What Last Week Means to Conservatives

Last week is generally considered to have been a tough one for Conservatives.  In two separate decisions, the Supreme Court appeared to clear the way for unrestricted gay marriage in America.  In the Senate, an immigration reform bill that many Republicans believe will do nothing to secure our borders but will provide a boost in Democrat voter rolls was passed with Republican help.  I talked with Mudge earlier in the week, and we were both glum.  Me for not quite clear reasons, Mudge for very clearly articulated reasons.


We shouldn't look to quickly past a great victory for the Constitution, and that was the Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act.  What several southern states had to go through in order to get even the most basic changes to voting procedures was akin to Reconstruction. 

As for the gay marriage cases, I think we (Conservatives) are simply on the losing end of this one.  Simply put, the younger you are, the more you support gay marriage.  Even if that support subsides over time (which I doubt it will), the support will be far greater than a majority in the years to come.  There really is a "freedom" issue here that many Conservatives overlook while they are busy "Conserving". 

With respect to immigration, the story is mixed.  I don't think we are doing ourselves a service in broadening our voting base by so stridently opposing comprehensive immigration reform that includes some way of gaining legal status for those already here illegally.  My view?  Give the Dems exactly what they want--a clear path to CITIZENSHIP, not some other hazy status.  The price?  A fence.  A closed border.  Real border security. 

What does this all mean?  To be honest, I don't know.  I find myself thinking that the public is moving in our direction on economics, budgeting, and fiscal matters, and if we spent time talking about those things, we'd be in good shape.  The President -- while proving to be an utter failure as a President -- is doing a masterful job as the standard bearer of the Democratic Party and Liberal cause.  His phone call to Marco Rubio (to congratulate him on the Senate immigration reform plan) was a stroke of genius, even if Rubio was unable to take the call.

We've got to figure out how to get out from under the "you hate" weight.  "You hate women", "you hate gays", "you hate Mexicans"....etc.  We can howl about media unfairness all we want, but the fact is, many Americans see Conservative ideas and the Republican Party (different things, I know) as agents of a status quo that doesn't include them.  Gotta figure this one out, friends.