Olson on gay marriage, can this be a "Nixon goes to China" moment for conservatives?

Former Bush administration Solicitor General, and veteran of the Reagan administration, Ted Olson, has penned a thought-provoking piece in Newsweek advocating a "conservative" case for gay marriage. The werewolf has traditionally been indifferent to the issue and had a historic preference for "civil-unions." Although, after extensive conversations with his legal beagle lawyer buddy in DC, and generally just allowing his libertarianesque social beliefs to trump his inclination for certain traditions, he is kosher with gay marriage. That being said, he'll never be on the front lines, or make it an issue that commands his passions. Also, the werewolf holds a skepticism toward making societal decisions via judicial decree, however, there is something to be said about the "tyranny of the majority" and the assumed supremacy of the democratic process. As standards and norms evolve, the werewolf thinks the two aforementioned forces work best in tandem and validate the issue of gay marriage accordingly. All that aside, the government probably ought not be in the marriage arena to begin with, but that conversation will occur elsewhere.

There is a rub throughout all of this. The werewolf holds utter contempt for most leaders of the so-called "gay rights movement." The very people who see being gay as an extension of left wing politics and are incapable of divorcing the two. For them it's all about pushing a partisan agenda. These are the same people who give Barack Obama a pass for unequivocally being against gay marriage, while slamming Dick Cheney for not being enough of dissident in the Bush administration, despite being a strong advocate for gay marriage himself. Those shallow actions, beyond eroding my respect for this empty leadership class, have relegated me to the side-lines of this debate. The werewolf can not, in good faith, directly support such vacant and crudely partisan types in an issue that he believes transcends petty partisan politics.

Interesting times are ahead regarding this debate. That's for certain.