Calling all Values Voters! Or not.

This morning, Politico’s Jim Vanderhei and Mike Allen proferred six ways for the Republican Party to resuscitate itself, based on a canvas of GOP pooh-bahs. Notable by its absence was any call to gin up a religious appeal. Only Jeb Bush (remember him?) touched on the subject, to wit: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said […]

hunting dog not.jpgThis morning, Politico’s Jim Vanderhei and Mike Allen proferred six ways for the Republican Party to resuscitate itself, based on a canvas of GOP pooh-bahs. Notable by its absence was any call to gin up a religious appeal. Only Jeb Bush (remember him?) touched on the subject, to wit:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said it’s time to return to a family values message — backed up by ideas families actually like. “Our reforms and beliefs need to be framed in the context of how they help families. A family-friendly focus is really important, given the angst that people feel these days.”

If you read that closely, you’ll detect a shift in the meaning of “family values”–with the not-so-disguised implication that families are not particularly helped out of their current angst by decisions to overturn Roe v. Wade and constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.
Which brings us to the California Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision this afternoon legalizing civil marriage for gays and lesbians. As Ambinder notes, the GOP quote meisters have been notably slow off the mark responding to this latest threat to the republic. We’ll see what the morrow brings, but given John McCain’s more or less federalist approach to the subject (let the states do what they want), it doesn’t look like the current powers-that-be think that this dog can hunt.

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