The recent Supreme Court decision on gay marriage deeply disappointed conservatives and underscored how rapidly the cultural landscape has been changing. What was considered a fringe movement just 30 years ago has now found wide acceptance in both opinion polling and the law. A couple of other Supreme Court decisions, upholding Obamacare and the “disparate-impact” policy in racial-discrimination cases, further added to a sense of gloom on the right.
When Barack Obama was elected in 2008, many liberals saw it as the opening of new era of liberalism — a “New New Deal.” The economic crisis would allow President Obama a chance to push through a liberal agenda that had been stymied by the Cold War and the Republican resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s. Some especially smug writers even proclaimed the death of conservatism.
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