Pledge to America: Are Social Conservatives Losing Their Voice in the GOP?

House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio at Tart Lumber in Sterling, Va., Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010, to announce the Republicans "Pledge to America" agenda.

/ AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Toward the end of the introduction to the "Pledge to America," formally unveiled by House Republicans today, is this line: "We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values."

The document goes on to devote a small section to opposing using tax dollars to pay for abortion, an issue tied in large part to the health care overhaul legislation. But beyond that, there is almost nothing in the document - which comes in at 48 pages in its final version - that focuses on social issues.

Indeed, the Pledge is overwhelmingly focused on fiscal, national security and small government issues - chief among them cutting spending, repealing and replacing the health care bill, and lowering taxes. That fits with the priorities of the Libertarian-leaning Tea Party movement, which is largely (though not completely) pushing a vision for the country grounded in fiscal, not social, conservatism.

According to Politico, Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence fought behind closed doors to get something on social issues included in the document; some Republicans thought it should stay away from such issues altogether. An effort to add something into the Pledge along the lines of the Defense of Marriage Act reportedly failed.

The language on social issues was enough for Dr. Robert George, founder of the American Principles Project, who said in a statement that his group is "pleased that the Republican leadership saw the wisdom of honoring our demand for a clear statement of commitment to life, marriage, and the free and full participation of religious believers and faith-based institutions in our public life."

In light of the relatively little attention social issues get in the Pledge, however, that seems like a pretty optimistic take. Social issues were a major part of the Republican platform during the Bush administration, particularly gay marriage: President Bush backed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives were used to help get voters out to the polls.

This year, by contrast, such ballot initiatives appear to be nonexistent, and Republican rhetoric has rarely touched on homosexuality. (In the 48-page Pledge, the word "gay" never appears.) That can be attributed in large part to changing perceptions: Americans, particularly younger ones, have become more accepting of homosexuality, and most Republicans have little incentive to spotlight an issue that could divide potential voters. (One exception is the recent Senate vote on repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays serving openly in the military, which showed that the issue still has at least some juice.)

Abortion is a somewhat different story: American views on that front have remained remarkably steady over the years. Yet the issue - one of the central sticking points in the so-called "culture war" - has largely faded from the public discourse, displaced by battles over the size of government and fiscal policy.

Social conservatives have tried to pull the GOP back in their direction: When potential GOP presidential candidate Mitch Daniels called for a "truce" on social issues, Mike Huckabee led an outpouring of social conservative anger, and Rick Santorum and some other prominent Republicans have also been pushing the GOP to refocus on such matters.

Sen. Jim DeMint, who has emerged as a Tea Party icon, tried to offer something of a unifying theory at the Values Voter Summit last week, tying Tea Party concerns to social conservatism.

"When you have a big government, you're going to have a little God," he said. "You're going to have fewer values and morals, and you're going to have a culture that has to be controlled by the government. But when you have a big God, you're going to have a responsible and capable people with character to control themselves and lead their own lives."

In fact, many of the leaders of the Tea Party movement - DeMint, Pence, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Christine O'Donnell among them - are social conservatives. But their rhetoric suggests that, for the most part, they recognize that their supporters are energized by fiscal issues, not subjects like homosexuality and abortion. And the Pledge to America is another piece of evidence that -- at least for now -- social conservative concerns appear to have been relegated to the GOP's back burner. 

"Pledge to America" Unveiled by Republicans (Full Text)

"Pledge to America": The New Republican Agenda

"Pledge to America" Gets Mixed Reviews from Conservatives

GOP Says "Pledge to America" Should be Enacted Now

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Brian Montopoli is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of his posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[bEEarCUB]

I really don't think they lost it yet. The pledge makes it quite clear that the GOP intends on fighting abortion (OK in my book) and subjugating gay families (bad for gays, their kinds, and really to no ones benefit I might add).

[miami_don]

"Speaker Boehner, have you been cheating with Lisbeth Lyons, the lobbyist for the American Printing Association?" Stark asks. Boehner did not respond.

[tsigili]

The GOP must become proactive to the concerns of the people, or they too, will fail.

[bEEarCUB]

Then they should drop a lot of that supremacist social "conservative" crap.

[SJames6621]

Dont bet on it. I heard the opening speech on this "Pledge" by some woman.

She talked about faith family and freedom

Faith is a code word for turning the country into a christian ultra-consrvative almost theocracy. Where the pressures on others - Jews, Catholics, Asians, middle of the road christians will be enormous. And those that don't will join the gays as the pariahs of our society.

