I honestly don't believe there is any evidence that social issues are to blame. Sure, young people support gay marriage (though not as much as some want us to believe). So? Who steps into the voting booth and votes on gay marriage?
I don't think the Republicans have to scrap these social issues, they just need to do a better job in explaining them.
What makes you think the support of young people for gay marriage isn't as much as some people want you to believe? What do you think it is?
The GOP has become the anti-gay, anti-environment party. They aren't going to have a chance with young voters if they don't get away from that.
Well I'm a young person and I oppose gay marriage. I know many people that agree with me too. But many people who agree that it's wrong don't see any good reason to oppose it. Republicans need to flat out say something along the lines of "gays cannot naturally reproduce to create a family so their marriage is illegitimate and should not be recognized by the state" instead of taking the "sanctity of marriage" dodge. Or something like that.
That's a weak argument. There are several straight couples (and plenty of old people) who cannot reproduce; should they not be allowed to marry either? The purpose of marriage is not to procreate. Marriage is about love, not gender. The Republicans really have no sound argument on which to base their opposition to gay marriage other than it's "wrong," "immoral," "disgusting," and "sinful," on which they point to the Bible and when you start injecting religion into politics, this is what turns young people off so much. I'm not saying that young people are overwhelmingly secular/atheist/agnostic/nonreligious, whatever term one chooses to use, but there is a sense among our generation to uphold the separation of church and state doctrine which DOES exist no matter how hard the conservatives try to argue differently.
Young people are considerably more liberal than the general population. I'm 23 and I am very liberal on the social issues but tend to be a bit more moderate on fiscal issues, and I'm more conservative on foreign policy issues (obvious to see now why I supported Hillary). I think the main reason my generation is more liberal than our parents' generation is simply because of nature. Youth has always had this reputation of rebelling against authority (in this case, the parents), which is a liberal philosophy in of itself. We've grown up where it's "cool" to question and challenge authority and the views promoted by our parents; again, another idea of liberalism. The social issues, though, are probably the most defining factor. Our generation has become much more tolerant and accepting of homosexuality (we go to school and work with gays and lesbians and we are not threatened or disgusted by them - it's considered "cool" among our generation to have a gay friend), and I would argue that a large number of people my age do support same-sex marriage. Evidence:
"A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that liberals are now the largest and fastest growing ideological group, while recent polls have found that young Americans are considerably more liberal than the general population. A slight majority, 56 percent, of those age 18 to 29 favor gay marriage, 68 percent state environmental protection to be as important as job creation, 52 percent "think immigrants 'strengthen the country with their hard work and talents,'" 62 percent favor 'tax financed, government-administrated universal health care' program and 74% "say 'people's will' should have more influence on U.S. laws than the Bible, compared to 37 percent, 49 percent, 38 percent, 47 percent and 58 percent among the general population."
Basically, young people don't like being told how we should live our lives, and since Republicans like to do that by telling us what we can and cannot do with our bodies and who we can and cannot have sex with, it's pretty obvious why we vote so Democratic.
