And at one time they were in the majority.ThaomasH
I’d say the problem is that “social conservatives” have not been trying to win the “culture wars” (awful term) intellectually. They have assumed they are the majority and tried to impose their view by political force rather than trying to argue their views.
Rod Dreher:
As a social conservative, I am as pessimistic as I’ve ever been about the future of social conservatism in US politics. It’s not because of the maladroit campaigning of people like Mourdock and Akin. It’s because of the demographic changes that this year’s election appears to lock in. Social conservatism is concentrated among older voters, who are dying off, and being replaced by younger voters, who simply aren’t socially conservative, and aren’t likely to become socially conservative (at least not as socially conservative as older, expiring Americans are). I know liberals and media figures love to say that social conservatism is a loser’s game. I don’t think that’s quite true, at least not in the way that they mean. But I think it is true that going forward, it will be very hard for a presidential candidate to win nationally if he or she is heavily identified as a social conservative. We social conservatives are going to have to figure out how to deal with that. They’re not going to be able to tell us to go away, but we are in a weak position.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/ ... what-next/
Once the older generations in America die, so will social conservatismEd Stetzer:
We must face the reality that we may be on the losing side of the culture war. For decades, the “religious right” has focused its energies on winning the day through political means. But this year, voters in more than one state appear to have clearly passed referenda supporting gay marriage. This marks the first time for any state to legalize same-sex marriage by the expressed will of the people rather than through court rulings or legislation. While this certainly does not mean we should stop legal or political efforts completely, it does mean that we should begin thinking about what it looks like to be the church in a “post-culture war” era.
http://www.edstetzer.com/2012/11/the-pe ... -what.html
I think this guy is over broad (i.e. gun control is not popular - except in some big cities) but I think he gets the general view of social conservatives correct.
Death is taking care of social conservatives as a political force. The more the Republicans (as the social conservative political movement) resist change the more abrupt it will be. In addition the worse it will be for the country because such change is both a product of and an enabler of the left. It is too bad because in Lincoln's time the Republicans were the architects of change and inclusion.One thing I have noticed is that social conservatives appear to be a dying breed in the US. The older generations are dying off and the younger voters tend to hold few to no socially conservative beliefs. Social conservatives are those who oppose abortion, oppose gay marriage, oppose the teaching of evolution, oppose immigration, oppose gun control, are for the traditional nuclear family, are for traditional gender roles, and will generally make their arguments by deferring to tradition or religion.
While it is true that social conservatives make up the core of the Republican party, I can't help but feel that they drive more voters away than they take in. A lot of the hate the GOP gets seems to be because of the socially conservative faction, while the least amount of opposition is to the fiscal conservatives.
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It is my perception that social conservatives are on the losing side of every major social issue and the Republicans have for the most part, lost the culture wars. So if being socially conservative is a losing proposition, does it make sense for the GOP to continue to represent their interests or is it about time for the party to abandon evangelical voters and take the party in a newer direction in order to stay relevant?
http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic ... #p12954021
Where did social conservatives first go majorly wrong? When they were supporters of Wilson and were the architects of Alcohol Prohibition. They got their reputation for racism in that era as well. Even though they have switched parties since then they have never escaped the racist label. One need only look at the racist enforcement of drug prohibition to see why that might still be so. Republicans are the last bastion of support for drug prohibition. Not counting the libertarian faction led by Rand Paul.