Gay Marriage / Gay Rights

[HairOfTheDog]

Any Republican candidate who clings to this as an issue to campaign will be unelectable in a General Election. In the case of Santorum, Jindal, and Huckabee they stand no chance anyway... Walker will hurt himself if he sticks with it.

I think you're right on the money about candidates who use opposition to gay marriage as a platform being unelectable.

Rubio, Bush, and Graham are being smart about it, IMO, by not flip-flopping outright and alienating their more conservative bases, but not crusading against what's a done deal and alienating a lot of others. I think that the other Republican candidates who are pounding their fists are shortsighted.

Marco Rubio said while he disagrees with the court's decision, "we live in a republic and must abide by the law."

Jeb Bush sent a statement saying while he disagrees, "I also believe that we should love our neighbor and respect others, including those making lifetime commitments."

Lindsey Graham said that as president he would "staunchly defend religious liberty" but that "while we have differences, it is time for us to move forward together respectfully and as one people."

It'll be interesting to see if Walker changes course and takes a similar more moderate stance. I agree with you that it could hurt his chances of being elected if he doesn't.

64% of Independents and 37% of Republicans support gay marriage. I think it's likely that both those numbers will grow rather than decrease in the next year and a half, based on the trend over the last several years. Both parties want the Independent vote and there's no longer the old "leave it to the states" or "civil union compromise" approach to the issue (which is exactly what Hillary did until 2013).