Most Want Ban on Same-Sex Marriage, Gibson: Public "Evenly Split" --6/6/2006
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2. Kathy "I'm a Sandinista" Griffin Returns Tuesday to Bravo Channel
3. "Top Ten Surprises in Al Gore's Global Warming Movie"
Gibson next relayed what Stephanopoulos characterized as the Democratic spin. Gibson inquired, "why, if the votes are not there for this constitutional amendment, does the Senate spend three days on this issue when there are a lot of issues that perhaps they could do something about it?" Stephanopoulos answered, "The Democrats think their best issue is misplaced priorities, and they say exactly what you say: The Senate shouldn't be spending their time on this when you have high gas prices and a war raging in Iraq." [This item was posted Monday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org: newsbusters.org ] The ABC News survey determined the public is a bit closer on the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, with 42 percent in support compared to 51 percent who prefer the issue be left to the states. But Gibson didn't appear to be referring to that when he contended that "the polls show Americans are fairly evenly split on this issue," especially since Stephanopoulos responded with poll findings about the level of public opposition to same-sex marriage, not the specific amendment. Filling in the ratio alluded to by Stephanopoulos in outlining the intensity of views on whether same-sex marriage should be illegal or legal, the PDF of the poll results recounted how "people who 'strongly' oppose gay marriage -- 51 percent of the public -- outnumber strong supporters by 2-1." For the ABCNews.com article about the poll: abcnews.go.com For the PDF of poll results: abcnews.go.com For more examples of network distortion of polls on same-sex marriage, check Tim Graham's NewsBusters posting on Monday's morning shows: newsbusters.org A transcript from the June 5 World News Tonight, which led with the same-sex marriage topic, as provided by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth who corrected the closed-captioning against the video: Charles Gibson, in opening teaser: "Tonight, the marriage amendment. President Bush calls for an amendment to the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Why does he raise this issue now?" Gibson led his newscast: "Good evening. President Bush today called for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Just two years ago, he said he would not do so because there were not enough votes to pass such an amendment. But two things have changed since then. One, judges in a number of states have ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. And two, the President's popularity is at an all-time low. So we start with ABC's senior national correspondent, Jake Tapper."
Charles Gibson then turned to George Stephanopoulos in DC:
That blast was a runner-up for the Barbra Streisand Political IQ Award for Celebrity Vapidity in the MRC's Best Notable Quotables of 2005. For audio/video: www.mrc.org In a NewsBusters posting (newsbusters.org ), the MRC's Tim Graham asked: "So what's with the I'm-a-Sandinista line? Is it funny to align yourselves with overthrown (by vote) communist dictatorships? A little Googling brought me back home to the January 23 CyberAlert, where I learned this Sandinista line is apparently a regular Griffin riff, as she described her approach to doing comedy for USO tours for the troops in Iraq: "My politics are so far to the left I'm not even a Democrat, I'm like a Sandinista at this point. So nobody wants to hear my blue state liberal crap over there. So I try to keep a lid on it and just try and make them laugh and do a good show."
Indeed, that remark came on the January 20 Nightline in which Griffin falsely charged that Rush Limbaugh has not visited troops in harms way overseas. The January 23 CyberAlert recounted: For more: www.mrc.org For a video clip: newsbusters.org
For the June 2 Washington Post article on her: www.washingtonpost.com
From the June 5 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Surprises in Al Gore's Global Warming Movie." Late Show home page: www.cbs.com 10. The role of Al Gore was played by Bruce Willis 9. During summer months, Al and Tipper host nude barbecues 8. Hilarious outtake of Al Gore saying, "Wobal Glarming" 7. It's a musical 6. Refers to Arizona as being "Hotter than Tipper's ass" 5. Claims global warming melted Kenny Rogers' face 4. Blames the crisis on a creepy Albino 3. The scientist who supports all his claims is Al Gore in a mustache 2. Best solution is to contribute heavily to Gore-In-2008.com 1. It felt longer than the Florida recount
-- Brent Baker
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A new ABC News poll found that by a 22-point margin -- 58 to 36 percent -- a solid majority of Americans believe "same-sex marriage should be illegal," yet, on Monday's World News Tonight, ABC anchor Charles Gibson declared that "the polls show Americans are fairly evenly split on this issue." ABCNews.com headlined its story, "Most Oppose Gay Marriage; Fewer Back an Amendment," and reporter Jake Tapper pointed out how "forty-five of fifty states have passed either constitutional amendments or laws banning same-sex marriage, including in Democratic-leaning states Oregon and California." Nonetheless, a seemingly befuddled Gibson asked George Stephanopoulos: "Why does the White House think this is a political winner for the President if indeed we're split?" Stephanopoulos explained that "the number of Americans who are strongly opposed to gay marriage is more than twice the size of the number who are strongly for it, and that group of voters who want to block gay marriage is three times as likely to vote on the issue." 
From the White House, Jake Tapper began: "Charlie, the President's critics say Mr. Bush spent the day putting important issues, such as the war in Iraq, on the back burner. The President met with religious leaders today in order to put a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on the front burner. 
Tapper: "Shortly after the President's remarks today, the Senate got down to business. Passage is highly unlikely. Amending the Constitution requires a daunting two-thirds majorities in the Senate and House and three-quarters of the fifty state legislatures. According to a new ABC News poll, 58 percent of Americans say same-sex marriage should be illegal, but only 42 percent favor amending the Constitution; 51 percent say it should be up to the individual states. No one knows what this amendment would mean for couples such as John Meunier and Jim Flanagan, who were married two years ago in Massachusetts." 
Stephanopoulos: "Because, Charlie, the politics of this are all about intensity. And according to our poll, the number of Americans who are strongly opposed to gay marriage is more than twice the size of the number who are strongly for it, and that group of voters who want to block gay marriage is three times as likely to vote on the issue. So even though you're not going to see the President spending a lot of public time on this after today, the Republicans are going to zero in on those motivated voters with targeted radio ads, with mailings, especially in rural areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri, where the incumbent's in tight races." 
