No matter what they tell you about their high-minded ideals and commitment to public service, little matters more to politicians than getting re-elected. A new study, released today by Freedom to Marry (the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide) is very important to state officeholders everywhere.
Contrary to some political expectations, voting to support the freedom to marry and opposing anti-marriage measures helps rather than hurts politicians, a new study unequivocally shows.
The study includes votes in state houses in 21 states, in all four regions of the United States. Votes for marriage equality and votes to discriminate against same-sex couples and their children were included in this groundbreaking study that your state representative should know about:
A review of all of these votes from 2005 to the present shows that legislators who vote to end marriage discrimination for same-sex couples are consistently re-elected. The success of more than 1,100 state legislators who voted to support the freedom to marry stands in bold contrast to the commonly held belief that supporting marriage equality ends political campaigns and careers.
In fact, these legislators are re-elected no matter what party they represent or if they changed their vote from opposing to supporting marriage equality. Even better, legislators who run for higher office win after voting in favor of marriage for same-sex couples.
Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, calls this a leadership test. I call it a political survival test.
“For politicians, standing up for marriage equality is not touching a third-rail, rather, it is a track to re-election – and, happily, the path toward inclusion that America is traveling.”
Next time your state legislator demurs when asked about marriage equality, saying he or she doesn’t think voters will re-elect after a pro-equality vote, please point to this study (pdf here). Remind your representative that while s/he is not alone in being worried about re-election (hah!) s/he has lots of company. Here’s Rep. Teresa R Sayward, GOP-North Country, NY:
“The night I took the vote in June, I was told I would never be elected again. I’m running unopposed.”
Voters never punish legislators for their pro-equality votes. They reward these votes:
– After marriage equality votes in California, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, 100% of the legislators who voted for marriage equality (499 officeholders!) were re-elected after their pro-marriage-equality votes.
– Flip-flops are okay too! 100% of the Massachusetts officeholders whose position evolved to favor marriage equality were re-elected.
– In 2008, 100% of the legislators who voted to eliminate marriage discrimination in the lower house who sought a seat in the state senate won.
This includes 8 new state senators in California and Massachusetts. In addition, in 2007 special elections, legislators won both a state senate seat and a U.S. House of Representatives seat after voting to support marriage equality from the lower house; these two legislators went on to win re-election to these higher offices in the 2008 election.
– More broadly, across 17 states since 2005, not one of 664 legislators who voted against any number of marriage discrimination amendments lost re-election.
Even in Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, where discriminatory amendments were approved by the legislature and the electorate, not one legislator who opposed the amendment and ran for re-election was defeated. In Iowa, where an anti-LGBT amendment died in the state senate, only one legislator who opposed it lost; marriage equality was not an issue in the campaign.
Legislators really want to get re-elected. They are loathe to cast a vote that will hurt their chances of re-election. State legislators need to understand that far from being a "third rail," marriage equality is the wave of the future, and their future re-election favors a favorable vote.
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This is fabulous, Teddy!
Isn’t this the best news? I was so excited to hear about this study. It is the kind of thing each of us can take to reluctant legislators when a vote comes before them: “Marriage equality helps you!”
This is very encouraging and hopefully is the wave of the future.
At present, I would think that we should be careful in the way that the issue is presented to voters. Opposition to marriage equality remains the majority opinion.
Maybe someday all people will be accepted as people by all people. It’s all in what children are taught from the beginning.
South Pacific, “You’ve got to be Taught”.
done
Marriage equality never seems to be on the legislative agenda here in Illinois. Perhaps because our pols are too preoccupied trying to avoid being indicted.
I just think anyone under 58 (+/-) support equal marriage rights. The republicans are so far back… Granted, there are the young rednecks, but they need to get waxed a few times right about now.
Can we get Rachel to cover this please!
Ya know, why can’t you make the damn choice of who you want to marry.
It’s your damn problem…sometimes it lasts and sometimes it doesn’t…as to who you choose to partner up with in life.
Can’t we even have that? They have to regulate and control our thinking and our sexuality? I thought the stopped when you were no longer a minor!
F them. Fight on.
How the F simple is that?
You can send her a link to this post at rachel@msnbc.com
Well, that is a plus.
To hirsute for one waxing to do it?
Would be if we had equality already.
The examples of Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee were heartening, too — even though the anti-marriage equality amendments passed the legislature (and the electorate voted to enshrine them in the constitution!) no legislators who voted against them were punished at the polls. In Texas! In Virginia! In Tennessee!
Done.
Do you have a marriage equality organization in Illinois? Sometimes these things need to start at the grassroots — maybe you need to start one!
This fact is the deal clincher! The Religious Right of course won’t believe this study of course they are use to GOP studies that are cooked they believe that all studies like theirs are biased.
Such faith in their fellow men. Such faith in scholarship! They believe in neither! The authoritarian personalty lacks trust of anything that goes against the group even facts.
I can never get my Mac Mail to work can anyone else contact her?
