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Saturday, May 12, 2012

2012 Republican Memo Urges Republicans to Stop Anti-Gay Bigotry

Posted by Paul Constant on Sat, May 12, 2012 at 9:43 AM

Late last night, Andrew Sullivan at The Dish posted an amazing document circulated by Republican pollster Jan van Lohuizen. The memo says that polls indicate that people's opinions on gay and lesbian rights issues are shifting very quickly, and that unless Republicans become more tolerant very quickly, they're at risk of alienating themselves from voters:

Support for same sex marriage has been growing and in the last few years support has grown at an accelerated rate with no sign of slowing down. A review of public polling shows that up to 2009 support for gay marriage increased at a rate of 1% a year. Starting in 2010 the change in the level of support accelerated to 5% a year. The most recent public polling shows supporters of gay marriage outnumber opponents by a margin of roughly 10% (for instance: NBC / WSJ poll in February / March: support 49%, oppose 40%).

Sullivan points out that the most amazing part of the memo comes in the talking points guidelines, which suggest reframing gay marriage as a conservative issue:

As people who promote personal responsibility, family values, commitment and stability, and emphasize freedom and limited government we have to recognize that freedom means freedom for everyone. This includes the freedom to decide how you live and to enter into relationships of your choosing, the freedom to live without excessive interference of the regulatory force of government.

Of course, a memo is not policy. We've already seen a remarkably subdued Republican response to President Obama's statement on marriage equality—despite a few scary headlines about a war on marriage, Fox News did not spend nearly the amount of energy on gay marriage that they did in 2004, when Bush was talking about an amendment—but I have a hard time picturing some of these teabagggers swallowing their bigoted bile and self-loathing long enough to talk about tolerance and acceptance. Do I think this will happen? Absolutely, it will eventually have to happen. It will probably have to happen pretty soon. But I don't think the Republicans will be able to embrace gay rights in this election cycle. For example, it's already too late for Romney to turn around on this issue.

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So when will Santorum and Seattleblues follow the memo's suggestions?

(And when the day comes, we'll read that Seattleblues supports gay marriage. Seattleblues has always supported gay marriage.)

Posted by seatackled on May 12, 2012 at 9:52 AM

yes. the subtle reframing from gay rights for the minority who're gays, to demands for marriage equality and the emphasis on love, responsible conduct, family building, etc. is WHY progress in gay rights came so fast, historically speaking.

notice how the democrats nearly fail to build on it. If they would adopt the freedom means freedom for everyone meme, subtly shifting from a equality frame to a freedom frame, THEY'd be the ones standing up for freedom and liberty and all that able to wrap democrats in the flag, able to occupy that middle part of the shelf of USA brands and not just leave it by default to the right.

face it, on personal choices we are the liberty loving party, it's almost as if we're afraid to say so just because some right wing trolls will then claim it's inconsistent to then seek regulations in the marketplace for, say, Chase bank. WE ARE FOR LIBERTY. Own it. Wrap equality into it. Use it. Gain power. This is what America is all about.

Posted by proud for liberty on May 12, 2012 at 9:56 AM

The problem isn't whether the politicians will change their story

They will.

With an addendum of, "it just wasn't the right time."

The problem is what will happen to the marginalized religious right. And will they open up a third party, or will they back off the issue.

Posted by TheMisanthrope on May 12, 2012 at 10:01 AM

It won't be hard for Mitt to support equality when the time comes, his programmers have probably already written the code for it.

Posted by Urgutha Forka on May 12, 2012 at 10:12 AM

The Republicans are in kind of a tough spot. If they drop the anti-gay rhetoric they'll lose conservatives, but if they keep it up, they'll turn off independents.

Posted by Joe Glibmoron on May 12, 2012 at 10:18 AM

@5:

And Romney doesn't have a snowballs chance of winning the White House without BOTH of those constituencies solidly behind him, so basically he's screwed.

Posted by COMTE

on May 12, 2012 at 10:22 AM

@7 - Thankfully.

Posted by Pridge Wessea on May 12, 2012 at 10:45 AM

Right wing bigotry and racism are rooted in religion and religion fights any change, tooth and nail. As proof I offer the mountain of evidence detailing evolutionary changes to miriad of living things. It's not enough.

Posted by Vince on May 12, 2012 at 10:45 AM

Andrew Sullivan has consistently promoted the idea that marriage is conservative and that denying the right to marriage is NOT a conservative position. (Depends on what "conservative" means. YMMV.)

