I’m going to build on something Gil Smart of the Sunday News wrote today. The Pennsylvania Family Institute, the group that’s been a catalyst for failed attempts to drive through an anti-gay marriage amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution, released a “factual, impartial and non-partisan” voting guide.
I don’t write this to be “anti-Pennsylvania Family Institute” but to point out the flaws in their oversimplistic voter guide.
Take for example this issue: “Opposes Gay Pride: Refused to Support Gay Pride Celebrations.” The Family Institute puts Republican John McCain down as “yes” and Democrat Barack Obama as “no,” but if you look at the fine print conveniently provided in 4-point type on the guide, you’ll see that’s not quite the case. In regards to Obama, the Institute is correct, and they point to a June 2007 statement the candidate put out as evidence:
“Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”
As for McCain, the Family Institute writes in its fine print: “There is no public record of candidate ever supporting “Gay Pride Day” as a private citizen or as an elected official.” I’ll take that to mean there’s no record of McCain “opposing” such a pride day either. I’d label that one as “misleading” or “incomplete.”
How about the famous marriage issue? The Institute’s guide says McCain supports state marriage amendments in California and Florida that define marriage as a man-woman bond, but Obama opposes those amendments. That’s true, except it falls short of telling the full story. Obama has said marriage should be between a man and a woman, but he supports civil union rights for gay and lesbian couples. Either way, Obama says that’s an issue that should be left up to the individual states.
The guide doesn’t stop with cultural issues. The Institute’s guide correctly shows McCain as supporting “expanded drilling for oil.” It also says Obama opposes it, and that’s not true. Obama has said oil companies should begin drilling for oil in millions of U.S. acres where the companies already hold lease rights, and he’s said he would be open to off-shore drilling.
My point here is a.) you can’t oversimplify some of these issues and b.) if you’re going to put out a voter guide, make sure it is accurate if you’re going to claim it’s “factual, impartial and non-partisan.”
And if you look at the breakdown of the other races, a clear majority of candidates did not answer the Pennsylvania Family Institute’s questionairre. Why?
