Mirroring what is the norm here in Virginia where the foul and toxic Christofascists at The Family Foundation ("TFF") routinely threaten Virginia Republicans who fail to do the TFF's bidding or adopt anything less than stridently anti-gay positions, the often spittle flecked hate group leader Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council (who has past KKK ties), and other far right religious extremists are threatening the GOP with an exodus of the Bible beaters from the GOP if Republicans cease their anti-gay marriage platform (and anti-gay agenda in general). Perkins' threats underscore the bind the GOP finds itself in as popular support for gay marriage soars among all demographic groups, but especially the under 30 generations. Indeed, the GOP needs to find a way to kill the Frankenstein monster it created when it allowed the Christofascists to infiltrate and take over local committees and caucuses. The Hill looks at the growing threats and discord and the long term political risk to the GOP. Here are excerpts:
Republican presidential hopefuls are facing a delicate dance on gay marriage going into 2016 — even as their potential Democratic opponents embrace an issue once fraught with political danger.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s declaration this week that she favors gay marriage highlighted the new practical reality for Democrats with White House ambitions — that after President Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage in 2012, it’s no longer safe in the party’s primary to waffle.
But for GOP contenders, the political ground continues to shift. Even as support for gay marriage grows in the broader electorate, the party’s evangelical base remains vehemently opposed.
Social conservatives traditionally turn out at high levels in early primary and caucus states, making it extremely risky for a Republican to navigate gay rights in general, and gay marriage in particular.
“Any presidential candidate seeking the Republican Party nomination in 2016 has to be very careful not to poke a stick in the eye of that base vote in any state,” said Gary Marx, executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
If the Republican party “abandons marriage evangelicals will either sit the elections out completely — or move to create a third party,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “Either option puts Republicans on the path to a permanent minority.”
But if it’s politically risky for a major Republican candidate to back gay marriage, it’s also problematic to staunchly oppose it.
The conundrum for Republican candidates begins in Iowa, where evangelical voters made up 56 percent of GOP caucus-goers in 2012, according to exit polling. In South Carolina’s Republican primary, they made up 64 percent.
Though gay marriage may present an obstacle in early 2016 primaries, there were signs at CPAC that the issue might not be one that wins with the GOP overall.
Margaret Hoover, a top aide to the pro-gay-rights super-PAC American Unity, said there’s a growing distaste among Republicans to fight this battle. She said that while American Unity would be willing to play in 2016 in support of any pro-gay-marriage candidates, “we might not exist” by then because of the fast rate in which public opinion is moving in favor of marriage. “This issue is increasingly not a motivating issue for social conservatives,” she said. “One of the thing we’ve seen is many social conservatives saying, ‘we don’t want to fight on this issue.’ ”
The stridency of Perkins and similar Christofascist hate merchants is understandable. Given the overall exhaustion of the nation with the fight over abortion, peddling the threat of "the gay agenda" has been a mainstay in hate group fundraising. If the GOP bails on anti-gay hate and/or the U. S. Supreme Court rules broadly and finds a constitutional right to gay marriage, Perkins and many other "professional Christians" will be faced with the frightening prospect of nor longer being able to shake down the ignorant for money. Indeed, they might actually have to get a real job. Somehow, I can't find a shred of sympathy for them in my heart. They have harmed countless lives and deserve whatever misfortunes that may befall them.
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