Being tolerant of gay rights isn’t a play against the gay 2% of the vote.
It’s a play for the libertarians in the 36% MODERATE chunk of the vote. Those same moderates who may be leary of voting alongside social conservatives.
You don’t have to like the gays. In fact, you don’t even have to deal with them.
But we need the moderates.
I assure you that those same moderates won’t give a hoot about the gays if they are worried they won’t have a job and their children’s children’s children will be saddled with trillions of dollars in debt. They will support conservatives if conservatives stick by their beliefs — lower taxes, smaller government, as well as no special rights for any group. The trouble comes when the “moderates,” aka elites, want to reach across the aisle to please their friends the democrats and don’t care one bit about “we the people.” If the moderates don’t see any difference between republicans and the democrats, they have no reason to vote for them.
"Moderate" doesn't mean what it used to mean. Something like 37 percent of Americans say if DADT is overturned, there should be career penalties and attempts to change values targeting those who disapprove of homosexuality.
In the long run, it's more important to get moderates to agree to think with you than to vote with you. The GOP is not doing that first job, and in doing the second it only disillusions its base.
Young people tend to be corrupted by both cultural and economic leftism. How often do you see pieces saying the GOP should abandon tax cuts in order to appeal to young moderates?
The real reason these stories keep happening is because the GOP leadership and mid-level activists is more friendly to homosexuality than to traditionalists. The local Metro Young Republicans even meets in a gay-themed hamburger diner. If the GOP's that compromised, I might as well join the Democrats. The GOP will just follow their lead anyway.
***DING DING DING*** No more calls; we have a winner!