Rick Santorum has some unsolicited advice for Mitt Romney, “step up” and weaponize the issue of same-sex marriage. “This is a very potent weapon, if you will, for Governor Romney if he’s willing to step up and take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch with the values of America,” Santorum said in an eye-opening live interview with Arkansas TV station KARK, a CNN affiliate. The former presidential candidate made the remarks before appearing at the Benton County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner in the northwest corner of the state Friday night. Santorum’s comments also came the night before Romney’s speech before the Christian conservative Liberty University in Virginia on Saturday.
Romney’s one time rival noted the recent results of a ballot issue in North Carolina where voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. “Hopefully Governor Romney will continue to stand tall for his position on this issue and understand how detrimental it would be for society for it to have this changed,” Santorum also told the Arkansas station. “Governor Romney has to talk about his values,” he added. “That’s the most important thing.”
On Wednesday, President Obama stated his support for same-sex marriage in reversal of his stance on the sensitive issue. Following the president’s comments, Romney seemed hesitant to take on what he called a “tender” subject, though he did reiterate his view that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Santorum’s remarks also indicate the former Pennsylvania senator is not fully on board Romney’s team. After a bitter primary season battle, Santorum endorsed Romney in a lengthy email to his supporters. But Santorum did not actually state his endorsement until the tail end of the message. When asked whether he would be interested in running as Romney’s running mate, Santorum demurred. “It’s one thing you don’t campaign for – at least I’m not campaigning for,” Santorum said.
This journalist has an editorial opinion for those heterosexuals on the right. Ignoring this issue won’t make it go away…at all. In a Gallup survey taken May 3-6, 50% of respondents said marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized as legal, compared to 48% who said they should not. Catch the clue. This issue threatens to further polarize otherwise moderate Republicans from supporting the G.O.P. Don’t think so? You might be surprised on election day. There is a reason Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann are on the sidelines. Have you got it figured out yet? Gays and lesbians are no longer content to sit on the sidelines. Conservative, liberal, moderate and independent gays a lesbians will make our voices heard on election day and for us, this issue is very important.
When President Barack Obama made his first public endorsement of same-sex marriage Wednesday, the political implications were murky – while it clearly helped the president with his liberal base, it was unclear whether moderate supporters and African-Americans would respond positively. On Friday, the first poll taken after his ABC News interview showed 51% of Americans approved of the decision, compared to 45% who disapproved. The results from the Gallup survey, which was taken May 10, closely mirror recent polling of Americans on the issue of marriage equality.
Friday’s results fell mostly along party lines – Democrats overwhelming approved of the announcement, while Republicans largely disapproved. Independents were split: 53% approved of Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, compared to 44% of independents who disapproved. The poll also questioned Americans on whether they were more or less likely to vote for Obama based on the decision, though respondents were not asked whether they were previously leaning toward the president or his Republican rival Mitt Romney. Forty percent of Americans said the decision will sway their vote in November. The survey indicated 26% of Americans were less likely to vote for the president because of the decision, and 13% were more likely to cast votes for Obama following his announcement.
Among Americans who identified themselves as independents, 23% said they were less likely to vote for Obama after he supported same-sex marriage, and 11% said they were more likely to cast ballots for the incumbent Democrat in November. Sixty percent of Americans polled were unchanged in their support of the president after he publicly backed same-sex marriage. Gallup was quick to mention in releasing their poll that the results reflected very immediate reaction to Obama’s decision, and that Americans’ viewpoints could change as time passes, depending on the attention same-sex marriage garners on the campaign trail. The poll was taken by telephone from 1,013 adults on May 10. The sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
