Alex Massie studies it:
As Francis Maude, a former chairman of the Conservative Party and a key figure in the "modernization project," said in a speech this month: "The Conservative Party will always suffer if it's seen to be almost trying to turn the clock back to an imagined golden era. You can't drive policy looking through a rose-tinted rearview mirror. If we're seen as being defined by backward-looking social attitudes, we will be seen as unacceptable and unelectable." Perhaps the Republican Party has no need to make any kind of comparable gesture. But there is a sense, surely, that this primary season — choked with fools and charlatans and extremists as it has been — has tarnished the Republican brand to the point that it will soon need serious polishing. …
I fancy that the American conservative movement's hostility to same-sex marriage (and even birth control!) is severely damaging its standing with younger voters, especially those with college degrees. I suggest, too, that this damage hurts the Republican Party even with younger voters who might otherwise be sympathetic to conservative views. When the electorate moves, wise political parties think about moving too.
Video: David Cameron addresses the 2011 Conservative Party Conference. More on conservatism, Cameron, and marriage equality here.
The Dish 