Gay marriage and the debates

[BM]

Since the last debate is foreign policy I guess this isn't going to be addressed at all? Weird.

[7,052,770]

Ditto for climate change

(I suppose it could be brought up in the foreign policy debate, but I doubt it will be.)

[Fritz]

The position taken by both sides is pretty clear.  Re-hashing this issue in debate serves little point.

[BM]

Not really. The president has a new position, one neither a president nor a major party presidential candidate has ever taken before. Romney has adopted the generic Republican stance but he wasn't always that way so that's noteworthy too.

It's also the biggest cultural issue of the times. I at least expected it in the VP debate which are usually just follow an issue by issue laundry list.

[Bacon King]

Ditto for climate change

(I suppose it could be brought up in the foreign policy debate, but I doubt it will be.)

Maybe a question about COP18 in Doha next month? (Probably not)

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Two reasons probably:

1. It's a pretty easy question to answer. Everyone knows the Republican candidate opposes it and the Democratic one supports it. Obama made huge news when he announced his support, so I am sure most have heard that.

2. It might hurt Obama. While gay marriage is gaining support, the majority still oppose it given the referendum results last year, so it might not be a good thing for him to announce in a debate with 60 million watching that he supports it. There are plenty of Democrats that oppose gay marriage even to this day, especially the hispanics and blacks.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I doubt there's going to be a majority in either house of Congress for repealing/modifying DOMA in the next four years, so the president has limited influence on this issue.  The real fight now is at the state level.

[Sasquatch]

Ditto for climate change

(I suppose it could be brought up in the foreign policy debate, but I doubt it will be.)

If climate change isn't brought up in a foreign policy debate, then there is truly no hope.

[Cliffy]

It's a losing issue or they would have brought it up, he only publicly came out of the proverbial closet for gay donations.

[Mr. Morden]

The domestic policy debate hosted by Lehrer was almost exclusively about economic issues rather than social issues, and the type of swing voter they got for the town hall debate probably doesn't care that much about gay marriage.

In general, they've been steering clear of social issues in the debates.  Would we have even gotten an abortion question in the VP debate if the issue hadn't been stirred up by Akin in August?

[LiberalJunkie]

he only publicly came out of the proverbial closet for gay donations.

[Cliffy]

he only publicly came out of the proverbial closet for gay donations.

Yeah really.  Are you kidding this is chicago politics, they don't care about gay marriage unless it benefits them.   

[5280]

Social issues are not important this election cycle, the only thing I care about is getting drugs legalized. Move along, nothing to see here.

[Lief 🗽]

Well, tens of millions of gays, women, immigrants, etc. and their allies disagree with you bro.

[5280]

Well, tens of millions of gays, women, immigrants, etc. and their allies disagree with you bro.

That sounds good on paper, but you can't guarantee they will ALL make it out to the polls on election night.  If they're more concerned about their bodies than their pockets, they're sorry POS.

[Holmes]

I don't mind. With four states voting on it in November and three of them probably approving it, we don't need some cranky old man yelling at clouds about the issue and turn people against it. So I'm fine.

[old timey villain]

Funny how the Republican view of gay marriage has gone from, "Standing our ground on traditional marriage is important for America," in 2004 to, "Oh, social issues don't matter now. It's all about jobs," in 2012. I think it's very telling.

[afleitch]

Well, tens of millions of gays, women, immigrants, etc. and their allies disagree with you bro.

That sounds good on paper, but you can't guarantee they will ALL make it out to the polls on election night.  If they're more concerned about their bodies than their pockets, they're sorry POS.

Gay mariage is very much about peoples pockets! It's a financial issue; gay couples have to jump through hoops that other people don't, in order to secure their financial future they are not allowed to get married.

[Kung Fu Kenny]

Social issues are not important this election cycle, the only thing I care about is getting drugs legalized. Move along, nothing to see here.

Social issues literally do not matter in terms of how Congress addresses issues. To make a campaign about whether someone supports an issue which makes up for less than a percentage of the bills introduced in Congress over this session is really, really unfortunate. The economy is, has and always will be (I hope) the number one issue.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

he only publicly came out of the proverbial closet for gay donations.

Yeah really.  Are you kidding this is chicago politics, they don't care about gay marriage unless it benefits them.  

[Ogre Mage]

Well, tens of millions of gays, women, immigrants, etc. and their allies disagree with you bro.

That sounds good on paper, but you can't guarantee they will ALL make it out to the polls on election night.  If they're more concerned about their bodies than their pockets, they're sorry POS.

Are you female, gay, and/or a new Latino immigrant to the U.S.?  Because your post shows stunning stupidity about the socioeconomic relevance of these so-called "social issues."  For instance, an unwanted pregnancy can have a huge economic impact on a woman.  Medical care for a pregnancy isn't free.  Pregnancy can temporarily prevent a woman from working, not everyone is Ann Romney who can afford to take time off whenever she wants.

[RI]

Gay marriage is one of the least important big issues in American politics.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Both candidates have good reasons for not wanting to talk much about the issue to a general audience. Which is an interesting development in itself, actually.

[Ogre Mage]

Gay marriage is one of the least important big issues in American politics.

I'm guessing you're not LGBT.

[LastVoter]

Social issues are not important this election cycle, the only thing I care about is getting drugs legalized. Move along, nothing to see here.

Is race a social or economic issue?