Social Issues

I attended the Council for National Policy meeting last week in New Orleans and listened to John McCain address the who's who of Hillary Rodham Clinton's vast right-wing conspiracy. It was another chance for McCain to, in his words, "not just unite, but reignite the base. " How did the crowd think he did? Let's just say it's hard to ignite anything with cold water and no fire. He talked about two legs of the Republican stool - spending/taxes and national security. But the third leg - social issues - went unmentioned.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is one of the most closely watched and well-regarded state courts in the nation, with a reputation for scholarly legal analysis and political independence. And as yesterday's decision opening the door to same-sex marriage showed, it certainly doesn't shy away from the difficult issues of the day. "There's just a long list of cases in which the New Jersey Supreme Court has been in the forefront, and often other states have fallen into place after the New Jersey Supreme Court paves the way," said Sally F. Goldfarb, a law professor at Rutgers School of Law in Camden.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's easy slide to victory in the Brazilian election this Sunday may be prevented by the disillusioned people in the social movements who originally put him in power. "We may vote for Sen. Heloisa Helena in the first round of the election," said Marcus Arruda from the Institute for Policy Alternatives. That could prevent Lula from getting more than 50 percent of the vote and force him into a runoff on Oct. 29. Heloisa Helena Lima de Moraes is a former member of Lula's Workers' Party.

The Bucks County audience was partisan, sporting "I Like Mike" and "Murphy '06" campaign badges. And vocal, with boos and cheers prompting the moderator to remind the crowd, "This is not a pep rally. " The spectators' questions yesterday steered the first public debate between the two candidates for Congress away from the official but broad subject of health care to the more divisive issues of embryonic stem-cell research and abortion. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.)

China's environmental problems are so widespread that they have begun to generate social instability. Choking on vile air, sickened by toxic water, citizens in some corners of this vast nation are rising up to protest the high environmental cost of China's economic boom. In one recent incident, villagers in this hilly coastal region grew so exasperated by contamination from nearby chemical plants that they overturned and smashed dozens of vehicles and beat up police officers who arrived to quell what was essentially an environmental riot.

When I first listened to the playback message on my answering machine and heard that it was Charles Ronkin, principal of Voorhees Middle School, I couldn't imagine what my son might have done wrong already. He had only been to the school for a 2 1/2-hour orientation, hardly enough time to get into real trouble. So, as I listened further to his message, my dread turned to relief, and then amazement, to discover that the principal was merely calling to find out how orientation had gone.

Seeking to ignite a spark in the Republican primary, the two gubernatorial front-runners in New Jersey clashed last night on taxes, abortion, and their records as mayors in the campaign's second televised debate. While Douglas Forrester and Bret Schundler focused on each other, the other five candidates continued scrambling for an issue that could make one or more of them a serious contender with only three weeks left in the race. Last night, however, the tone of the two-hour debate on NJN reflected polls showing Forrester and Schundler far ahead of the rest.

Acting Gov. Richard Codey will outline an ambitious social policy agenda in his first - and perhaps only - State of the State address today. Codey, who has not yet decided whether he will run for his own term as governor, is expected to announce a plan to increase the minimum wage, improve housing for the mentally ill, and provide funding to encourage stem-cell research in the state. But lawmakers said the state's leader of two months is likely to avoid the divisive topics of partisan politics, property-tax reform, and the state's budget shortfall, which could rise to $4 billion.

Now, having taken down my Kerry-Edwards lawn sign, I have concluded that the Democrats lost because they continue to move further and further to the left on social issues, exalting "anything goes" as equally beneficial for society and better public policy. Consider the overwhelming 11-for-11 passage of state constitutional amendments codifying marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution and prohibiting any facsimile of such in most cases. America can see what Democrats are trying to do with their support for "civil unions" and activist judges.