I do think that a major reason why the GOP has been able to run so far with the gay marriage football is that its campaign against "sin" picked a "sin" that isn't practiced by 95% of Americans, so they could do so at relatively low cost in offending "sinners". By picking an actual, bone fide "sin" (according to the scriptures of Christianity and many other religions) to campaign against, one that actually impacts those 95% of heterosexual Americans plus those in same-sex marriages, they take on an electoral burden but they also benefit by seeming to take on some genuine risk by standing up for their beliefs and challenging those who need to hear the message.
]]>However, covenant marriage laws are typically voluntary. Soon-to-be married couples volunteer to enter a form of legal civil marriage that essentially makes divorce as difficult as it was to get 30 or 40 years ago. Since covenant marriages are OPTIONAL and aren't forced down anyone's throat, I don't see anything "creepy" or disturbing in the slightest.
Would you care to explain why you find it creepy if some married couples choose to give themselves the option of making divorce difficult to come by?
]]>I'm not a Republican, though I would vote for one if she or he had a better vision or could provide stronger leadership than the Democrat in a particular race. I do see the conversion of Gov. Huntsman to the pro-gay rights agenda as an important step in the GOP's evolution on family issues, and welcome more conversions in the future.
The thing is, when it comes to gay rights, as someone concerned more with the advancement of the cause rather than the advancement of a specific party, I'm concerned about the tendency among progressives to "write off" the GOP. It will be far more helpful to try to win converts rather than bask in a sense of moral superiority. And how can progressives win converts if they constantly assail Republicans as bigots as this makes it difficult for Republican politicians to have a change of heart on the issue?
Republicans (and conservative or fence-sitting Democrats) currently tied to the anti-gay agendy of the right-wing extreme on their base need to be able to publicly reverse themselves and save face. We need to make it respectable to change your mind on gay marriage. After all, even Barack Obama speaks out against gay marriage, and I for one am holding out hope that eventually he will announce that he's changed his mind.
]]>I think the sentiment expressed by
What you are saying is this: GOP could be basically Democrats but pretend that they are republicans. Nice dream but fat chance.is really pretty shortsighted. It's true that I'm suggesting that the GOP could revive itself by taking similar policy stands as Democrats on a host of major issues facing the country, so that much is obvious. But I'm not merely suggesting GOPs become "stealth Democrats"; I'm saying that if they become more pragmatic and less rigid, then they can see how their core principles (not ideology, but core values) can be applied in fresh ways that lead to new policy opportunities and priorities.
Let me give one concrete example which is dear to my heart as a staunchyly pro-same-sex marriage Democrat. Republicans could strongly embrace same-sex marriage as a pro-family issue, and simultaneously oppose laws that weaken traditional marriage (e.g., domestic partnership legislation). They could become advocates of same-sex marriage because of its conservative virtues, essentially encouraging responsibility and an end to non-marital sexual activity across the board. Then they could couple their pro-family agenda with fresh ideas about using government to discourage divorce, and make an anti-divorce campaign central to their politics. An anti-divorce politics would probably resonate with their base, perhaps even more so than an anti-gay agenda in the long-term, while perhaps winning converts from culturally conservative Democrats.
There are countless other examples, the main point being that there will continue to be an opposition party of some form to the Democrats and if the GOP is eventually going to be a viable opposition party once again then it will need to basically co-opt the Democratic agenda while reframing traditional GOP priorities in way that can win converts.
As one of your gay TPM fans, I say don't sweat it. Just please be sure to apply your rule regarding advertisements consistently and you'll have no ethical dilemmas.
Now when the anti-abortionists start running pictures of aborted fetuses on TPM and the Obama-morphs-into-Bin-Laden ads start showing up here, maybe you'll sing a different tune.
Until then, keep up the good work, and best wishes for a successful TPM in all respects.
Joe
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