New Battleplans

It's no secret that the GOP needs to revamp their image and find a new way to energize their voters. That energizing force used to be against gay marriage. But is that an issue that's starting to do them more harm than good? Recently, several states have legalized gay marriage, including Iowa. (Who saw that one coming?) This suggests that more people are open to the idea of marriage not just being a man/woman institution.

(And if we're going to go Biblical on this idea, how sacred is divorce? Shouldn't all heterosexual couples have to adhere to strict definitions of marriage if we're going to exclude homosexual couples? Shouldn't everyone have to get married in a church? But that's beside the point.)

The real issue for the Republican is the youth vote. Younger Republicans don't have the same problem with gay marriage that older Republicans do.

"In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, released on Monday, 31 percent of respondents over the age of 40 said they supported gay marriage. By contrast, 57 percent under age 40 said they supported it, a 26-point difference. Among the older respondents, 35 percent said they opposed any legal recognition of same-sex couples, be it marriage or civil unions. Among the younger crowd, just 19 percent held that view."

It's a numbers game. It used to be that Republicans had to bring up gay marriage and abortion and voters would show up in droves. Now, it's not a hardcore issue, especially since there are bigger issues at stake, like the economy.

Former Republican New York mayor Giuliani, who doesn't support gay marriage, thinks the party needs to stop 'harping' on the issue if they want to get ahead for the next set of elections.

"The Republican party does best organizing itself around economic issues and issues of national security."

Obviously I'm pro-gay marriage, but I think it's also just a smart move for the GOP to distance itself from intense, anti-gay marriage sentiments. People are becoming more and more accepting, and if the GOP takes too strong a stance, they'll lose voters. Especially when we have issues to worry about, like the economy.

So is this a sign that in fifty years, people won't like anything of gay marriage? Is it going to be like interracial marriage forty years ago? Who'd have thought?