Republicans are finding it politically expedient to change in all kinds of ways these days. On Tuesday higher-ups lined up to endorse same-sex marriage. GAYS ARE PEOPLE, too, could be the new Republican mantra. A stretch, admittedly, and in direct contradiction to the party’s platform, which has authorized the expenditure of tax dollars to defend the 1996 marriage law defining marriage in the eyes of the federal government as the union of a man and a woman, only.
In the queue are former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, Meg Whitman, a 2010 candidate for governor of California, Stephen Hadley, a George W. Bush national security adviser, and David Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s first budget director.
The impetus for the turnout are two upcoming cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
One is against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the other challenges Proposition 8, a California law approved by voters in 2008 banning same-sex marriage.
Behind that facade is the fact Republicans have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections. Party leaders sense a growing dissatisfaction with the GOP’s conservative tenets.
“The marketplace of ideas will render us irrelevant, and soon, if we are not honest about our time and place in history,” wrote Huntsman in a piece in the journal, “The American Conservative.”
In his campaign for president Huntsman didn’t come out for gay marriage, but as governor of Utah he supported civil unions, a close second. Today, Huntsman encourages Republicans to lead the way on same-sex marriage, saying the stance is not only right because it treats all people equally, but also will endear the party to a wider swath of voters.
Since 2010, the majority of Americans have come in support of same-sex marriage. A recent CBS News Poll cited 54 percent of Americans, including nearly a third of Republicans, saying same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry, while 39 percent said they should not. Voters under 30 favor same-sex marriage by more than 70 percent.
The most vocal proponents, including vice president Dick Cheney and former first lady Laura Bush, are not running for office.
Many believe it’s political suicide. The powerful National Organization for Marriage has pledged $500,000 to defeat Republican lawmakers supporting any law to allow same-sex marriage in Minnesota, a state considering such legislation.
Republicans in favor of the measure say one’s sexual orientation does not preclude a stable relationship and that families do best in a secure environment. What seems to be a less powerful message is the discriminatory nature of current laws banning gay couples from the rights of heterosexual couples.
“Freedom means freedom for everybody,” said the GOP’s Cheney.
My, my.
— Susan Lynn
