". . . The unsustainability of the tea party without social conservatives.
There would be no tea party without values voters. We constitute the majority of the movement. Granted, the tea party movement is not entirely socially conservative. There are pockets of libertarians and others who don’t share the same perspectives on abortion and homosexuality. I am happy to work with these folks on the issues we agree upon, even though I know we don’t agree on everything. That’s the beauty of our movement.
But, as any study will show, the vast majority of tea partiers support traditional marriage and oppose abortion. If you remove these voters from your base, you’re left with the libertarian party and it’s exceedingly limited electoral and legislative success historically.
Social conservatives have gladly put certain issues on the back shelf because of the more urgent constitutional questions that have a social impact. But to have our arrogant and increasingly clumsy self-appointed national ‘leadership’ presume that our recent silence on these moral issues gives them license to lock social conservatives out of the legislative process and force the Republican party to adopt a platform of moral abandonment is as arrogant and presumptive as any Republican establishment has ever been, and a slap in the face to the social conservatives that constitute the tea party movement and have determined its success.
A lesson in how to commit political suicide
Let me be very clear, I will not support a party that doesn’t officially oppose abortion or support traditional marriage even if they want to repeal Obamacare. The tea party elites’ claim that these issues are divisive is hypocritical, and will only divide the tea party movement. The tea party should be open to fiscal and social conservatives, as well as libertarians and others whose views may vary to a degree.
Believe me, we social conservatives know what political correctness smells like. We encounter it daily. This letter to Republican leadership is reeking of it. If we can’t be comfortable expressing our social and moral views in the tea party environment, then we won’t be comfortable anywhere, and ultimately won’t remain within the tea party.
Here’s my encouragement to the tea party establishment: don’t do what the Republican elites do by dismissing the very people you purport to serve and alienating the very principled conservatives who are truly turning this country around. It’s one thing to focus on the most urgent matters given the current national discourse. It’s another thing to try and strong-arm the GOP into silence on anything that doesn’t fall within your narrow understanding of what’s important."
Orlando Political Press » Blog Archive » The Tea Party Should Not Advocate Against Social Conservatism
Mike Corthell: Social issues and the tea party
