Texas Republican candidates for U.S. Senate debate same-sex marriage

02/29/12 13:51 PM

By Ricky Lee Grunden Jr., rgrunden@smu.edu Same-sex marriage and the protection of traditional marriage became a hot topic in a Feb. 22 forum for six of the Texas Republican candidates hoping to win the U.S. Senate seat. The question is why this issue is even considered as a legitimate senate issue? The Senate hopefuls all tackled the question, even though, according to the U.S. Constitution, the Senate has no authority to pass legislation founded in religion. The issue was raised when Ted Cruz protested Tom Leppert’s participation in two gay pride parades while he was the mayor of Dallas. “It’s easy to talk about defending traditional marriage,” Cruz said. “Talk is cheap.” Tom Leppert defended his position by stating that it was a...

The youth vote

02/27/12 13:54 PM

By Christine Jonas, cjonas@smu.edu  The 2008 presidential elections created a huge national buzz, but it especially sparked an interest with the nation's youth ages 18 to 29. The upcoming 2012 presidential elections are not only proving to procure less excitement nationally, but speculation that youth voting numbers will go down doesn't seem so far fetched. According to the NextGen Journal, data collected by CIRCLE, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, young voter percentages increased from 40.3 percent in 2000 to 51.1 percent in 2008. The upswing of young voters seems to be over. In 2008, 81 percent of the 18- to 29-year-old voters reported caring about the outcome of the elections. Now, only 69 percent report caring about...

Goodbye, Newt?

02/15/12 16:48 PM

By Kate Gardner, kateg@smu.edu Newt Gingrich could use some help in the public relations department. A poll released Tuesday by CBS indicates that conservative support for Gingrich is half of what it was in January, shortly before he won the South Carolina primary. While Gingrich’s public image has taken a considerable hit in the press recently — everything from allegations surrounding his involvement with Freddie Mac, his marital woes, to his ethics violations as former Speaker of the House — will he be able to win the confidence of American voters come election time? The tide of public opinion appears to be shifting. A recent survey conducted by CNN shows that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are almost tied in the polls with 34 percent of...

Could Santorum be the come back kid?

02/07/12 18:54 PM

By Charles Scott, clscott@smu.edu  It was a lonely weekend in the Midwest for Rick Santorum. With caucuses taking place Tuesday in Colorado and Minnesota, Santorum, who finished last in Nevada, was the only candidate holding events in Minnesota on Sunday. If ole' Rick thinks he has any chance at winning the GOP nomination at this point, he'll have to cast himself not only as the anti-Romney, but as a better anti-Obama'er than the rest of his opponents. During an interview on "Fox News Sunday" Santorum said that both Romney and Gingrich are too much like Obama when it comes to major issues like climate change, health care reform and Wall Street bailouts--all issues he strategizes will set him apart. So apparently the Santorum campaign sees the race as...