A group of more than 80 social and political conservatives bucked the party line this week and urged the Supreme Court to support marriage equality in its upcoming landmark decisions.
The coalition that submitted the amicus brief in Hollingsworth v. Perry — which is challenging California’s Proposition 8 — includes two Republican members of Congress, former top Republican advisers and four former Republican governors, including former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman.
The group, which boasted some heavy-hitting names in Republican politics — like Stephen Hadley and James Comey, top officials in George W. Bush’s administration, and Reagan budget director David Stockman — is the latest example that the current Republican Party is out of step with the country’s priorities, and with the ideals of many of its own party members.
Last year, the GOP adopted a platform that took a hard line against marriage equality: “The platform affirms the rights of states and the federal government not to recognize same-sex marriage. It backs a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
The Defense of Marriage Act is being spearheaded by the Republican-led Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, namely House Speaker John Boehner. Boehner has already authorized the federal government to spend nearly $2 million to back a law whose end is clearly in sight.
In the meantime, a recent National Journal poll of Republican insiders found that nearly half of respondents felt that marriage equality is an issue the party should avoid. More than a quarter of respondents said the party should support marriage equality while just 11 percent said the party should come out against same-sex marriage.
And last month another new poll found that more than three-quarters of the nation believed that marriage equality will eventually be a nationwide reality; more than half of Republicans agreed.
The dozens of Republicans who signed on to the amicus brief showed the type of leadership that the Republican Party needs. They know that this issue simply doesn’t have the traction with the public that it once did.
The unfortunate aspect of this is that most of the signatories are former Republican leaders. Once out of office, with any seeming threat to their political careers averted, they consider marriage equality to have less of a specter.
The next step in this evolution needs to be for Republicans who are currently in office, who may have something to lose, to have the courage to come out in front on this issue. Waiting until there is a “former” in front of their title isn’t good enough — they need to be real leaders for their party and their constituents and show that marriage equality isn’t just something to be supported by liberals; it’s a matter of fairness for all, which Americans of all parties should embrace.