By Callum Borchers, Globe Correspondent Governor Deval Patrick and Representative Barney Frank on Sundaydownplayed the politics of President Obama s endorsement ofsame-sex marriage last week and said voters are focused on theeconomy. Patrick praised Obama for his clear and principled position andcalled the announcement a real indication of this president sleadership. It s about convictions; it s not about politics, Patrick saidon CBS s Face the Nation. Frank, appearing on ABC s This Week, argued that Obama spublic stand will not affect voting behavior because the presidentand his likely Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, are alreadyknown for different positions on gay rights, in general. If you were going to cast your vote based on a candidate sposition regarding same-sex marriage, you were already going tovote for Obama [or] Romney based on that, Frank said.
But the assertions of the Massachusetts Democrats are contested bysome observers who believe Obama s announcement was dictated bypolitical strategy and that it could make a difference in certainstates on Election Day. Ralph Reed, founder of the Faith and Family Coalition, said on This Week that backing gay marriage could hurt the president ina handful of swing states. If you look at Ohio, the marriage amendment passed by 62 percent-- more than it did in North Carolina, Reed said. Florida,swing state, 62 percent -- more than North Carolina. Virginia, 57percent.
This president is going to be on the ballot in hard-foughtswing states, and he s going to be out of touch and out of synchwith those voters. A Gallup poll published Friday found that 26 percent of voters areless likely to vote for the president because of his announcement. The timing of Obama s declaration -- made Wednesday in aone-on-one interview with ABC News anchor Robin Roberts -- openedthe president to accusations of political calculation. He spoke a day after voters in North Carolina, a swing state Obamawon narrowly in 2008, overwhelmingly approved a ban on gaymarriage.
The result revealed conservative momentum in NorthCarolina, hinting that the state might be a lost cause, even ifObama continued to withhold his view. A day after the interview, the president touted his backing of gaymarriage during a fund-raiser at the home of actor George Clooneythat raised almost $15 million for his reelection campaign. The convictions Patrick cited are open to attack, also, sinceObama s support marked another shift on the issue and came afteryears of self-described evolving. He has gone from supporting the redefinition of marriage in 1996as a candidate for [Illinois] Senate, to opposing same-sex marriageas a candidate for both US Senate in 2004 and president in 2008, tonow once again supporting it in 2012, Kris Mineau, president ofthe Massachusetts Family Institute, said in a statement after thepresident s declaration. The president is the ultimate flip-flop-flipper, he added.
How many flips does Mr. Obama get on this issue? Rick Santorum, who was Romney s strongest GOP primary opponent,called gay marriage a very potent weapon that should be used to take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch withthe values of America. Despite these opportunities to criticize the president, Romney andother Republicans have minimized the gay marriage debate, perhapssensing that it ranks lowly on most voters priority lists. Thesame poll that showed a quarter of the electorate is less likely tovote for Obama after his announcement also revealed a much largersegment, 60 percent, is not influenced one way or the other. The Republican strategy seems to be to treat gay marriage as aright-place-right-time topic.
Romney restated his belief that marriage is a relationshipbetween one man and one woman on Saturday when he delivered thecommencement address at Liberty University, a Christian college,but he has mostly avoided the subject unless asked about itdirectly. House Speaker John Boehner said last week that the president cantalk about it all he wants, but that I m going to stay focusedon jobs, thanks. Democrats, too, seem wary of devoting too much chatter to same-sexmarriage, lest they appear to be overlooking the economy. Even as he discussed gay marriage Sunday, Patrick tried toundermine Romney s number one selling point -- that he wouldmanage the nation s economic recovery better than the president.Asked if some people will refuse to vote for Obama after his gaymarriage endorsement, Patrick quickly steered the conversationtoward the economy. Those are voters, I suspect, who are not likely to vote for thepresident anyway, unless they vote their interests, which areeconomic interests, and this president is four-square with them andstanding with them in this election and in office, said Patrick,whose younger daughter is gay.
Even Frank, who is openly gay, defended the rights of individualstates to determine their own marriage laws and did his best towork employment and budget figures into a discussion withRepublican Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. The fact is that the debt is being driven by the Bushadministration s decision to go to war twice, with five big taxcuts for the wealthiest, Frank said. I am trying very hard --and many of us are -- to cut this. Callum Borchers can be reached at callum.borchers@globe.com.
Followhim on Twitter @callumborchers. I am a professional writer from Chemical Projects, which contains a great deal of information about self defence baton , fat bottom girl, welcome to visit!
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