The majority of Americans support the right of same-sex couples to marry. The majority of Americans support an inclusive ENDA. The majority of Americans support a women’s right to choose. The majority of Americans support common sense gun control, including expanded background checks. The majority of Americans support immigration reform, including a path to citizenship. The majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana. The majority of Americans support comprehensive sex education.
The majority of Republicans do not.
The GOP officially supports only “traditional marriage.” The GOP officially supports denying LGBT citizens the right to work. The GOP supports only enforcing current gun laws, but adding no new ones — including background checks. The GOP supports only border enforcement and minor immigration reform without a path to citizenship. The GOP supports the drug wars. The GOP supports abstinence-only sex education. The GOP supports Christianity as the foundation for America.
Many Republicans — not all, but far too many — support racism, sexism, homophobia, creationism, voter ID laws that disenfranchise the poor, students, and the elderly. Many Republicans deny climate change, deny separation of church and state, deny the fact that abstinence-only sex education is not effective.
Why?
The GOP is beholden to the Tea Party and the religious right. And they have allowed themselves to be swayed by the radicals in the party.
What is the GOP talking about right now?
Obama is buying up all the ammunition in America.
Electing Mark Sanford.
Immigration reform must be scuttled because of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Senator Sarah Palin.
“An armed revolution might be necessary in order to protect our liberties.”
Benghazi is Hillary Clinton’s fault.
The GOP is at a dangerous crossroads. The radical religious right has already served notice they will leave the Republican Party and form a third party for their supporters if the GOP does not embrace an anti-same-sex marriage, anti-abortion, pro-gun platform.
Good luck winning elections with that gift to Democrats.
But what’s really important here is not which party is in power, but what direction America takes.
We can move America forward, but only with politicians who make smart choices that honor our values of expanding freedoms — not reducing and compromising them. We can move America forward, but only with politicians who honor the will of the majority who have moved forward on issues of equality for LGBT people, including same-sex marriage and ENDA, honor the will of the majority by supporting a women’s right to choose, by supporting common sense gun control, including expanded background checks, by supporting immigration reform, including a path to citizenship, by supporting the legalization of marijuana and ending the drug war, and by supporting comprehensive sex education.
Or, we can continue down this path that will lead to stagnation and the end of the GOP.
The choice is theirs.
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Author’s note: I began to write this in preparation for “Conservative Last Stand,” a Huffington Post Live segment I appeared in Tuesday, video of which we’ll post later today.