Igor Volsky sees Rick Perry’s federalist approach to marriage equality as an indication that he “may understand the futility of opposing the growing tide towards marriage equality better than most conservative activists.” Jennifer Rubin views the 10th Amendment as something of an out, which enables conservatives to advance a “principled” policy toward gay marriage that isn’t politically disastrous:
As I have suggested before, a 10th Amendment approach to gay marriage and abortion is both in keeping with the party’s defense of federalism and smart politics. As gay rights moves from the courts to state legislatures and referendums, it will, I would suggest, become increasing difficult for conservatives to decry democratically approved gay marriage laws. Social conservatives certainly have every right to try to influence the process and convince others that gay marriage is a bad idea, but it’s dicey for conservatives to argue with the results of votes on public policy by popularly elected state officials.
The Dish 