Unconventional Wisdom: Conservatives Win Great Victory in New York Approval of Gay Marriage

What?  That Can’t Be Right, But It is

When New York State approved gay marriage last week it marked a big victory for the Conservative cause in America.  Now many, but not The Dismal Political Economist, would consider this a big loss for Conservatives.  Opposition to gay marriage is one of the fundamental principles of the movement.

To understand why the New York approval was such a big win one has to understand a very strong principle of Investing.  Namely,

Your First Loss is Your Best Loss

What this means is that if you have a losing position in an investment, and that position is not likely to improve, you should recognize your loss, realize your loss and move on to a better opportunity.  Continuing to hold a losing position in the hope that it will turn around almost always results in a greater loss down the road.

With respect to its anti-gay philosophy, Conservatives are holding a losing position.  Tolerance for the gay/lesbian population and a “leave them alone and let them have all the rights the rest of us have” is increasing in support. Almost every poll shows an increase in acceptance of gay marriage in this country.  A strong Conservative, former Solicitor General Theodore Olsen is leading the legal battle to make gay marriage legal.

Conservatives are now on the wrong side, politically (and morally and ethically too, but that is not relevant here) of the gay issue.  Furthermore support for their position is eroding.  The sooner they can abandon that position by just moving on, the better their electoral chances will be.  The approval of gay marriage in New York will hasten the acceptance of gay marriage in the nation, and will accelerate the abandonment of opposition to gays and lesbians by Conservatives.  They won’t support gay marriage and gay rights, they will just drop the whole subject from their agenda.  This will greatly improve their electability.

Republican hopeful and strong anti-gay activist  Michelle Bachmann has even decided to equivocate on the issue.  Ms. Bachmann supports New York's right to enact such a law under the 10th Amendment, but for those of you who think Ms. Bachmann has gone all "states rights" on the issue, she also supports a Constitutional Amendment denying New York's right to enact such a law.  This confirms the long held belief of The Dismal Political Economist that Conservatives are all for states rights when states choose the right rights, but are ready to use the power of the Federal government to deny states rights when they choose the wrong rights.

New York did Conservatives a big favor.  Conservatives, say “Thank you New York”.