Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank and
Governor Deval Patrick on Sunday minimized the politics of President
Barack Obama's gay marriage endorsement.
Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation,
Patrick applauded Obama for his “clear and principled position.”
“It's about convictions; it's not
about politics,” said Patrick.
Frank, who is preparing to marry his
long-term partner Jim Ready in July before leaving Congress, said
voters tuned-in to the gay marriage debate had already likely picked
a side.
“If you were going to cast your vote
based on a candidate's position regarding same-sex marriage, you were
already going to vote for Obama [or] Romney based on that,” Frank,
72, said during an appearance on ABC's This Week.
Patrick, whose daughter Katherine
publicly announced in 2009 that she's gay, agreed with Frank, saying:
“Those are voters, I suspect, who are not likely to vote for the
president anyway, unless they vote their interests, which are
economic interests, and this president is four-square with them and
standing with them in this election and in office.”