The media has fixated this week on a simple question for Republican presidential candidates regarding same-sex marriage: Would they attend a gay wedding?
So far, we have three answers: Yes, dodge, and no.
First, the 43-year-old candidate of tomorrow who spent the week trying to explain how the youngest buck in the field could be so obsolete. Marco Rubio:
"If it’s somebody in my life that I care for, of course I would. I’m not going to hurt them simply because I disagree with a choice they’ve made or because I disagree with a decision they’ve made or whatever it may be."
Verdict: Yes—I'm not as terrible as I seem.
Second, the firebrand conservative who's just smart enough to know that he can't say "yes" or he can kiss his base good-bye, and the consequence of saying "no" is not being taken seriously on the campaign trail.
Ted Cruz:
“I haven’t faced that circumstance,” the Texas senator said. He blamed the news media for trying to “twist” same-sex marriage debate into a “battle of emotions and personalities” that comes off as though “any conservative must hate people who are gay.” Cruz said questions about marriage should be left to the states and not decided in court.
Verdict: Dodge—it's the media's fault.
Third, the has-been pol who can't win but needs to sell a few more books and still worries that homosexual marriage will lead to "
man on dog" sex. Rick Santorum:
“That would be something that would be a violation of my faith,” he told Hewitt. “I would love them and support them, but I would not participate in that ceremony.”
Verdict: No—I'm just as terrible as I've always seemed.
Don't go changin', Rick.
One interesting side note. The interviewer who queried two of these three candidates is conservative journalist Hugh Hewitt. Just a couple months ago he said he thought asking Republicans about restricting access to birth control was a waste of time. But clearly he thinks asking about same-sex marriage is legit.