Family sounds nice, but it is very specifically a code word for deztroying gay families, ending adoption by them, and making private sexual acts a felony. Also hetero private sexual acts that don't conform. Welcome to the stoning of women not virgins on their wedding day. (Think O'Donnell in Delaware. who would criminalize masterbaion.

Freedom - the freedom of corporate interests to ship all good jobs to near slave labor nations, and let wall street run wild once again.

And Palins Lock and Load, or Reload. A license for the really deranged to go murder/terrorize the political enemies of the right. No wonder Bush put through laws that you cant hold gun makers liable for the damage their products do..

And I hear worda about stopping America from becoming Europe. Take England where they had only 84 gun murders in 2006 (latest data I could find). America had 29000, of which only 100 were legit self defense, 1000 legit police. And the rest murders or people driven to suicide.

An overall rate of about 80X , population adjusted the rate in England.

The Jews in Germany didn't realize what was happening until it was too late also.

[bEEarCUB]

Their abuse of the word "family" is one of the most unfortunate things they have done. If the word is ever mentioned in conservative circles it virtually always means attacking gays (and their families), not anything productive for families of any stripe.

[kansas1946]

Pledge to America: Are Social Conservatives Losing Their Voice in the GOP?
**********************
We could only hope, but I doubt it.

[RobAla]

In 1994, the Republicans in Congress submitted the follow recommendations on their first day in session, as the first provisions of the Contract with America:
FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;
SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

After reading these for yourselves, does anyone seriously have problems with any of these ideas? I am serious. I want to hear the reasoning behind any opposition to these ideas.

It is very important that people judge things based on our own reading and experience, rather than make judgments based on hearsay. I would ask each American to read this year?s Republican Pledge to America, and judge it for yourselves ? based on your own reasoning.

I am an independent, who has never yet voted a straight party ticket. I am not a member of any party, but I think each of us should exercise serious thought regarding our support or opposition to activity in Washington. We are at a cross roads, and the consequences of our actions will determine the future of our nation.

[kansas1946]

I think you answered your own question when you opened your post with the date. 1994. All of us liked those pricipals and that is why Republicans ended up with the majority in the house and senate, and eventually the presidency. Unfortunately almost none of those things got accomplished, even with the majority in both houses and the presidency. And under the eight years of Bush, the Republicans spent more money and ran up the deficit to the highest in history. You can't trust the current Republicans to act responsibly. They have loaded their party with a bunch of lunatics that only care about abortion and slamming gays, not anything else.

[bEEarCUB]

Nope. I'm fine with this first revision, but they caved in on social crusades very few want on the final. I'll support libertarians when they actually come into existence. For now it's just a fallacy to get elected. It didn't even last a day.

[thanksgreed]

I simply can't comprehend how a group of people who demand no government intervention in their lives feel they have the right to impose their simple minded morality on others.

[kansas1946]

To GovIsNotTheAnswer,
You are so right-on. I was a Republican for many years supporting the idea of less government intervention into our lives, but then the Republican party went lunatic and because of Democrats insane meddling in every aspect of everything, I would never be a Democrat, although I have voted mostly for Democrats since the whacko-right took over the Republicans. It is really frustrating for thinking Americans. Thanks for your comments.

[bEEarCUB]

@kansas1946

I'm fiscally quite conservative, and even socially in some ways, but the religious-right takeover of the GOP ruined the party for me as well. I would much rather take the dem's fiscal oppression than the rights attempts to police my personal life.

[pubsrtoast]

Are Social Conservatives Losing Their Voice in the GOP?

------------------------------------------------------------

Why don't you ask the GOP that were lurking around the value voters summit in Washington last week.

[bEEarCUB]

Lurking is a good word choice.

[jblow50]

I really don't understand why people hate the rich (or at least what Obama defines as rich) so much. It is really the government that is evil. They take more and more from the guy and his wife who finally made it to $251k per year so they (government) can work a fraction of the year, make a gigantic paycheck, and be set for the rest of their lives without any contribution. Clean up the government America, and then if the country still needs my money, I won't mind paying it one bit.

[nyctuber1]

"Deficits don't matter" - Dick Cheney

Republican response: "Applause.'

8 years later: Total economic collapse.

Fiscal conservatives. Lol. Small government. Lol.

Zero reason for the GOP to exist. Unless you're in the top 2%.