GOP Can Only Sweep Social Issues Under The Rug For So Long
For the last couple of weeks, PJ Media has had something of a running debate among its PJ Columnists on the question of whether Republicans should de-emphasize social issues as part of a broader political strategy to appeal to more voters. They invited readers to chime in. Here’s what I had to say (links added here, not in PJ Media comment):
“You can only sweep social issues under the rug for so long. I’m afraid the Republican Party has to come clean or face a slow death. If it wants to become a serious alternative to the collectivist Left it has to adopt an uncompromising pro-freedom, pro-liberty, pro-individualism, pro-individual rights, pro-capitalist party platform. If not, the perils of compromising on fundamental issues will be its demise. If the party continues pursuing the current me-too collectivist-lite agenda, it will slowly sink into oblivion, drowned by the more principled, less conflicted collectivists on the Left.
“What does it mean in terms of social issues?
“Same sex marriage: get the government out of the business of marriage. Its only role is as arbiter of contracts.
“Abortion: recognize the distinction between potential and actual human beings and that rights only apply to actual human beings. Having an abortion is not to be taken lightly, but it’s not a rights violation to have one before the fetus turn into an actual human being.
“’Compassionate’ conservatism: get the government out of the ‘compassion’ business. Practice it privately using persuasion to attract your fellow men to your cause.
“Family: Being part of a loving and supportive family is a tremendous value. But the family is not the central unit of society, the individual is. A family has no rights, only its individual members.
“If social conservatives have issues with the above and leave the party, there are plenty of independents to fill the void. It may take a couple of election cycles but it is an investment that will reap high medium and long-term returns.
“Is the GOP able to change? I have serious doubts but would love to be pleasantly surprised.”
Now it’s your turn. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?