Informal Poll: On what basis do we “move on” from a “losing issue”?

With the headway proponents of same-sex marriage have made over the last several years, and in particular the last year, and considering the inevitability of our SCOTUS ruling in favor of it later this year, the loud chorus I’m hearing from a majority of conservatives is that we have “lost” on this issue and that it is “time to move on” to issues where we can win.

Granted, my “evidence” of what I see as a “widespread sharing” of this opinion is purely anecdotal, but for purposes of discussion I’d like to find out what readers of this blog think of the idea of “moving on” from issues that are not just uphill battles, but ones we appear to be losing. This isn’t just confined to alternative forms of marriage, but ANY issue. Popular opinion appears to be against us on this issue, but what if it happened to also be against us on abortion? ObamaCare? Illegal immigration? Gun control? And consider this: I’ve read polling that suggests a majority of the American people think “the rich” should pay more in taxes than the rest of us. Is this a reason to give up and “move on”? I’ve always found this line of thinking as weak (unintentionally so) and fatalistic, a mindset that puts us on the path to essentially ceding so much ground to the left (something we’re already on the road to doing) on “losing issues” that the differences in the two major parties eventually becomes minute. After all, a quick perusing of pop culture shows a pretty significant tilt to the left, which makes any number of issues that much more difficult for us to win (like, for example, on student loans and mortgage lending).

Once upon a time, the polling was strongly against us on abortion. The tide has turned on that (thankfully) because pro-life forces did not give up – in fact, giving up was never even a serious option. And the pro-life movement is alive and well and fighting for the rights of the unborn to this day. The movement hasn’t completely “won” on the issue, but we’re winning.

But is there ever a time when the battles are so bruising, when the hill seems too high to climb, where we should just say “enough” and move forward to another issue in which we feel we have more solid ground? I suspect you can read between the lines as to my opinion on this, but I’m curious as to yours. I’m sincerely interested in where readers feel lines – if any – should be drawn on whether or not to continue to go forward on an issue or to just abandon it for “safer” ground.

Thoughts?

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