Rick Warren & gay hypocrisy

Barack Obama has asked evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. Warren is a popular social conservative who is vocally against gay marriage and his inclusion in the inauguration has gay activists outraged; I am having a hard time understanding why. Obama made it clear throughout the campaign that he does not support gay marriage and recently it was revealed he would put off consideration of a campaign promise to end the militaries, “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy established under Bill Clinton.

While I understand Warren is far more vocal about his belief it is one shared by the President-Elect. It was also shared by the 2004 Democratic candidates John Kerry & John Edwards while Democratic president Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage between a man and a woman. Homosexuals continue to vilify Republicans who hold the same position and act surprised when their Democratic candidates have no problem embracing conservatives who, once again, share their own belief.

The gay community needs to reconsider their blanket support of Democratic candidates. Ironically the organizational, financial and vocal support they lend Democrats hostile to their own beliefs gives the public a misguided perception that may only play well to conservatives. While gays convince liberal leaning voters that Democratic candidates are more liberal than they are, they give social conservatives in the rest of the country the perception that Republicans in general may be far more conservative on these issues than they are.

There are some social conservatives that share other Democratic ideas. Rick Warren himself has embraced Democratic economic and foreign policy principals while there are many in Iowa, Pennsylvania and other states who are religious and hold conservative social beliefs but want government to play an active role in their pocketbook and in saving their jobs.

Many Republican candidates may not support gay marriage but not a Constitutional amendment banning it outright. Some Democrats may actually vote for such an amendment while some conservatives and libertarians believing government should stay out of our lives will not. The outcome of a blanket disdain for the Republican Party could only devastate their cause. We could see a day when lone Democrats, hostile to gay marriage or other rights, could act as the deciding vote in passing legislation.

This is ultimately a lesson for the Republican Party and conservatives. Our acceptance of candidates who don’t believe in free market principals, who want to grow government, open up our borders, cut our defense or are hostile to social conservatism will only lead to unacceptable actions like a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry. Many in the Democratic Party supported Obama because of his “star power” or celebrity. They wanted a candidate who could raise money, who was attractive, who was iconic because of his skin color. They ignored his changing positions on Iraq, his acceptance of centrist beliefs, his personal reliance on big donors and lobbyists acting as bundlers; today they are surprised Obama is surrounding himself with Clintonites, that he is friendly with those who share his own social conservative viewpoints, that he is no longer talking about an immediate end to the War.

Republicans should not be equally surprised. We need to define clearly what it is we believe and hold our Party and our elected officials to high standards and remove all support when they continually fail us. We will never be one hundred percent content but we shouldn’t be like our opposition blindly giving their faith and support to someone they know is hostile to their cause or ideology.

We need to do better. [See: Why We Lost]