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The Democrats’ Gay Convention

This, from the NYT, is remarkable: On Monday night, Michelle Obama told the nation that her husband wants everyone to succeed no matter “who we love.” If that was not clear enough, she returned to the point later in her address. “If proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who […]

This, from the NYT, is remarkable:

On Monday night, Michelle Obama told the nation that her husband wants everyone to succeed no matter “who we love.”

If that was not clear enough, she returned to the point later in her address. “If proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love,” she said, “then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American dream.”

She was not the only one. At times it seemed as if almost every speaker on the first night of the Democratic National Convention was touting same-sex marriage.

What’s remarkable about it is the stunning about-face the Democratic Party has done on gay marriage in such a short amount of time. My guess is they figure that nobody who sees opposing gay marriage as a make-or-break issue regarding their vote is likely to vote for Obama anyway, so they’re aiming to excite the base.

This seems risky to me. What about the blue-collar vote, Catholic and otherwise, in Pennsylvania and Ohio? I’m guessing the DNC has polled this thing out and concluded that the potential upside outweigh the downside, but still, this is bold. Any Evangelicals  on the fence about voting for a Mormon have just been given a big shove by the Democrats meeting in Charlotte.

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