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It’s frustrating to see discussions of social issues dominate today’s political landscape. Even arguments about concrete issues are driven by social issues.
When did the Republican Party become synonymous with homophobia? When did the Democratic Party become synonymous with baby killers? The politics of Ronald Reagan — which Republicans salivate over — are the downfall of today’s political society that has left Congress in ruins.
Reagan might have thought he was doing Republicans a favor by creating an all-inclusive party, but both sides have been hijacked by religious ideologues who’ve made real discussion of important issues — say, keeping people alive — inconceivable.
To be clear, this isn’t an article to complain about denying a minority its rights, or denying a majority a necessary service; it’s about finding a balance between the politics of issues and the politics of feelings.
Heads of the military have made oft-reported statements calling for the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” heralding zeal for Robert Gates by liberals and prophecies of the apocalypse by conservatives.
Republicans who support gay rights — and to be sure, they exist — certainly don’t campaign on the issue. Dick Cheney, the soul-sucking former veep, has at least voiced support for not banning same-sex marriage, but his statements haven’t exactly characterized the plank of the Republican Party.
More likely is that you’ll see a Republican coyly voicing support for “don’t ask, don’t tell,” à la Sen. John McCain (who said he was “deeply disappointed” by Gates’ remarks on the policy) or more bluntly rejecting homosexuality, à la Sen. Rick Santorum (“If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [homosexual] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery.”)
It is unfortunate that conservatives are painted with a single broad brush, but when the party’s voice is monopolized by the likes of the Westboro Baptist Church, I have no sympathy. Republicans who disagree with their party’s established position on gay rights have three options: Sit in the back while others take cheap shots for political gain; take control of their party by (figuratively) beating down the party’s leaders and saying “you cannot speak for me on this issue”; or find a new party.
To compare today’s Republican Party to the party of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt is a spit in the face. Honest Abe would sooner pistol-whip McCain on his way to the Gettysburg Address than let the planks of today’s party stand as his own.
I freely admit at the center of this argument is why the Democratic Party is unable to get anything done in Congress. The Democratic Party has become the big tent party, making it nearly impossible to find a consensus. But party disagreement should not be a liability; debate is not a vice. The best arguments on health care have taken place within the Democratic Party, not across the aisle. If we found a way for the two parties to actually engage, we might actually elevate the discussion to the level our Founding Fathers envisioned.
Yes, it’s a scary thought. If we solve health care or gay marriage or any one of a million issues, what will people campaign on? I can guarantee you there will be other issues — and potentially more volatile ones — the second these are solved. Religious zealotry, political majorities or sexual insecurity should not negate making a decision on any issue.
William P. Davis is the editor in chief of The Maine Campus.
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