Rock the Vote, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization “whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people” took a strong stance on Wednesday in support of the Supreme Court’s decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 — both of which are highly partisan issues.
On Wednesday, the SCOTUS made a landmark decision, striking down the Defense of the Marriage Act — thereby granting federal benefits to married same-sex couples across the country — and California’s Proposition 8 — thus allowing same-sex couples in California to get married.
Shortly after the decision was made, RTV sent out an email to its subscribers conveying its excitement and support of the SCOTUS’ decisions.
“OMG! Now all married couples — including same-sex couples — and their families have equal justice and protections under the law, no matter where they live,” the email stated. “And the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in California has been restored. This is what equality looks like.”
It went on to provide a link to the RTV “#WeWill unite 4 marriage equality” page.
The debate over marriage equality is one that has seen increasing support among Republicans recently — especially Millennials — so the SCOTUS’ decision on Wednesday was a great success for many, despite party lines.
But the issue is still largely a Democratic one. To show support for the issue is also in some ways showing support for the Democratic party — an action that should not be taken by an organization which claims to be “non-partisan.”
The underlying liberal bias of RTV is not a new phenomenon, however. Leading up to the 2012 presidential election, the organization released a video encouraging young people to get involved. The video starred openly left-leaning celebrities like John Legend, Perez Hilton and Darren Criss. The video also revealed an obvious inclination to Democratic views by portraying the Republican stance on issues in ways that were anything but appealing.
RTV also sent out a gloating email on Nov. 7, 2012, after President Obama’s reelection was confirmed, celebrating its role in moving young voters to engage. The organization also promised to “get smart on the issues” during the next election and condemned “half-truths and hypocrisy” in political campaigns.
But the organization doesn’t seem to realize that ‘getting smart’ sounds an awful lot like taking a partisan position on the issues. And the “half-truths and hypocrisy” of its actions is that in supporting a Democratic issue like marriage equality, the group is pushing away a large number of young voters who do not agree on that issue. That seems to contradict RTV’s goal “to engage and build political power for young people in our country” — granted that the organization means all young people, including the ones who might disagree on issues.
Rock the Vote was not available for comment at the time of this article.
