NYT op-ed on Prop 8, blacks and a 'moral minority'
by: Pam Spaulding
Mon Dec 01, 2008 at 08:00:00 AM EST
http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8449Charles Blow issues a lot of interesting and discussion-worthy points in his NYT op-ed "Gay Marriage and a Moral Minority." It is both frustrating and insightful in its look at the issue of black support for Prop 8.
The op-ed starts off on the wrong foot with Blow citing the now-familiar CNN exit poll results reporting 70% of blacks voted for the measure -- and thus "proving" that the Obama turnout surge was responsible for the initiative passing (this was shot down quite well by
538.com's Nate Silver). He goes on to give three theories about why this demographic voted for 8.
(1) Blacks are much more likely than whites to attend church, according to a Gallup report, and black women are much more likely to attend church than black men. Anyone who has ever been to a black church can attest to the disparity in the pews. And black women's church attendance may be increasing.
