834 adults aged 18 and over, of whom 178, or nearly 6.3 prercent, self-identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Among all registered U.S. voters, Obama retains an eight point lead over Senator John McCain in the latest Harris Poll, virtually unchanged since the nine point lead he enjoyed in early July.
In many previous elections, Harris said in a media statement, Republican candidates have done slightly better among registered voters than among all adults, reflecting the fact that they are somewhat more likely than Democrats to register to vote.
“The fact that there is no such difference in this poll may reflect the fact that many new voters registered to vote in the Democratic primary elections,” the pollsters said.
Obama’s lead is critically dependent on his 33 point lead among Echo Boomers - people under 32 – but they are usually are the least likely generation to actually vote. If they do not vote very heavily in November this would hurt Obama’s chances, the pollsters said.
McCain leads among “Matures,” those over 62, by nine points, the generation that is usually the most likely to vote.
The new poll also shows there currently is no gender gap in this election. Obama’s lead is almost the same among men (+8 points) and women (+10 points).
In addition, Obama currently wins virtually all the African-American vote (+91) and most of the crucial Hispanic vote (+25), but loses the white vote by eight points. In the past, whites were more likely to vote than blacks or Hispanics.
While neither Obama nor McCain supports same-sex marriage, Obama favors repeal of federal legislation barring the government from recognizing gay unions and supports civil unions.
Both candidates oppose attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution to bar same-sex marriage, although McCain supports state bans.
Obama also supports legislation giving federal domestic partner benefits and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell - the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
…..and just wait till Rachel joins Keith to blast the Repugs.
I really can’t understand how any gay
person can vote republican in the
current climate? To me it’s like
a jew voting for hitler!
The bigger news is that McCain now leads Obama nationally by 6%. This story is pretty irrelevant.
This story is only “pretty irrelevant” to those who choose to believe it to be so. McCain may be up in one poll today and will no doubt be down in another poll the same day or the day after. The fact that ONLY 68% of the gay vote is going to Obama is alarming. Peter - I agree, I have often compared gays who support the Republican party to Jews that would have supported the Nazi Party. I simply have no respect for a GLBT person who would vote for a party that actively seeks to undermine them. To my thinking, they are an embarssment to all GLBT people and betray their own ignorance,contemptable priorities and self-loathing in the process.
You have to wonder how big of a lead Hillary would have? Obama should be embarrassed with these numbers.
PLEASE print the names and addresses of the morons who identify as “Gay” and “Republican”, so that I can slap them!
Normally, a sane person would abhor violence in any form, but my patience is being tested every day!
The facts are in boys and girls and McBush has publicly stated umpteen times that he is against ‘Gay rights’…for crying out loud, what more ‘proof’ do you need to get off the damn fence and support Obama?!
Who in their right mind would support McCain in the LGBT community, I have to ask. He is dreadful on our issues, always has been and he will continue to wreck the economy, put us in a cycle of endless war and complete gut a woman’s right to choose. And Nader and Barr, wasted votes in our system of elections. This is not the year for protest votes! Get with it, OBAMA isn’t perfect, no one is or ever will be, but for us, he is the only choice.
Civil unions do not get it done. I will vote for Mr. Obama, but I will not delude myself about him or his professed beliefs. At the table of fairness, equal rights and representation, the Republicans have nothing to offer us. Mr. Obama offers us appetizers.
A significant minority of gays (less than 25%, but still large enough to make a difference) believe that gender and race will always trump sexual orientation. So, they’re going to vote Republican regardless because it is supposedly the party that looks after the interests of white males. I think that says a great deal about America. However, it also shows that identity politics is an unpredictable beast. Since there are many competing identities, it doesn’t necessarily play out the way we believe it will.
I’m a Democrat, and will vote for Obama. That said, I give a lot of credit to those gay/lesbian folks working within the Republican party for change. I like the Republicans way better on a lot of issues, but (still) don’t feel they’re a valid choice for me as a gay man. Hopefully, someday, that will change.
Shame on anyone who suggests violence, even slapping. Don’t sink to their level.
Actually, those GOP GLBT voters should switch party in droves! Maybe then the Grand OLD Party would catch on.
That aside, I’ve remain baffled how any middle-income American can support the GOP. They are interested only in our votes not our community’s social welfare.
I’m all for helping the community’s social welfare, but I’m tired of seeing business always cast as the evil oppressor. Somewhere (slightly) to the right of the Dems and liberals, we can do a better job at balancing the needs of business with the needs of those who need assistance. Business is hurting right now, and so are the poorest folks in the country. If the Republicans weren’t such gaybashers, I’d be very interested to see how they’d try to fix it.
The polling numbers will evolve more as the realization sinks in that Obama has the same program as McCain in terms of continuing the genocide in Iraq and Afghanistan, and extending it to Iran and or Pakistan. They also have the same shamelessly subservient attitude towards taxing the rich, NAFTA, cutting welfare and entitlements and are perfectly happy to play the fiddle while our standard of living crashes and burns.
In the GLBT communities the awareness that pandering to bigots is not just a tactic for Obama, it’s his strategy. The evidence is all there and there’s plenty of it:
o – Obama’s bigot lovefest with bigots in Orange County
o - Obama’s ceaseless reminders that his dogmatic christist prejudice is why he opposes same sex marriage
o - Obama’s history of camouflaging southern-style christist revival meetings featuring swine like Donnie McClurkin and Mary Mary
o - Obama’s infamous endorsement of bribing pulpit pimps with donations to their faith based ‘charities (read new manse, a luxocar, lots of drugs and a hustler and or mistress.)
o – Obama’s rightward lurching, in lockstep with CcCain on continuing the the war and extending it, NAFTA, taxing the rich while cutting entitlements, socialized medicine, his support for gutting the Fourth Amendment etc. etc.
As that awareness spreads in turn it’s producing a growing sentiment that Obama may not be the lesser of two bigots after all.
Today’s LA Times/Bloomburg poll shows why he pursues bigot votes. The Republicans are pushing the racist buttons hard and mounting a sharp-edged swiftboating attack and it’s paying off .
Thats why Obama’s making a big play for the christist bigot vote and luckily for him he’s pretty damn good at pandering: according to the Barma Group, a christer polling organization he leads McCain 43% to 34%, reversing a decade of Republican domination in that sector.
If the bigots elect Obama they’ll own him. Ask George Bush. Ask Bill Clinton. But don’t be stupid enough to ask any of them to do us any favors. That’s not going to happen, Not now, not ever.
It’s both naive and absurd to argue that Republican gays are working to change the party. If they were honest with themselves and with the rest of us, they would admit that their chances are slim to none.
Nixon worked to bring the South into the Republican Party. Would the party chance losing the homophobic South in order to get the gay vote? And there’s this reality, too: About one in four voters is an evangelical, most of whom vote Republican. Would the party be willing to chance losing them in order to gain the comparatively much smaller number of gays, most of whom are concentrated in a few geographic areas?
I’ve known many Republican gays, and the one quality most of them have in common is disdain for fellow gays. Question them closely about why they aren’t concerned about the party’s hostility to gays, and you might learn first hand, as I have, that they think the ones who will suffer any consequences are other gays, but not them.
The closest historical parallel to this kind of political blindness and obstinacy is the gays who joined Hitler’s Nazi Party and were then massacred when the Nazis took over.
But that can never happen here, can it?
mr. obama certainly has the right to oppose my right to marry,that’s his perogative. but i retain my right to be a little pissed off about that and withhold my vote. any one with a problem with that should talk to the bigot not me. support me i support you.