I have posted several times about the challenge to Proposition 8 now pending in federal court in California being led by former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson and David Boise. The case contends that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under the U. S. Constitution, not the least because it denies same sex couples equal protection under the law. Given the fact that homophobia and anti-gay legislation are the hallmarks of today's GOP and wingnut Christianists, it is interesting that David Frum - certainly no one's idea of a liberal - has a column on his blog, FrumForum, by Jeb Golinkin that raises the question of whether a court invalidation of Proposition 8 and similar laws would not in the longer term be a benefit for the Republican Party. Here are some highlights:*
Yesterday, the New York State Senate crushed a bill that would have allowed gay couples to get married by a margin of 38-24. While righties everywhere are probably doing back flips this morning and proclaiming that the people have spoken, the decision is not just morally wrong, it is also unconstitutional and bad for the future of the Republican Party. . . . if history shows one thing, it is that these groups will prevail. The question is not if… but when… and how.
*
In every one of these fights, conservatives have been on the wrong side of history. Our natural instinct to fight against any radical change in the makeup of society can, and has blinded us to real injustices. . . . Victories like the one earned by conservatives in New York yesterday do little but delay the inevitable and give Democrats more ammunition to use as evidence that the Republican party is an intolerant, ignorant group of belligerent dinosaurs.
*
Ironically, one of our own might save us before it is too late through the very process that we (and he) so very deplore: “judicial activism.” Ted Olson and David Boies have joined forces to appeal the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage. The two men, who faced off in Bush vs. Gore, are quite possibly the best two constitutional lawyers in the United States, and together they represent a formidable legal force to be reckoned with. If they were to succeed in showing the California ban to be what it is, an unconstitutional law that is, in Olson’s words, “utterly without justification” and that brands gays and lesbians as “second-class and unworthy” in the eyes of the law, Republicans will owe the two a debt of gratitude for saving the party from twenty years of supporting a position that 20 years from now men and women will view as utterly abominable.
*
Not only will they save us from the eyes of history, they will save us from the electoral losses that the public’s general condemnation of the position will turn into at some point. If you care about electoral victories, cheer for Ted Olson. You will thank him later if he wins.
*
Yesterday, the New York State Senate crushed a bill that would have allowed gay couples to get married by a margin of 38-24. While righties everywhere are probably doing back flips this morning and proclaiming that the people have spoken, the decision is not just morally wrong, it is also unconstitutional and bad for the future of the Republican Party. . . . if history shows one thing, it is that these groups will prevail. The question is not if… but when… and how.
*
In every one of these fights, conservatives have been on the wrong side of history. Our natural instinct to fight against any radical change in the makeup of society can, and has blinded us to real injustices. . . . Victories like the one earned by conservatives in New York yesterday do little but delay the inevitable and give Democrats more ammunition to use as evidence that the Republican party is an intolerant, ignorant group of belligerent dinosaurs.
*
Ironically, one of our own might save us before it is too late through the very process that we (and he) so very deplore: “judicial activism.” Ted Olson and David Boies have joined forces to appeal the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage. The two men, who faced off in Bush vs. Gore, are quite possibly the best two constitutional lawyers in the United States, and together they represent a formidable legal force to be reckoned with. If they were to succeed in showing the California ban to be what it is, an unconstitutional law that is, in Olson’s words, “utterly without justification” and that brands gays and lesbians as “second-class and unworthy” in the eyes of the law, Republicans will owe the two a debt of gratitude for saving the party from twenty years of supporting a position that 20 years from now men and women will view as utterly abominable.
*
Not only will they save us from the eyes of history, they will save us from the electoral losses that the public’s general condemnation of the position will turn into at some point. If you care about electoral victories, cheer for Ted Olson. You will thank him later if he wins.
*
Interestingly, Frum edits the blog that is described as being dedicated to the modernization and renewal of the Republican party and the conservative movement.
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