The Marriage Pledge

Being the Republican nominee means being nice to Iowa. Being nice to Iowa means getting along with its evangelical voters. Getting along with them now means singing a binding legal document to never support gay marriage and, in a less direct way, oppose abortion.

Setting aside the implications of a interest group getting candidates to sign obligatory pledges even before nomination, there's a smaller battle being fought. Only Bachmann, Perry and Santorum have signed the pledge, but Newt Gingrich has apparently worked around agreeing to the strong language in the bill, by simply endorsing its contents. Given that his own marital past is hardly sanctimonious, he might have considered a little more courtship towards conservative voters who have recently helped him rise to the top of the polls.

Socially divisive issues haven't been the main focus of the debates so far, because the economic crisis is what all Americans are worried about regardless of their political views. Still, its important to note that these types of deals are being made, so whoever gets the nomination might have some debts to the activists that helped them get there. In the general election, extremists views on either the left or the right won't help. Obama has been notably silent on issues like abortion and gay rights, and any republican candidate might think to do the same. Winning the primary by any means necessary might come back to haunt a person that goes up against the President, whose moderate views won't so easily be targeted.

December 12th, 2011. Susan Saulny. Gingrich Endorses 'Marriage Pledge' New York Times.com

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/gingrich-endorses-marriage-pledge/?scp=2&sq=gingrich&st=cse