The Republican Strategem

An interesting thing in the Post today: they’re reporting that Republicans want to “make gay marriage an election issue”:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14193-2003Oct24.html. In fact, they want to push for a anti-gay amendment to the Constitution.

Now, the Reps are always saying the Dems are too far left of mainstream (where mainstream is defined as “Rush Limbaugh” I assume). But here I have to wonder if they haven’t gone too far right. This is not an argument that will have “crossover appeal” — that is, it’s not likely to draw a lot of democrats into the fold. Nor is it likely to sit well with social liberals/financial conservatives, many of whom have good reason to doubt Bush’s conservatism anyway.

As far as ambivalent people are concerned, with US Soldiers dying in Iraq, Osama still loose, Hussain still loose, Ashcroft still loose, and climbing unemployment & health care rates, the focus on an anti-gay ammendment is likely to be percieved as a little off-base.

In fact, the only people likely to be thrilled with it are religious conservatives. Some Reps apparently think it’ll be a great fundraising and grass-roots issue, and it undoubtedly will — but for *both* sides.

Because make no mistake, an anti-gay amendment to the Constitution would not only be restricting marriage to heterosexual couples, it’ll be Constitutional establishment of religion. And the congress that’s willing to do *that* will probably be willing to establish other conservative Christian-sponsored amendments as well: Christian prayer in schools, criminalization of abortion rights, equal time for evolution “science,” etc. Which will be a great fund-raising get-out-the-vote issue for those of us on the left.

This mis-focus on social conservatism isn’t going to bring people into the Republican Big Tent. In fact, it’s likely to drive people *out* and into our party. I mean, I already question the Log Cabin Republicans’ sanity, but if their own party’s platform is calling for an _Constitutional amendment_ directed against them specifically, there’s likely to be several more defectors to the Democrat’s side. Leaving just the religious conservatives. Oh, and the idiots. And let me tell you, the Republicans don’t have the idiot vote wrapped up, either — not by a long shot.

So I think it’s a bad idea. I don’t think the religious conservatives have enough people to carry the entire Presidential election.

Unless they can hack those no-paper-trail electronic voting devices, that is.