Marriage News Watch: September 29, 2014

Marriage News Watch: March 31, 2014

Marriage News Watch: March 17, 2014

Sorry for the delay...

Marriage News Watch: March 11, 2013

Marriage News Watch: March 3, 2014

Marriage News Watch: November 18, 2013

GOP Numbers Are Getting Even Worse

From ABC News:

A new high of 74 percent of Americans disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling Washington’s budget crisis, up significantly in the past two weeks and far exceeding disapproval of both President Obama and congressional Democrats on the issue.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that criticism of the GOP’s handling of the budget dispute has grown by 11 percentage points since just before the partial government shutdown began, from 63 to 70 and now 74 percent – clearly leaving the party with the lion’s share of blame. Indeed 54 percent now “strongly” disapprove.

See PDF with full results, charts and tables here.

By contrast, 53 percent disapprove of Obama’s work on the issue, essentially flat since the crisis came to a head and a broad 21 points lower than disapproval of the Republicans. Fewer, as well, strongly disapprove of Obama’s performance, 39 percent.

The Democrats in Congress, for their part, remain positioned between the two: Sixty-one percent disapprove of their handling of budget talks in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, unchanged from last week and up 5 points from the week before...

Poll: Most American Catholics Support Marriage Equality

From Catholic Culture.org:  

A majority of Catholics in the United States who attend Mass weekly support same-sex marriage and the ordination of women to the priesthood, according to a Quinnipiac University survey released October 4.

The survey found that 56% of Americans, 53% of Catholics who attend Mass weekly, and 65% of Catholics who attend Mass less frequently would support “a law in your state that would allow same-sex couples to get married.” Support was stronger among Catholics of ages 18-49 (64%) than ages 50-64 (62%) or 65+ (46%).

According to the survey, 72% of Catholic women back same-sex marriage, while 49% of Catholic men do.

Marriage News Watch: October 7, 2013

Quinnipiac Poll Shows Red Flags For the GOP

From the Business Insider:

According to the poll, American voters oppose shutting down the federal government to block implementation of the Affordable Care Act by a significant, 72-22 margin. 

And on another upcoming fight — raising the debt ceiling — Americans oppose using it to stop the health-care law's implementation by a 64-27 margin. 

All of these should be significant red flags for the Republican Party, which polls have shown will take the bulk of the public's blame for the shutdown.And in general, 58% of Americans oppose cutting off funding for Obamacare to tinker with its implementation. 

According to the Quinnipiac poll, Democrats now hold a 9-point advantage in the general Congressional ballot — that is, Americans said they would vote for the Democratic candidate in their district over the Republican candidate by a 43-34 margin. That's the highest it's been all year.

Virginia: McAuliffe (D) Takes 8 Point Lead Over Cuccinelli (R)

From the Washington Post: 

The shift in the race has come almost exclusively from female voters, who prefer McAuliffe by a 24-point margin over Cuccinelli. The candidates were effectively tied among women in a Washington Post poll in May.

McAuliffe’s strength among women is likely due in part to an intense campaign to portray Cuccinelli as a threat to women and the issues they care about most deeply. A new McAuliffe ad, for instance, features a Norfolk OB-GYN speaking directly to the camera about how she is “offended” by Cuccinelli’s position on abortion.

The challenge for Cuccinelli is stark: Nearly half of all voters view him unfavorably, and they trust his opponent as much as or more than the Republican on every major issue in the race, according to the poll. On trust to handle issues of special concern to women, McAuliffe leads Cuccinelli by 23 points. 

Both candidates have very deep flaws (both have favourability numbers that are upside down) and they both have challenges which the article goes into more deeply, but it seems that Cuccenilli's negatives outweigh McAuliffe's.

Poll: Republicans Support Damaging the Economy

From National Memo:

Washington Post’s Greg Sargent summed it up best:

—Republicans are far more likely to oppose raising the debt limit than anyone else; they say “don’t raise it” by 61-25. By contrast, Dems say “raise it “by 62-31, and independents split by 48-46 on raising versus not raising it. 

