At first blush, the results of a new ABC-Washington Post survey on public attitudes to gay marriage would not seem to offer encouraging news to a culturally conservative presidential hopeful. A record high 60 percent of Americans said they support “allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally,” while only 35 percent said they were opposed. Yet Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal wrote an op-ed in The New York Times today in which he called out “large corporations” for siding with gay-marriage supporters in the religious-freedom battles in Indiana and Arkansas.
rip our coalition in half.
… Liberals have decided that if they can’t win at the ballot box, they will win in the boardroom. It’s a deliberate strategy. And it’s time for corporate America to make a decision.
Those who believe in freedom must stick together: If it’s not freedom for all, it’s not freedom at all. This strategy requires populist social conservatives to ally with the business community on economic matters and corporate titans to side with social conservatives on cultural matters. This is the grand bargain that makes freedom’s defense possible.
By all accounts, Jindal is an observant Catholic. But he is also a GOP presidential contender in 2016. His decision to publicize his state proposal in a national newspaper reflects a political calculation: He wants to become the standard bearer for religious liberty in the Republican presidential field. Is Jindal misguided?
Two data points suggest he might not be. The same Washington Post-ABC survey that found record support for gay marriage also found that 6 in 10 Republicans oppose gay marriage; among conservative Republicans, who turn out at higher rates in GOP primaries, the figure rose to 7 in 10.
In addition, another recent poll found far less support for gay marriage. According to a survey by Suffolk University earlier this month, 51 percent said they backed same-sex marriage.
Jindal may not win over corporations to the cause of religious freedom, but he has most Republicans on his side.