08/22/2008
Poll: Majority Would Support Openly Gay Presidential Candidate
A new Zogby poll of 1,089 adults reveals that a majority of Americans would support an openly gay presidential candidate, according to the Victory Fund:
"More than six in ten U.S. voters say they could support an openly gay candidate for president of the United States, and 70% say they’d support the appointment of an openly gay cabinet secretary, according to a new nationwide poll from Zogby International...Sixty-six percent of poll respondents said they could support an openly gay vice-presidential candidate, while 69% said a gay candidate for U.S. Senate could get their vote. The poll of 1,089 adults was conducted August 13 to 15 for the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute (GLLI), a non-partisan leadership development organization."
The Victory Fund adds: "More than 415 openly LGBT elected officials serve at every level of government throughout the United States, a ten-fold increase in just the last two decades. At the federal level, five openly gay or lesbian Members have served in the U.S. House of Representatives, including current Reps. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Both are Democrats. No openly LGBT candidate has yet been elected to the U.S. Senate."
Posted 10:40 AM EST by Andy Towle in Democratic Party, News | Permalink
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Oh, and for someone possessing so much loathing and disgust for the gay community in general, perhaps you should think about retiring as their activist.
Posted by: Wes | Aug 22, 2008 1:15:58 PM
Also, I'm of the opinion that drag queens and transgenders are often among the bravest of people around. I don't see you're claiming their bigger 'balls' as some kind of insult, because I don't see them as helpless or cowardly to begin with.
Posted by: Wes | Aug 22, 2008 1:19:05 PM
"What are we supposed to do, tell them to vote for the gay at gunpoint?"
SOUND LIKE A PLAN!!!!
"I'm glad you're a frantic gay activist,"
Frantic? LOL!
" Sorry if you can't handle a simple disagreement based in reality without acting like a child"
"I am Eloise and I am six."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPrpoT31Rxk
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Aug 22, 2008 1:36:55 PM
I guess if Idaho of all places, can elect Larry Craig then maybe there's hope, but we've only elected one Catholic president so far, no women, Jews or blacks yet--we'll have to wait our turn.
Posted by: anon | Aug 22, 2008 1:46:53 PM
Fucking absurd. Zogby just jumped the polling shark.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Aug 22, 2008 1:50:15 PM
This poll doesn't mean to suggest a gay candidate could win in 2008. It does tell us that Americans at least want to appear fair. That's a start. The progress for gay people in this country over the past few decades is substantial and undeniable. There's no reason to think that will stop, unless of course we all turn really bitter, angry and hopeless like a lot of the commenters on this thread.
Posted by: Denis | Aug 22, 2008 1:56:24 PM
Denis, I totally agree with that. Just the fact that they feel pressure to appear tolerant is substantial.
But I honestly can't bring myself to believe a gay candidate could win in 2008. Not trying to be pessimistic at all, just what I actually think.
I do often take issue with gays (and other minorities) who, although justifiably upset with the progress yet to be made, take for granted the massive amount that has already been made and has allowed gay people to live in a way we have never in modern history.
Posted by: Wes | Aug 22, 2008 2:58:59 PM
Would I vote for an openly gay candidate? It depends, really. First, show me his political platform.
Adapting a phrase from one of the candidates of this election: one should vote on policies, not sexual inclinations.
Posted by: blue dog | Aug 22, 2008 3:35:32 PM
Would I vote for an openly gay candidate? It depends, really: first, show me his political platform. Would I vote for a Log Cabin Republican, for instance?
Adapting a phrase from one of the candidates of this election: one should vote on policies, not sexual inclinations.
Posted by: Barbary | Aug 22, 2008 3:38:58 PM
"Adapting a phrase from one of the candidates of this election: one should vote on policies, not sexual inclinations."
This is a good point, but I think the purpose was really to see if people would support a candidate who is gay, not if people would support a candidate because they are gay.
Posted by: Wes | Aug 22, 2008 3:42:52 PM
Where was this poll taken? A Gay Pride Parade in San Franciso? Ha! It is a sad fact that I can't take a poll like this seriously. It is another sad fact that I'm probably right not to. America has a lot to get over before it gets over the gay issue.
Posted by: Feebee | Aug 22, 2008 3:43:42 PM
I look forward to not only a day when we can have a gay President in the White House, but also a day when the media stops reporting on something as flimsy, inconsequential and mercurial as poll results.
Posted by: Dave | Aug 22, 2008 4:10:27 PM
maybe 6 in 10 voters here in San Francisco, CA... but I doubt they counted voters in Nebraska (the red state I escaped from)
Posted by: fanboi | Aug 23, 2008 5:42:03 AM