—Republicans, however, also believe overwhelmingly that not raising it would cause serious economic harm — by 66-27. (Dems and indies tilt the same way.) 

—How to square that? Simple: Among Republicans who believe not raising it would cause serious economic harm, a majority say “don’t raise it” by 53-32. 

By contrast, among Americans overall who say not raising it would cause serious harm, they tilt in favor of raising it by 54-35. Independents who say not raising it would cause serious harm also tilt in favor of raising it by 58-36.

House leaders John Boehner (R-OH) and Eric Cantor (R-VA), accompanied by their enthusiastic conservative colleagues, have said that they are willing to raise the debt ceiling if Obamacare is delayed another year, among other demands. On Thursday, Speaker Boehner, who recently criticized President Obama for not “negotiating” with Republicans, affirmed that he would not go to the White House for any negotiations. He even seemed surprised by the suggestion that he would do his part in negotiating, saying: “Whoa, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that.”

Most Republicans Are Against Defunding Obamacare

Marriage Equality Support in Virginia

From Quinnipiac: 

Virginia voters support 50 - 43 percent allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state. Support is 68 - 26 percent among Democrats and 52 - 39 percent among independent voters. Republicans are opposed 68 - 26 percent. Women back same-sex marriage 55 - 39 percent while men are opposed 49 - 43 percent. White voters support it 51 - 43 percent while black voters are opposed 48 - 42 percent.

Poll: Most Virginians Support Marriage Equality

From the Human Rights Campaign: 

Today HRC President Chad Griffin is on the ground in Richmond to unveil the results of a new, bipartisan poll showing that Virginians are generally supportive of LGBT equality. The poll found a strong majority of Virginians – 55 percent – support marriage equality. That number jumps to 71 percent for Virginians under the age of 30, indicative of the direction Virginia is moving. A third of Republicans in the commonwealth also support marriage for loving, committed same-sex couples.

~

Additional findings from the poll include:

Support for marriage equality is high throughout most of Virginia. It stands at:

• 68 percent in Northern Virginia

• 53 percent in Central Virginia

• 51 percent in Eastern Virginia

• 58 percent of African Americans in Virginia support marriage equality.

In 2006, a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was passed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Also of note is that this shift is happening just as Virginia is in the midst of a statewide election. On the one hand, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Terry MacAuliffe, supports marriage equality. On the other hand, his Republican counterpart, Ken Cuccinelli (as well as the Republican candidates for Lt. Governor and Attorney General, E.W. Jackson and Mark Obenshain respectively) stand firmly opposed to marriage equality. This, combined with the on-going corruption issues being faced by Cuccinelli, will be a major headache for the Republican candidates over the coming months as the debate about marriage rights continues to rage.

SCOTUS Marriage Rulings Are In Line With Americans

USA Today performed a poll that, among other things, states that the Supreme Court's rulings on California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA) are largely in line with the sentiments of America. Here are the highlights:

• 55% of Americans support the legal recognition of marriage equality (an all-time high) compared to 40% against.
• Opposition to marriage equality in the South has fallen below 50%.
• The only demographic groups who don't have majority support are Republicans (68% opposed) and seniors (51% opposed).
• 48% agree with the court's ruling on DoMA compared to 43% who disagree.

The poll also addressed other Supreme Court Rulings which you can see HERE.

Gallup: Democrats More Favorable Than GOP

From Gallup:

Here are the highlights:
-As you can see, the favourability of both parties is under water.
-Both parties have seen falls in favourability of late.
-While the Democrats' fall has been steeper, the current ratings for the GOP is the lowest it has been since May of 2013.

Marriage News Watch: June 17, 2013

Marriage News Watch: June 10, 2013

Marriage News Watch: June 3, 2013