Michael Steele, pretend RNC chair:
Our party platform articulates our opposition to gay marriage and civil unions, positions shared by many Americans. I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman and strongly disagree with Maine’s decision to legalize gay marriage.
I'm glad Steele used "many Americans", rather than "majority of Americans", because that is yet another issue in which the GOP is increasingly out-of-touch with America.
There has been a ton of polling recently on the issue, and while the amount of support for gay marriage hovers between 38-49 percent depending on the poll (certainly not majority position, though rising), civil unions enjoy solid majority support (around 60 percent).
What's worse for the GOP is the age distribution of pro-gay marriage Americans:
Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday say marriages between gay or lesbian couples should not be recognized as valid, with 44 percent suggesting they should be considered legal.
But among those 18 to 34 years old, 58 percent said same-sex marriages should be legal. That number drops to 42 percent among respondents aged 35 to 49, and to 41 percent for those aged 50 to 64. Only 24 percent of Americans 65 and older support recognizing same-sex marriages, according to the poll.
Republicans are an old party, and their retrograde bigoted positions on equality are repulsive to younger voters. Obama won the youth vote 66-32, and nothing the Republicans have done since then have made them more palatable to those voters. In fact, by doubling down on hatred, Republicans are merely cementing the millennial generation into the (D) column for years to come.
So Michael, it's true that many Americans agree with the Republican position. In fact, per the polling, that number appears to be about 38 percent, or about 114 million Americans. That's a lot!
But that's not 50 percent, which is useless to you in elections, and it's a shrinking number as new youngsters reach voting age and the seniors pass on. Time is the bigot's worst enemy.
I'm just happy that what makes Boss Limbaugh happy, and what's best for the long-term health of the Republican Party are so diametrically opposed.