Nor are those in favor of it representative of the general public. It's one thing to vote down a referendum put on the ballot to endorse gay marriage, but quite another to lend support to Constitutional amendment forbidding it. Those two are not synonymous. This will be seen as a bunch of angry old men in the GOP that can't find anything better to do than meddle in others' affairs, and it will turn off the mushy middle.
Guaranteed.
The idea that conservatives would place a higher priority on gay marriage than government spending or the war on terror astonishes me. Is there anyone left at this site with a sense of perspective?
Wrong. Opposition to homosexual marriage cuts across racial lines by large majorities.
You're not going to start crying "would somebody just think about the children" are you NittanyLion? That mushy middle does not share ambivilence towards this court's ruling, and if the GOP can and does position a fight for this as a check on the floodgate opened by their Constitutionally-lite opinion, not only will it be seen positively, you will see a huge potential of support from black and latino communities, New Deal conservative Democrates, etc.
Let not your heart be so troubled, look at the poll numbers concerning gay marriage/this court case. They're overwhelmingly against it, despite what the media leads you to believe, without a partisanship line to divide on because no public wing has really articulated it. The potential of the mushy Republican party to prove to the masses that they really do support the common sense mystery "family values" by pushing (and failing) to get this amendment is of greater importance than any leg piddling of Libertarian/Leftists calling you hurtful names.
Now I don't discount what you are saying and the possibility of this completely blowing up in their faces cause we are talking about Republican politicians, look at Dan Quayle. Ironically, so many people after the hateful rants where over, actually went back and revisited the points of his comments said the guy was right... Point being he was fairly inarticulate (and it was a different world then before alternative media) and hopelessly vague.
But people, even those that thought he couldn't spell and was only there as a pretty face grew to respect what he said. 90% of the people want a convincing case to be made in the modern world for what they take as common sense to be defended, but no one has. You look at this as an opportunity for disaster from the press(you'll never please them), I look at this as an opportunity for the GOP to say; "we are the party of what your parents taught you--we own this. Democrates are confused, out of touch, and degenerate." What will happen? Time will tell.
Bump to that.