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by ACLU of WV
Some interesting news from the Values Voters' summit in Washington D.C. this last weekend. Aside from Mike Huckabee winning the straw poll of preferred candidates, it seems as if the issue of 'gay marriage' is quickly fading as something Values Voters deem especially important. Nate Silver @ 538 offers coverage. I find the following quote especially provocative: These are not the tea-partiers, who have a libertarian bent. This is a forum, rather, sponsored by the Family Research Council, an organization which continues to insist that homosexuality is curable and to link it to pedophilia. But the actual attendees at the forum -- religious conservative activists from around the country -- just don't seem to be all that riled up about the prospect of two men getting married.
This is significant for a few reasons in West Virginia. First, the West Virginia Family Policy Council, one of the main organizations behind lobbying efforts to "define marriage as between one man and one woman," are directly affiliated with the Family Research Council and their right wing agenda. If they cannot maintain excitement for this political issue from within their base supporters, and it seems they cannot, then the issue is in trouble. What could this mean for the future? While I seriously doubt the recent news will keep West Virginia's political right wing from pushing the ludicrous idea of holding an election to determine the definition of marriage, the overall results of the forum may push any serious efforts regarding that issue to the wayside whether the political operatives behind it like it or not. Remember, the Values Voter summit in D.C. is put on by the Family Research Council and is attended by their staunchest supporters. If those supporters are telling their leadership that gay marriage is no longer a serious issue, then that leadership is going to have to adjust their advocacy to match what the rank and file want or risk losing them. Right now, the political right, especially this flank of the political right, is in such a position that it can ill afford any serious turbulance. |
