RoyGBiv wrote:I'll go out on the limb....
The GOP lost the WH last night because of its (in some cases real and other cases perceived) "Social Agenda".
Requiring our candidate to pass the "Conservative Enough" test to get nominated means that the candidate has to come out against "choice", against "same sex protections under law" and a whole list of other things that, frankly, are "get out of my bedroom" issues for a majority of Americans.
The fact that a small-minded, blatantly dishonest, Marxist can pull in 52% of the vote is PROOF that if the GOP doesn't find a way to restore itself to it's "Small Government" high ground while at the same time opening itself up to TOLERANCE and LIBERTY on social issues, then the GOP is destined to the sidelines until the next national or global tragedy sufficiently shake voter confidence in the Dem party that their clear and overwhelming lead on social issues is OBE (overcome by events).
I'm a small-government, fiscal-responsibility voter. Do I like the GOP's stance on social issues? Not very often. But I'm prepared to fight it out within the party, realizing that without small government and fiscal responsibility the Country will cease to function and we'll decline into a copy of Western Europe. I'm content to push aside my social views for the "good of the economy/country" and vote Red. If there was a viable candidate that favored "Economic Responsibility" and a "Libertarian Social Agenda", they'd have received my vote. Ron Paul? Gary Johnson? Even if I could swallow their myriad shortcomings, they weren't going to get elected.
Far-right voters need to find room for a Social Centrist candidate that supports their religious freedoms. Clearly the far right have reason to worry that religion is under attack in this country. The Dems clearly want "Freedom FROM Religion". But can the far right embrace a candidate that espouses Freedom OF Religion, a candidate that wants to reverse the religious paranoia of the Left while advocating a Libertarian view on social issues? Can a candidate who advocates strongly for First Amendment religious freedom, while at the same time advocating for same sex unions on "equal protection" grounds ever win the GOP primary? Can a candidate that advocates for prayer being banned from public schools while at the same time advocating in favor of religious displays on other public property ever win your vote.? [logic: I can admire the nativity display at City Hall as I walk past it, but my child cannot so easily disengage from in-school displays of religious preference that I may prefer for them not to engage in.]
What happened yesterday?.... Social-centrist voters like me "broke" for their social agenda over "saving the economy" in sufficient numbers that they gave the Dems the win. This is a mistake that will hurt this country for the rest of my life, I'm afraid. I didn't get much sleep last night out of worry.
Going forward, the GOP is faced with a tough decision... Without a shred of doubt in my mind, the GOP wins on economic issues and loses badly on a social agenda that fails to honor the ideal that we are all free to choose the life we want to lead. We readily defend free speech that makes our blood boil, but we cannot yield the same Liberty to "social" choices. The GOP platform is pushing back in the wrong way against the Left's "Freedom From Religion" movement. In the same way we defend free speech we must also defend Social Liberty, while assuring our religious freedom.
America voted for social liberty over economic responsibility last night.
IMHO, YMMV.
I agree with this to some degree only because my greenie wienie sister told me that she knows republicans are more fiscally responsible but cannot vote for one that does not support gay marriage. I understand what she is saying, but what I tried (unsuccessfully) to convey to her is that if the country falls under the burden of the impending financial collapse, then social issues like gay marriage become moot by default because the whole country, the whole idea of being free, the whole idea of being able to even SPEAK of certain issues are all in question. Who knows how that will end up...socialist nation, dictatorship, or perhaps a total union collapses (like USSR).