“Republican gay rights backlash”

Reihan Salam writing at The Daily Beast: “However much Republicans like former RNC chair Ken Mehlman want to embrace gay rights, the party’s rank-and-file won’t for years to come . . . Republicans are far less likely to accept gay relationships than Democrats or Independents. According to Gallup, 61 percent of Democrats accept gay relationships, as do 61 percent of Independents. Though virtually all groups in the U.S. are growing more accepting of lesbians and gays, the gap between Republicans and Democrats is vast. It is all the more striking that elite Republicans tend to be far more favorably disposed towards embracing gay rights including the right to marry than grassroots Republicans.”