GOP waving the white flag on gay marriage?

Over at the New York Times, the paper’s First Draft blog has concluded that the Republican Party is waving the white flag on the gay marriage issue after the U.S. Supreme Court’s non-ruling on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court’s decision to essentially let same-sex marriages prevail in five states was greeted this way by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: “For us, it’s over in Wisconsin,” he said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

First Draft reported that, in Virginia, where same-sex marriage ceremonies were underway within hours of the court’s decision, the Republican candidate for Senate, former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, seemed to accept the high court’s decision.

“Obviously, given the court’s ruling,” he said, “it is the law of the land today.”

First Draft offered this analysis:

“Not that long ago, Republicans could be expected to follow a predictable script on the issue: Judges who threw out voter-imposed bans on same-sex marriage were thwarting the democratic will.

“If Republican leaders are unwilling to keep up the fight, the issue could lose much of its potency on the right. And conservative activists will see it as one more reason to feel alienated.”

Looking to capitalize on that alienation is Sen. Ted Cruz.

The Washington Post’s Plum Line blog reports that Cruz is railing against the court’s decision and apparently hopes to use the issue as ammunition in the 2016 GOP presidential primaries.

Meanwhile, Time magazine reports today that multiple advisers to 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls are quietly relieved by the decision. As one anonymous aide puts it:

“We don’t have to agree with the decision, but as long as we’re not against it we should be okay. The base, meanwhile, will focus its anger on the court, and not on us.”

Plum Line’s Greg Sargent wrote: “That is a remarkable quote on its own; five years ago it would have been hard to imagine an adviser to a GOP presidential hopeful claiming a need to not be vocally against this decision. … Forces on both sides of this issue are absolutely intent on forcing this debate, and as the Associated Press rightly observes, the SCOTUS decision is revealing a divide in the party.

“… Cruz intends to mount a rearguard action against the cultural change sweeping the nation for as long as he is able, or at least through the 2016 GOP presidential primary. He has very clearly telegraphed this intention. Meanwhile, pro-gay-rights conservatives are organizing within the party to compel a primary debate on gay marriage.

“Some Republican operatives recognize the danger Cruz poses. GOP consultant Rick Wilson tells me:

“‘Putting the paddles on the chest of a divisive issue with absolutely no hope of the outcome he promises is a hallmark of Ted Cruz. When a plurality of Republicans in most polling is past this issue, it will only distract from more salient and compelling messages.’”