Marriage Gets another Ring-ing Endorsement
Polls, Sarah Palin once joked, are for firemen and cross-country skiers. When it comes to politics, they're a little less reliable. These days, polls try to shape more opinions than they reflect--and there's no better example of that than the spin coming out of Quinnipiac University. The once-reputable survey house found itself on plenty of news outlets over the weekend for its blockbuster poll on same-sex "marriage." Based on the numbers, Quinnipiac analyst Peter Brown claimed Catholics were supposedly "leading American voters toward support for same-sex 'marriage.'"
Turns out, the statement was a wild misrepresentation of the group's own data. Stunned by Brown's statement, organizations like Bill Donohue's Catholic League took a closer look at the survey and found that Quinnipiac had deliberately distorted the numbers. Instead of segregating the data based on church attendance--as the survey had done on every other question--Quinnipiac intentionally lumped together the responses of practicing and non-practicing Catholics to achieve the desired result: 54% support for same-sex "marriage." Predictably, Donohue says, "the media gave this 'finding' top billing."
In reality, popular opinion wasn't so popular after all. The survey found that regular churchgoers are overwhelmingly opposed to counterfeit marriage--by an even larger margin than Quinnipiac claimed. Donohue's group blasted the organization for manipulating the data to suit their agenda. (Why else would the organization have kept uniform standards for every question but this one?)
"After our news release was distributed," Bill wrote, "reporters from CNSNews.com contacted Quinnipiac. What they admitted totally alters the outcome: 55% of Catholics who are regular church-goers are opposed to gay 'marriage' and only 38% favor it." Peter Brown, whose selective reporting helped mislead the public, claimed that Quinnipiac "only [has] so much space, and can only do so many things up front." (Accuracy, apparently, being one of those things it cannot do "up front.")
Although Quinnipiac confessed to slanting the data, the organization refuses to correct its website or the press's misconceptions. To them, it's an inconvenient truth that the church is still fiercely opposed to redefining marriage. Unlike some people, whose principles sway to and fro with the politically correct winds, our convictions are fixed. As Christians, we stand for what's right--even if it means standing alone. And right now, we're far from alone!
Obama's Gravitational Poll
Speaking of polls, President Obama is probably hoping his latest surveys are wrong. After building up plenty of inaugural goodwill, the wave of public support has largely evaporated. The newest surveys show his approval rating at its lowest point in 12 months--thanks, in part, to his childish response to the sequester. While the administration looks for ways to punish the public with the automatic cuts, a general dissatisfaction is settling back in. After peaking well above 50%, just 45% of Americans now approve of how the President is handling his job.
Meanwhile, only 34% of voters think the country is on the right track--a statistic that should bolster Republicans in the upcoming budget debates. While the House and Senate deliberate over the next six months of spending, Americans are desperate for some leadership on our nation's financial crisis. According to the Washington Post, the framework for the Senate's first budget in four years "would raise nearly $1 trillion in new taxes" over the next decade. But based on these survey numbers, Republicans don't need to be the President's budget lemmings--even reluctantly. What the GOP needs to do is harness the public's frustration with this administration and show real courage in challenging the President's plans. It's time to push for meaningful spending reform that will balance the budget--without raising taxes!
In NYC, Drink Laws Still Fluid
So much for the Mayor's leverage on New York's beverage! Yesterday, State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling broke the glass ceiling on Mayor Bloomberg's Big Gulp law, striking down the ridiculous policy as yet another example of New York overreach. Among other things, Tingling said Bloomberg's ban on 16-ounce sodas was "arbitrary" and contained too many loopholes to accomplish the Mayor's purpose. The judge's 36-page decision made it clear that the issue of beverage limits should also be for the city council to decide--not the board of health, which imposed the rules without any input from elected officials. Tingling, who ruled just hours before the Big Gulp ban was to take effect, also wasn't convinced that sugary drinks can be blamed for the city's weight problems.
For now, local restaurants and vendors are drinking in the victory. Until yesterday, most businesses expected to pay upwards of $600,000 changing their cups and labels. Mayor Bloomberg, however, vows that Tingling's ruling isn't the last straw. "It would be irresponsible not to try to do everything we can to save lives," said the mayor of a city with, ironically, America's highest abortion rates. (Unfortunately for residents, even Bloomberg's concern for public health has its limits.)
Meanwhile, locals, who have lived through the Mayor's policies on transfats, salt, Big Gulps, junk food, and smoking, shake their heads at the hypocrisy. As far as they're concerned, there's something equally bad for the city's health--and that's wasting taxpayer dollars to fight this case. And in a city whose debt has doubled under Bloomberg, that even tougher to swallow than a Big Gulp ban.