Goodbye Wedge Issue in 2010?

Opposing gay rights, something that Republicans were previously able to bank on as a wedge issue and energize their base, may have evaporated for the 2010 Congressional elections, the Associated Press reports.

With four states that have already legalized gay marriage and several others poised to do so soon, Democrats sense a favorable opportunity for them in next year's races. As public acceptance of gay marriage has changed so drastically in our favor, Republicans who have used gay marriage as a tool for fear-mongering to get conservative voters to the polls and marginalize more centrist party members may not have that plank to rely on anymore.

"This is a tide that is slowly rising in favor of gay marriage," creating a favorable political situation for Democrats and ever-more difficulty for Republicans, said political scientist David McCuan, at Sonoma State University in California. As more states legalize same-sex marriages, Republicans will struggle with where to position themselves on the issue without looking unresponsive to public opinion. They will have no place to go but shift to the left. In the AP article, Liz Sidoti writes:

"Some prominent Republicans are backing away from cut-and-dried opposition, and some party operatives say it's only a matter of time before others follow suit because the country is changing."