Compiled by Badpuppy's GayToday
From Log Cabin Republicans Reports
Sen. Trent Lott's views on homosexuality didn't play well with GOP voters in 1998 |
Washington, D.C.-- In a poll conducted by American Viewpoint, an Alexandria,
Virginia-based Republican polling firm, an overwhelming majority of Americans,
including Republicans, would not support candidates for public office who
share the public views of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Missipppi) on gays.
The survey comes at a time of upheaval in the Congressional GOP leadership
following the disaster affecting its 1998 elections. |
The survey underscores the damage done to the GOP by its close association
to religious right organizations and leaders like Gary Bauer and James
Dobson, who financed a multi-million dollar advertisement campaign during
the election season which linked gays to disease and praised Lott's
widely-reported comparison of gays to alcoholics and kleptomaniacs in June.
The ads featured football player Reggie White, who has also likened
homosexuality to a disease, and individuals who claimed to have been
"cured" of homosexuality.
|
"This poll not only shows the damage wrought by Gary Bauer's ad campaign on
the Republican Party," said Richard Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin
Republicans. "It suggests that we shouldn't have a Senate Majority Leader
who Republicans have to run against out on the campaign trail and maybe he
should step aside. |
Reggie White |
And if Trent Lott does stay on as Majority Leader, and
he doesn't want to be the last Republican majority leader for a while, he'd
better reach out to the one million gay Americans who voted for Republican
candidates who managed to distance themselves from him in this election.
Anyone who thought bashing gays was a smart way to rally the so-called base
of the party severely miscalculated, as even conservatives and church-going
Christians reject the message."
Across a wide range of demographic groups, the taint of Lott's views
clearly inflicts damage on other candidates for public office. An
overwhelming majority of Republicans, working women, young voters, and even
those who attend church with a high frequency said they were less likely to
vote for candidates that agree with Lott and the ad campaign his comments
inspired.
"The party leadership is at a turning point, and there is nothing ambiguous
about these polling numbers," Tafel said. "The Republican leadership
embraces anti-gay politics at its own peril from this point on, as it
clearly will doom candidates down ballot in the next election. Gary Bauer's
ad campaign clearly bombed from a political standpoint, and this idea of
"curing" gays is a disastrous political message, even among church-going
Christians."
The national survey of 1,000 Americans who voted on November 3,
conducted for Log Cabin Republicans, found the following results:
Question:
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott recently said that homosexuals
have a disease much like alcoholics and kleptomaniacs.
Are you more likely or less likely to support a candidate for public office
who agrees with these remarks?
| All 1998 Voters: | 1998 GOP Voters: |
| 69% Less Likely | 60% Less Likely |
| 20% More Likely | 27% More Likely |
| GOP Women: | GOP Aged 18-29: |
| 64% Less Likely | 68% Less Likely |
| 23% More Likely | 18% More Likely |
| High Frequency Church-Goers | "Devout Right" (Self-Described) |
| 60% Less Likely | 51% Less Likely |
| 26% More Likely | 36% More Likely |
|
Working Women: |
| 78% Less Likely |
| 14% More Likely |
| "Somewhat Conservative" (Self-Described) |
| 62% Less Likely |
| 25% More Likely |
| "Very Conservative" (Self-Described) |
|
49% Less Likely |
|
36% More Likely |
|
Regions: |
|
|
| East: | 74% Less | 15% More |
| South: | 66% Less | 22% More |
| Midwest: | 68% Less | 20% More |
West: | 67% Less | 21% More |
|
