Some hope same-sex marriage ruling helps drive voters to midterm polls

As the summer campaign season barrels into high gear, the
overturning of California’s ban on same-sex marriage last week puts an already
contentious debate in prime position to be sparked anew among national
congressional candidates.

But while Democratic groups who support gay marriage have
been quick to use U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling to try to
spur voters to donate to candidates, Republicans have preferred to stay focused on
issues like the economy rather than delve into the socially conservative
areas that have cost the party centrist voters in the past.

{mosads}Earlier this week Walker overturned California’s Proposition
8 — an initiative that state voters approved banning same-sex marriage — saying
that the measure violated constitutional due process and the equal protection
of citizens.

In the hours following the ruling, Equality California — a
staunch advocate for same-sex marriage — sent out an e-mail blast to thousands
of voters asking them to donate money to help “defeat anti-equality candidates.”

Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California,
said the ruling will help drive turnout within the gay and lesbian community,
especially in support of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Palm Springs’s Steve
Pougnet — the openly gay Democratic candidate pitted against Rep. Mary Bono
Mack (R-Calif.).

“I think it’s a small minority that gets angry when a court
makes a decision they don’t agree with and I think those right-wing voters are
turning out regardless in this election; the trick is going to be to get the
rest of the voters out,” Kors told The Hill. “It’s our job to get more moderate
and more progressive voters out and I think this decision will help.”

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC),
which is backing Boxer’s opponent Carly Fiorina, said it is more intent to
focus on the economy as a voter-driven issue.

“To be sure, there may be other issues such as Proposition 8 that will come up during the campaign, but ultimately they will be
overshadowed by the No. 1 issue on the minds of voters, which is the
direction of the California economy,” said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the
NRSC.

The head of the most prominent Republican pro-gay and -lesbian group said that because the GOP took a plethora of congressional casualties
in the 2008 election, the party has made a concerted move away from focusing on
socially divisive issues, such as the debate over whether to sanction gay
marriage. 

“Having our teeth kicked in during the 2008 election helped
many Republicans realize identity politics had a diminishing return,” said R.
Clarke Cooper, the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans.

“Moving forward, the Republicans can win by offering
alternatives to the lackluster and big-government policies of the Democrats.
Better for fellow Republicans to engage voters on common themes. Everyone is
concerned about the economy and everyone would like to see market-driven job
growth.”

The Stonewall Democrats — a national Democratic activist
group in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality
rights — agreed with the Log Cabin Republicans that same-sex marriage is not
the firebrand issue it once was. But the group said that it needs to guard
against the LGBT community viewing the recent ruling as a victory, and thereby
becoming not as apt to turn out to vote in November. 

“Given the direction that public opinion is going for
marriage equality around the country, I think the steam is starting to go out
of using marriage for same-sex couples as a divisive issue in elections,” said
Michael Mitchell, the executive director of the Stonewall Democrats.

“Our job is to remind people that we can’t let Congress flip
into the hands of people who are working against our full equality,” said
Mitchell, adding that the group is working through a local affiliate group to
donate money and manpower to support Pougnet’s campaign.

The ruling and the varied partisan reactions come as the
Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network announced plans to extensively lobby senators this month in 10 states, asking
them to support the repeal the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law that bars openly gay
people from serving in the military, which The Hill reported last week.

Anthony Woods, an openly gay former Democratic congressional
candidate in California’s 10th district who was discharged from the
Army under the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” rule, said that the issue of same-sex
marriage is more likely to propel Republicans to the polls than Democrats, now
that Walker’s ruling overturned the ban. To prevent this lackadaisical turnout,
it’s imperative that groups like Stonewall Democrats reach out to their base, he said.

“Liberals could think, ‘We finally got this disgusting law
overturned and now we don’t have to worry about it as much,’ ” Woods told The
Hill.

Woods added that Republicans would be wise not to posture on
the recent ruling on Proposition 8.

“If voters see Fiorina, or any Republican candidate for that
matter, really focusing on wedge issues based on social matters, they’re not
going to want to hear it,” he said. “I think that would actually lead to
Boxer’s advantage, or any Democrat, if a Republican really chose to focus on
this sort of firebrand social issue.”