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SoCons Damned If They Do — And If They Don’t

“If you social conservatives really cared about marriage,” the line goes, “you wouldn’t worry about fighting gay marriage, but rather fight the heterosexual divorce rate.” OK, let’s do that, and see what liberals say about it. Surely we will get credit. Oh wait, here’s the ever-reliable Amanda Marcotte in Slate: Republicans have decided to start waging […]

“If you social conservatives really cared about marriage,” the line goes, “you wouldn’t worry about fighting gay marriage, but rather fight the heterosexual divorce rate.”

OK, let’s do that, and see what liberals say about it. Surely we will get credit. Oh wait, here’s the ever-reliable Amanda Marcotte in Slate:

Republicans have decided to start waging war on a ubiquitous and generally noncontroversial part of American life: no-fault divorce. Scott Keyes, writing for theWashington Post, reports on this alarming trend, one that has largely flown under the radar, of Republican-controlled state houses pushing for waiting periods, mandating marriage classes, or even eliminating no-fault divorce entirely. Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry have signed a pledge from Family Leader, a Christian-right group, denouncing “quickie divorce” and urging couples to endure a “cooling off period.”

The hope is that by making divorce a hassle, or forcing couples to really think about what divorce means, the government can encourage/make more couples give up on the idea and recommit themselves to marriage. This is, of course, not the government’s job.

I know, I know. Amanda Marcotte doesn’t speak for every progressive in America. But if you decided that most liberals don’t really care about social conservatives being consistent, they really only care about them shutting up and letting people do what they want to with their sex lives and their marriages, no matter who or what that hedonistic ethic destroys, I don’t think you would be wrong.

[H/T: Reader L.F.]

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