Conservative blogosphere silence on Sally Ride

Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly into space, died just recently. She was a trailblazer and a woman who succeeded in a traditionally male-dominated profession. Beyond the eulogies offered by politicians on both sides, there is some stunning silence on her passing in the conservative blogosphere.

Nothing on RedState. Nothing on the local conservative blogs in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. There is nothing from the right wing activists because there is one inconvenient fact about Sally Ride’s life.

Sally Ride was a lesbian and her committed partner for 27 years will not receive any federal benefits. This is due to the federal Defense of Marriage Act which Mitt Romney supports and President Barack Obama opposes.

I’m a supporter of traditional marriage in the church, but as a matter of secular public policy, I find no compelling reason to deny benefits to same sex couples. They deserve equal recognition under the law. Conservative Republicans are wrong on this issue. Equality is long overdue.

Perhaps the conservative activists are silent because Sally Ride presents a face for a national problem. Perhaps conservatives are uncomfortable having to owe up to the fact that there are same sex relationships that are much more committed, monogamous, and healthy than many heterosexual relationships that end in abuse and divorce. Perhaps conservatives are so desperately clinging to their ideology that they will turn a blind eye to the facts.

Or perhaps, all the conservative blogs are so busy engaging in an anti-Obama hate fest 24/7 to realize anything else that is going on.

In all practicality, it must be really difficult for RNC folks to feel good about their long term prospects beyond 2012 when they see a growing number of people under the age of 50 adopting a laissez faire attitude and even positive outlook towards gay marriage, yet the Republican base has a strong plurality of precinct workers and donors who are anti-gay. It is not a sustainable solution to say the least, nor is it right for a major political party in a developed nation to continue to ostracize a segment of the law-abiding population.