Posted by Tsam on May 12, 2012 at 10:47 AM

It's funny how the conservatives who are constantly screaming about "FREEDOM!" are the ones trying to take it away from others.

Posted by very bad homo on May 12, 2012 at 11:09 AM

I've been telling the 47th this for years.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on May 12, 2012 at 12:43 PM

@1 Yep, you nailed it. The GOP depends on their constituents to have the memory of Leonard Shelby. The amount of idiocy & incompetence of Bush/Cheney is legion, not to mention outright treason and crimes against humanity. But conservatives remember how it was all Nancy Pelosi's evil machinations that brought about Guantanamo, or how Obama, being the Muslim socialist that he is, started the war in Iraq based on lies. I won't be surprised to hear w/in the next 12 months some GOP front-runner explaining to the audience that the rights of gays & lesbians have always been an issue championed by the conservatives, and get a standing ovation for it. You could sell those people dog food for $1k a plate. As long as you told them it was Conserva-a-Food, they'd gobble it up & beg for more.

Posted by Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on May 12, 2012 at 2:12 PM

@12
"The amount of idiocy & incompetence of Bush/Cheney is legion, not to mention outright treason and crimes against humanity."

First off, it doesn't matter. Think of it as a sports team. No matter what the quarterback was caught doing last year the fans still support the team when they get a different quarterback.

Secondly, they will just rebrand for the segment that needs it. That's what the Tea Party is for.

"I won't be surprised to hear w/in the next 12 months some GOP front-runner explaining to the audience that the rights of gays & lesbians have always been an issue championed by the conservatives, and get a standing ovation for it."

That will require significant rebranding.
Remember that it is "the gays" who are child molesters.
You cannot let "the gays" adopt kids.
And any kids that they have of their own are in danger.
And do you really want legally married gays with kids to host other people's kids at birthday parties in their gay home?

The hatred is very deep on this (as are the lies).

Just look at the trouble Romney had with condemning Limbaugh's statements about Fluke being a "slut" and a "prostitute". And that would be male - female sex.

Legal guy-on-guy with the kids sleeping in the next room ... I don't see the Republican base endorsing that until the existing base has mostly died out.

Posted by fairly.unbalanced on May 12, 2012 at 2:59 PM

@9: Sully supports racist-eugenicist texts like the Bell Curve, why should he give a fuck about what other conservatives think about gay marriage?

Oh, right, because he's a hypocritical, selfish, entitled fuck who's swimming in privilege in all other aspects of his life.

Posted by Sully is still a fucker on May 12, 2012 at 3:12 PM

@3
I would LOVE to see the conservative Christians start a third party. It would die within a few years, but it would wreak havoc on the Republicans for a decade.

Posted by Clayton on May 12, 2012 at 3:13 PM

@1: Santorum and SB are true believers who will go down with the ship. This document is a talking points memo for young Republicans across the nation with no interest in their Grandfather's social issues politics. In our state, The Few Young R's With A Future (TM), such as Reagan Dunn and Joe Fain, have already gotten with the marriage equality program. More will follow.

Posted by J.R. on May 12, 2012 at 5:18 PM

@13, hey fairly, don't think for a minute I don't understand the depth of their depravity on this issue. Believe me, I get it. I'm simply pointing out the incredible divide between fantasy & reality that conservatives have.

Posted by Some Old Nobodaddy Logged In on May 12, 2012 at 6:00 PM

Let the Repubs go down the road they've chosen right into political oblivion. If it keeps Romneybot out of the White House, that's fine with me.

Posted by Patricia Kayden on May 13, 2012 at 4:45 PM

In fairness, let’s all try to remember that Cheney (the evil genius who really controlled the Bush White House) came out as pro-gay marriage in 2009. And, while everyone is being impressed with Obama’s “evolution” on marriage equality, we should also be acknowledging Biden’s complete flip-flop on the topic (he voted FOR DOMA in 1996). And speaking of Obama’s “evolution”, let’s all remember he’s still not as “evolved” as Ted Olson (the conservative lawyer who stole Gore’s presidency for Bush) who, unlike Obama, believes that marriage equality is a constitutional right, not an “issue for the states to decide”.

Posted by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on May 14, 2012 at 11:09 AM

@3 the culture warriors on the religious right will whine and complain, but as long as they've got abortion they'll stay Republican.

Posted by I have always been... east coaster on May 14, 2012 at 4:03 PM