My Response To Readers About The Gop And Gay Rights

After posting our article on public opinion and gay rights, we got a bunch of interesting comments. Beyond the back-and-forth over whether gay marriage is a good idea, and whether it is a good thing for conservatives to focus on, there was also some debate about the role of public opinion in driving political strategy.

I certainly don't think that policies need to be driven by public opinion. But if you have political goals, or policy goals, I think it makes sense to understand the complexities of public opinion, in particular the difference between social issues framed in terms of rights or in terms of values.

The point here is not to make a policy "more palatable" but to better understand the ways in which the majority of Americans think about these issues. If you want to change people's attitudes, that's your prerogative; on the other hand if you have other political goals, it might not make sense to try a frontal assault on the non-discrimination principle, given that principle's broad popularity. You might be better off focusing on specifics.