There's been a bit of an uproar here, as many of us predicted. Everyone wants to blame the gays for the election losses. It's understandable to want to blame someone for screwing up, because people like Rand Paul got elected, and it's difficult to make sense of something that horrendous. However, it's inaccurate to say that gays, one of the Democrats' most reliable voting blocs, cost Democrats the election because only 68% of us voted for Democrats this time instead of 75%.
First of all, the exit poll data shows that THREE PER CENT of those polled identified as LG or B, whereas 97% identified as straight. This is true for both the 2010 exit poll and the 2006 exit poll. Also, in 2006, Democrats got 52% of the straight vote. And remember that 2006 was sort of an outlier election - we simply don't usually win by as much as we did that year, on a normal year. In 2010, only 46% of straight people voted Democratic. So where'd all the straight people go?
Keep in mind that the electorate was 97% straight and 3% gay. This means that "46% of straight people" and "68% of gay people" are very different numbers. A whole lot more straight people voted Republican than did the gays.
Since the Democrats got 75% of the gay vote in 2006 and 68% of the gay vote in 2010, that's a loss of 7%. Gays are of course still one of the Democrats' most reliable voting blocs, it's just that there was a 7% difference this year. 52% of straights voted for Democrats in 2006, compared to 46% in 2010. That's a 6% drop. But since the electorate was 97% straight, that 6% is a bigger number than the 7% of gays.
Interesting, right? Gays are being bashed for a 7% drop in support for Democrats, but straights aren't being called out for a 6% drop in support. So, why did so many straight people turn to the GOP? Why vote against your self-interests? Don't you know those people are bad for you? I mean, my god. While straight support for Democrats hovers around 40-50%, gay support for Democrats is around 75-80! More straight people should be voting the right way, I think. There are more of you than there are of us. You could make a bigger difference than we could, yet you insist upon giving Republicans your vote.
I don't get it.
Democratic support from heterosexuals is trending downward at a fast pace. Even a majority of women now support the GOP. Someone needs to have a sit-down talk with heterosexuals and explain to them what's up. They need to be told they're doing the wrong thing and screwing the country over. They should correct their ways or some of us might say "I can no longer support straight issues." Why support a group who increasingly votes for evil people?
I just hope straight people don't cost us 2012 as well.
2006 Exit Poll
2010 Exit Poll