Republicans aren't focused on what American families are focused on

The battle to put a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions in Wisconsin might be tougher than the Republicans imagined. A recent Gallop poll had these results:

In the latest Gallup Poll, 50% said they supported a constitutional ban on gay marriage; 47% opposed it. Nine other Gallup surveys since 2003 have produced similar results. There's no evidence supporters have established the overwhelming social consensus that should accompany any effort to amend the Constitution on this issue.

The polling was done about amending the federal constitution but the results still point to a lack of support for taking such drastic steps on an issue that really has no business in the constitution.

The LA Times article that included these results also had a wise warning for federal Republicans that Wisconsin Republicans should listen to as well.

Whatever else Americans may think about gay marriage, few consider it one of the country's most serious moral challenges. By elevating it so prominently, this week's debate is likely to deepen the sense that Washington is fixated on the preoccupations of ideological minorities while slighting most Americans' day-to-day concerns.

Indeed, the poll found that only 3% consider abortion and homosexuality the nation's top moral challenge.

Wisconsin Republicans have been focused on this issue for a while now and they have turned up the heat on it by putting it to the ballot this fall. However, the public doesn't seem to be following their lead. It fact, a recent survey done in Wisconsin on the issue suggests that the more people in Wisconsin get to know about the proposed amendment, the less likely they are to support it.

When asked in the spring of 2004 in a poll done for Wisconsin Public Radio whether or not they support the amendment, 66% said yes. When the poll was done this spring, only 61% said they supported the amendment so support could actually be falling even though Republicans have been cranking out the rhetoric over the last couple of years.

There is something else in the poll results though that could point to the demise of this amendment. The poll found that 59% favor civil unions in general. As more people learn that the proposed amendment will actually forbid civil unions of any kind and put the benefits associated with those at risk, support could drop even more.

And when the public learns how much the state republicans focused on this issue instead of health care and education, support for the Republicans could take a nose dive too.