[PapaBear3625]

The problem is that CPAC is the first bottleneck in the Republican presidential pipeline, and at precisely the moment the party should be making every effort to be -- or at least seem! -- as open as possible to differing points of view, it's chosen to exclude the most popular governor in the country. (He has a 74 percent approval rating in deep-blue New Jersey.) Why? Because, a source familiar with CPAC's internal deliberations told National Review Online, Christie has a "limited future" in the Republican Party due to his position on gun control.

Strange how you never see pundits opine about how the Dems should be more inclusive of pro-life people and gun owners.

Being more "inclusive" of gays will yield a minimal number of additional Republican voters, at the cost of MANY people walking away from the Republicans.

[muawiyah]

We can lose 17 million voters on that one issue alone. They don't turn around and vote Democrat ~ but they don't show up. That creates a lot of long term down ticket problems.

[EDINVA]

The GOP/conservatives have already lost a huge number of younger voters because of the perception that we are anti-gay. It’s getting so I hardly know anyone in my own life who’s 30 and under who isn’t sympathetic to the whole ‘gay marriage’ business. They otherwise would be ‘conservative’ but to them the gays agenda is the civil right issue of the new millennium.