Not much I agree with Andrew Sullivan on these days, but I agree with what he says here:
If I were a GOP strategist, I’d obviously urge an independent-focused message based on skepticism of government mixed with a real practical agenda for change. I’d focus on the Congress, not Obama. […] On social issues, the emerging pattern is clear: Americans are increasingly troubled by abortion on demand (although a plurality clearly favors legal abortion), they are increasingly hostile to gun control, and they are increasingly supportive of gay equality. These trends appear to be real and holding over time. It makes me feel quite the centrist. For the GOP, the message is pretty clear: mellow a little (but not much) on abortion. stick to your, er, gins on the Second Amendment, and for goodness’s sake, stop the gay-bashing.
That’s an agenda I’d buy into. But is the GOP listening?
Andrew is a one issue liberal. Gay rights is his issue all else is just blather as he betrays those principle constantly.
Congress critters are always 10 steps behind the people.
This was even more surprising from that poll:
“Do you think adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor
prescribes it or do you think that marijuana should remain illegal even for medical purposes
Allow medical use………………………. 73 80
Illegal even for medical purposes ….. 23 17
Not sure …………………………………. 4 3”
First column is October 2009, second is October 2002.
So why isn’t pot legal already?
But is the GOP listening?
Nope.
What’s to listen to? As with “have you stopped beating your wife,” a plea to “Stop the gay-bashing” implies they are doing it now. Should they start bashing gays, just so they can then stop and given credit to Sully for asking them to?
I can point to individual members of the GOP who go after gays. The party itself hasn’t taken up gay bashing as a platform, but certainly have taken issue with things, like benefits for same sex couples, etc.
Which goes to Sully logic: disagreeing with me politically equals bashing. Not buying it.
I think he expects the GOP to embrace gay marriage too, which I wouldn’t mind if they did, but I don’t expect it. The public support just isn’t there for it.
My point exactly. Supporting gay marriage may or may not be a good idea, but to argue that NOT supporting it is tantamount to gay-bashing is insane. Insaner still when this argument applies to members of one party only.
Sully’s a wretched little monster who does nothing but peddle insane conspiracy theories about Sarah Palin even after The Atlantic told him to knock it the hell off, definitely has an anti-Semitic streak in his writings and engages frequently in shrieking hysterics.
Sully puts up a good front with his top-notch educational background and writing skill, but the truth is that nothing he believes in is based in logic, but raw emotion. Sully may be saying things you agree with on a shallow surface level, but when you work through the pseudointellectual front he puts up, you realize it’s built on a weak foundation, far different than most liberty-minded individuals, and the whole thing comes down like a house of cards.
The GOP is gay-bashing? News to me. Opposition to gay marriage certainly isn’t gay-bashing, and opposition to courts imposing gay marriage isn’t gay-bashing, either.
fyi – the gay marriage movement is driven by the desire for free medical care. To be able to use a family plan and force insurers to cover someone with pre-existing medical conditions. If ObamaCare passes, expect the gay marriage movement to ossify.
The quoted section states its premise pretty clearly:
“Americans are increasingly troubled by abortion on demand (although a plurality clearly favors legal abortion)” – so – “mellow a little (but not much) on abortion.”
“…they are increasingly hostile to gun control” – so – “stick to your, er, guns on the Second Amendment”.
“…and they are increasingly supportive of gay equality” – so – “for goodness’s sake, stop the gay-bashing.”
It’s obvious that he’s saying “stop opposing gay equality”, with a big dose of hyper-bowl thrown in. I know that people who want to keep straight-only marriage feel like it’s unfair that they’re always being called bigots, homophobes, and gaybashers, but to make that your total response to the quoted text is quibbling over language and ignoring the OP’s point: If the GOP (and lots of other conservative movements, mind you) wants to win hearts and minds in the modern US, it needs to–among other things–stop actively opposing equal rights for gay americans. You may not like it, but Americans are increasingly seeing opposite-sex-only laws in the same light as older “traditional marriage” issues, like antimiscegenation laws, coverture, and legal restrictions on interfaith marriages.
Responding to this observation with “opposing gay marriage isn’t gaybashing” is the equivalent of a gun-banner looking over one of the harsher gun blogs, reading the arguments in favor of gunownership, the legal precedent for an individual-rights reading of the 2A, and the lack of evidence for gun control as a public safety measure, and answering simply “opposing easy access to guns isn’t being ‘anti-freedom'”.
Yeah, the other guy’s being dismissive of a position he has disdain for. But that doesn’t invalidate his argument.
I agree with Sullivan as well. If the GOP took his advice I could see myself voting for them on a more consistent basis (this would probably apply to a lot of other recent college graduates).
As of right now, gun rights is the only area where the republicans are objectively better than democrats, economically they are pretty much the same (rhetoric non-withstanding).
Not a good idea for the GOP or the Democrats to listen to Sully. He is nuttier that that peanuts.
The GOP does need to go back to the conservative principles. Not follow a flighty gay who dithers between liberalism and fiscal conservatism.
The Tea party espoused mostly strong conservative principles and is unapolegetic about it. Bush betrayed many principles with his expansion of government and allowing any liberal idea to go unchecked in order to get their support on the WOT.
That support by liberals flipped by 2004 and was a danger if not worthless.
THE GOP needs to lead and if people agree with the principles then they will follow.
Right now the blatant marxist, power grabbing and abuse of power by the Democrats and Obama has revealed the dangers of liberalism,