Is the socially conservative movement no longer viable?

I, for one, believe that the socially conservative movement as we know it in the United States is reaching the beginning of the end. This is one reason why I believe fundy wingnuts have committed acts of violence, and will continue to commit more in the future. The "culture war" is a lost cause, and even some of their pundits admit that now. And it's an extremely scary situation. There's few things more dangerous than a fanatic who thinks he's fighting for a lost cause. Look at the Jonestown cult in 1978, the Iraqi retreat from Kuwait in Desert Storm, Japanese suicide attacks at the end of World War II, or Taliban extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan launching attacks (sometimes suicide missions) against women and non-fundamentalist Muslims.

For the past three decades, the fundies have tried their absolute hardest to oppress gays and put them back in the closet, put women back in the kitchen, (in some cases, like with the KKK) re-segregate our public places, remove science from textbooks, to push their narrow agenda in taxpayer funded endeavors, to rail against anybody that doesn't agree with them (oftentimes including Catholics and liberal & mainline Protestants), and some cases, to ultimately remove the Constitution as the law of the land. And ultimately, they have failed miserably, in spite of all their successes in Washington. Acceptance of GLBT people has soared in spite of all their efforts. Abortion is still legal, women are still in the workplace, women are joining the military, women are viable candidates for office (even President), and all Phyllis Schlaffly's whining appeared to do was delay the ERA by 30 years...not prevent it altogether. Birth control is still legal and porn hasn't gone anywhere. A black man has been elected President and a Latina is pending confirmation in SCOTUS. Evolution and science are still in our public school textbooks, and even worse, many people of all faiths have stated that their religious faith and Darwinian evolution are compatible with one another. Our racial, ethnic and religious heritage is diversifying rather than homogenizing. And that pesky Constitution is still in effect.

The best efforts of the social conservatives were a delaying tactic for equality, progress and freedom...they did not prevent them and probably could never have. But for a while, it was politically advantageous for the GOP to use social conservatives in order to win elections...after all, Dubya couldn't have made it to the White House either time without them. Libertarians, pro-corporate types, free-marketers, NRA members, and strong national security advocates (anti-Communists in Ronnie's day, "it's better to fight 'em over there than over here" types in Dubya's day) were willing to put up with them as long as the GOP kept winning elections. But now, social conservatives are weighing down the GOP as it is. The social conservative base is seemingly all that is left of the current GOP...and they are nowhere near a plurality outside of the Bible Belt. Social conservatives are weighing down the GOP...and that is the opinion of a couple national security and free market conservative I know.

The GOP is going to revive itself one day, but probably without the social conservatives tagging along anymore. When it does come back, it will be a strong coalition of national security types, libertarians and free-market advocates. Michael Steele is already trying to move the GOP away from the party's pandering to social conservatives and is trying to become more tolerant and diverse. The future GOP will win votes by advocating a mostly unrestrained free market and a strong national defense overseas, probably taking a hard line against Iran and North Korea, and other future rogue states and terrorist organizations, on their own turf. It will not come back by plying fears about abortion and gay marriage.

The social conservatives as we know them have fought their hardest for the last three decades to push us back to the 1950s (or maybe even the Victorian age), but have failed miserably. I believe that social conservatism in America as we know will not be a viable part of the future GOP. With any luck, America's social policy will resemble that of more progressive Western European nations in a couple of decades.

Sick societies produce crazy people. That is their base

If the culture wars were settled tomorrow, the owning class would foment a new social conservative movement.

Like moths to a flame they gravitate towards power, seeking to buy influence.

See the Blue Dogs for an early example.

if Democrats get complacent or believe they will always hold power. Then the Republicans and their social conservative base will be back and we will be stupidly shocked at their return.