Republican presidential hopefuls play down social issues

Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann campaign together in Minnesota in 2008.

/ AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is considering another presidential run, urged Republicans on Sunday "to get the heck out of people's bedrooms and let these things get decided by states."

"We'd be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots," Giuliani told CNN.

At least as far as the 2012 GOP presidential candidates are concerned, however, Giuliani needn't have bothered with the warning.

Guided by polls that show that Americans' top concern by far is jobs at the economy, as well as pressure from the Tea Party to focus on the debt and deficit, the Republican candidates have thus far largely tiptoed around divisive social issues. It's a far cry from 2004, when then-President George W. Bush, seeking a second term, loudly backed a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.

Exhibit A: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. Opposition to same-sex marriage was central to the political rise of the ostensible social conservative flamethrower; in 2004 she called it "the biggest issue that will impact our state and our nation in the last, at least, 30 years." Bachmann has suggested nearly all gay people were abused, cast homosexuality as a choice and deemed it "personal slavery" and "part of Satan."

But Bachmann has repeatedly declined to answer questions about her beliefs on gay rights since becoming a presidential candidate, opting instead to focus on fiscal issues. While she has made token gestures toward social conservatives - signing, for example, a controversial "values" pledge opposing same-sex marriage and pornography - she has not sought to spotlight those beliefs. In her first debate, Bachmann even stumbled over the question of a federal marriage amendment, first saying she doesn't "see that it's the role of a president to go into states and interfere with their state laws" before later clarifying support for a federal amendment.

She's not alone. Consider Mitt Romney, who shifted right on both gay rights and abortion between his time as Massachusetts governor and his 2008 presidential campaign. Romney, who is casting himself as the candidate to get the struggling economy back on track, has also kept the focus squarely on fiscal issues in the current campaign; not coincidentally, he refused to sign the "values" pledge. Romney backs a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but you would hardly know it: He only talks about the issue when forced to do so.

Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman, Herman Cain and most of the other GOP candidates also declined to sign the "values" amendment. Only Rick Santorum, perhaps the only candidate running a campaign geared primarily toward social conservative voters, joined Bachmann in signing on. It's not that the other candidates want to alienate social conservatives - Romney, Pawlenty and Cain released statements stressing their social-conservative credentials even as they vowed not to sign the pledge. But they also don't want to be seen as focused on them, since polls show social issues are relatively unimportant (and potentially alienating) to most voters.

All this doesn't mean that social issues are receding entirely from the political landscape. Social conservative leaders have been pressuring the candidates to pay more attention to their issues, and any candidate who wants to compete in Iowa - the key first-in-the-nation voting state where 60 percent of 2008 GOP caucus-goers identified as born-again Christian - has to spend some time showing up their social conservative credentials. And among rank-and-file lawmakers on the right, abortion, at least, remains potent: House Republicans pushed abortion legislation as one of their first acts after they took over Congress.

But for Republican candidates for national political office in 2012, social issues have thus far been something to play down, not play up. That's partly a function of shifting social mores, particularly on gay rights issues. But it's mostly a function of the economic landscape. With the recovery sputtering and unemployment over 9 percent, most Americans aren't looking for a president to fight the divisive social issue battles of the past. What they are seeking instead is someone who can help them put food on the table in the future.

CBSNews.com special report: Election 2012

[cherylflag]

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[agnesdeo]

This article reminds me of King Henry IV of France when he said to have declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a Mass") FORMALLY he was a Protestant.
I guess to become a President of the USA one must deny one's moral beliefs and one's own integrity to be elected.

[hsinco-2009]

They can't.

It's all they have to keep their base in line.

They are bankrupt of ideas (except bad ideas which they seem to only be able to come up with but that is what you get when you are owned by the Corporations.

[Reality-Checker]

Well, let's see the Republican track record on social issues...
They threw the war on drugs....the price of drugs escalated and there are now more drug dealers than ever...because there are more users.

They threw the war on gays...the value of gays in our society increased to the same level of those who are not gay..

They threw the war taxes...the ability to balance a budget is impossible and now every investor in the world is shuddering at the thought of the government's bond rating dropping from AAA....

They threw the war terrorism...and now we have less freedoms and liberty to travel....because we now have more terrorists than ever.

They seem to like throwing wars on everything and making the problems worse or unsolvable.

Yes...refraining from social issues is a smart thing to do, when throwing wars is not working out very well for anyone.

[hsinco-2009]

Don't forget the war on women!

[garyargue]

As usual the GOP could care less about the Middle and Lower class. They only think about rich , think about there bible they think all people should follow

[mrsherman]

The republican party has one goal, to destroy the middle class. They run on a moral issues then turn around and steal from the common person to line their own pockets. Wake up people, the republican party does NOT care for you.

[coreykrantz]

Lets continue the tax breaks for any corporation that hasn't moved ANY American jobs out of the country.

[hsinco-2009]

RobAla

Obviosuly you watch too much Fox News. It has rotted your brain.

And don't you think the heat wave you are enduring down there in ALA is from man made global warming? If not, you definitely need a new source of info in your life.

[D-Waarheid]

America is finding out the hard way that blessings and immorality are incompatible.

[formrusmcsgt]

But Bachmann has repeatedly declined to answer questions about her beliefs on gay rights
----
Ask me no secrets and I'll tell you no lies.........

[esq777]

Don't be fooled. All of these clowns are wolves in sheep's clothing. If any of them get elected you can expect a steady stream of big brother goverment in your bedroom laws and regulations. You think some freak who thinks homosexuality is "part of satan" is going to focus on the economy if elected? Not a chance.

[houstontx006]

With Larry Craig hanging out in the mens room looking to hook up, the GOP would be best to FORGET trying to claim morality!