Don’t know why I hadn’t googled it before. There is actually quite a bit, including this.
Teddy, do you have a link to the full report? All I could find on their website was an exec summary – I was curious how they selected the states for the study.
when I click on that link it takes me to “Windows Mail.” I have a PC with Windows Vista Home Premium. I use AOL, not Windows Mail. Can anybody tell me a way to reset the default so that when I click on links like that one, it sends them via AOL? When I try to send it by Windows Mail, nothing happens.
or, tell me a way to make Windows Mail work without making it my e-mail carrier…
Should be able to set a default from within AOL, no?
I have no idea…
Not a Windows user but do you have a right-click option to copy the link to the clipboard? Then you could paste it into your AOL mail.
It has fully occurred to me that the far Religious Right has finally run its course. They are a minority. Time, technology, and modernity has passed them by. Truly. Their archaic beliefs are just that. The world and the US and progress, due to communication…maybe the toobz just left them wallowing in their hope for rapture…or segregation…or whatever they want.
There will surely be some stragglers that will do some bad deeds to stop the progress of the universe, but guess what…there is backup…It will ultimately be like some feudal lord trying to tackle somebody for living in Manhattan on their lands that were long relinquished.
We are evolving…there will be some major and painful fallbacks for sure..but they can’t stop progress..no matter how much they try to hide in their cocoons of misguided faith that includes acceptance of the demise of others unlike them. They are finally a minority! The kids get it. They will change. The elders are frightened….and still dangerous.
Thank you!
Rachel reads — a LOT — and I think she keeps a keen eye on her email inbox for stories, too. This would be an important one for her to cover. Although I fear that she and Keith will be all-Bush-alla-time for the next week. He bears watching, but tonight’s two hours were a little much for my taste. There’s lots more going on in the world that we should know about, not just Bush’s continual valedictories.
Looks like LS did, thanks.
(I also don’t use MacMail, which launches when I click on an email address. What I do instead is just cut and paste the email address into my non-Mac email, being careful not to click on it)
In MA actually many in the leg. who opposed marriage lost in the next cycle. The GBLT community and it’s supporters worked hard to get pro-marriage candidates elected. I think the anti-marriage legislators underestimated how hard the pro folks would work to get them unseated.
And a number of people’s votes were flipped when time and effort were focused on the very human element of getting them to know— face to face— gay couples who, lo and behold, turned out to be just regular folks. This was the part of the campaign over 3 years that made the real difference.
Going to try thanks
OK, but how do you link the article to your e-mail?
Copy and paste the URL into the body of the email.
Is there are reason we don’t have Rachel and Keith and Schuster on our Spotlight list? That would seem to make sense and make it easier.
My impression was that ALL states with votes since 2005 were included. Only some are included in the summary. But the only link I can find is the Exec Summary, I think (the pdf linked in my post). If you wanted to see more info, I am sure you could contact them on their website: editor1@freedomtomarry.org
That makes sense – that they would have included all states with votes.
Will follow up at the website – thanks!
Done:)
Somehow, I get the impression that Shuster and Maddow check in with FDL for stories and links, or at least their assistants do, because stuff comes up all the time…same, of course with Olbermann..I’m sure of that.
Obviously…since Jane was the first one on Shuster’s new “segment” the other day…
I second the question to the high command.
Are you High Command Ted?
OT
New FCC chief, Julius Genachowski
Looks like we’re going to have Obama’s whole Harvard class serving in one capacity or another. I do hope that Copps and Edelstein stay on the FCC board. They have been fighting for us through the dry years against pretty stiff odds.
Yes!
Michael Kopps is really one of the good guys.
Contact info for the Spotlight Project can be found here:
http://www.thespotlightproject.org/contact.php
Mr. TBogg is front paged.
Warning: set down your beverages before clicking.
Well, you’ll make a rope of words and strangle this business!
I put in a request to the crew about this. I don’t even know who maintains that!
Nope
Yes, it will be great to have their institutional memory onboard.
Very happy to see Cathie “We use Meet the Press to Control the Message” Martin’s husband Kevin leaving, though. What a disaster he has been on the FCC!
No kidding! And, before him Powell’s son.
What is up with all the connections.D’Oh.
You’ve certainly found a correlation, but does voting for marriage equality get you re-elected, or does being virtually certain of re-election free you up to do the right thing?
While I would like for your argument to be correct, I’m kind of wondering whether legislators in safe seats found it easier to vote for marriage equality, while those with an uphill climb pulled an Obama and ducked the issue.
I think the point of the study is that people don’t get defeated when they vote for marriage equality, even in states which eventually vote to enshrine discrimination in their constitution. There’s long been an urban legend that voting for marriage equality is risky — this study proves that is not the case. In fact, voting for marriage equality results in being re-elected, the holy grail for politicians.
Sure, there might be something to “reflecting my constituency” but for legislators on the fence, this will be helpful ammunition.