Matt Dowd and Grover Norquist are dubious at best at the ability of same-sex marriage initiatives to drive turnout, reports Newsweek's Rosenberg. LINK
"While the GOP leadership clearly hopes this tack can revive their sputtering election prospects this fall, some GOP strategists aren't so sure. Pew polls show a 10-point jump in support for gay marriage since 2004. And Bush pollster Matthew Dowd doubts it was decisive last time around. 'It didn't drive turnout in 2004,' he says. 'That is urban legend.' Turnout was the same in states with bans on the ballot and those without, Dowd says. GOP consultant Grover Norquist also questions how gay marriage plays as an electoral issue. Though social conservatives vote for marriage bans, it's not clear whether that will translate into votes for GOP candidates. 'We don't have much to go on,' he says."
The New York Post picks up the highlights of Newsweek's coverage. LINK
"The measure has 31 GOP sponsors, and one said yesterday the debate would just be a start. 'The fact that we'll have a majority vote but not a two-thirds vote doesn't mean that you don't try,' Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) said on CNN's 'Late Edition,'" reports the New York Daily News. LINK